Memorandum
City of Lawrence
City Manager’s Office
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TO: |
David L. Corliss, City Manager
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FROM: |
Jim Wisdom, Information Systems Director Mark Bradford, Fire Chief
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DATE: |
September 9, 2011
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RE: |
Grant Opportunities
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Each year, the Department applies for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Grants are awarded to fire departments to enhance their ability to protect the public and fire service personnel from fire and related hazards. Four types of grants are available to us through the AFG: Firefighter Training, Firefighting Equipment, Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment, Firefighter Wellness and Fitness, and Modification to Fire Stations.
Background
The primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. The Grant Programs Directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency administers the grants in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.
Nationally, the AFG awards, which will be distributed in phases (rounds), will ultimately provide approximately $405 million to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations throughout the country. AFG awards aim to enhance response capabilities and to more effectively protect the health and safety of the public with respect to fire and other hazards. The grants enable local fire departments and emergency medical services organizations to purchase or receive training, conduct first responder health and safety programs, and buy equipment and response vehicles.
Each department may submit one application for each type of grants through the AFG. Our proposals for these grants are listed below in order of priority.
STATION VIDEO CONFERENCING (FIREFIGHTER TRAINING)
For the first time in two years, Fire Medical has the opportunity to apply for an Assistance to Firefighters grant for station video conferencing. AFG guidelines prohibited applying for station video conferencing systems for FY 2009 and 2010; however, this has been recinded for 2011.
As you are aware, the Department was awarded accredited status by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International in February 2008. As part of the accreditation process, the following recommendation regarding Station Video Conferencing was made:
The existing technology should be capitalized by the Department. The fire stations are already networked together so the use of video and conference telecommunicating should be explored. This allows for partial decentralization of current training deliveries and more important, accomplishes training while keeping fire resources in the communities they are responsible to protect. (8C.1)
The department must submit annual status reports as to the progress toward achieving this recommendation. Additionally, when we apply for reaccreditation in Fall 2012, the evaluators and the CFAI Board of Directors will heavily consider which recommendations we have been able to achieve or have made significant progress toward achieving.
Constant and consistent training is necessary for emergency responders to make quick and appropriate decisions to safely resolve any size incident. Modern technology will allow us to bring a higher quality and greater quantity of education and training to a larger audience. The evolving role of emergency services requires daily interaction with other departments and agencies. Rising costs and decreasing budgets make this interaction a challenge. Some benefits of this project include:
1) Educational opportunities for firefighters: In our ever-changing world, better-trained firefighters are safer and more efficient. Daily drills will be expanded to provide up-to-date information. Consistency will be ensured by providing direction to familiar and often practiced topics. Firefighters can spend years trying to obtain a degree. Distance learning programs will allow firefighters to fulfill the requirements for an Associates Degree in Fire Science in a more timely manner.
Our daily schedule for the year allows for 108 hours of training per year. This includes optional as well as required classes to maintain national and state certifications. Currently, this requires each mandatory class to be delivered live and held nine times (twice per shift plus one make-up session per shift) and each optional class to be held six times (twice per shift). This creates issues with increases in fuel, taking companies out of their response district, and is very time consuming for instructors.
Beginning in 2011, the Kansas Board of EMS is transitioning its medical certifications for all EMS responders. This transition is a mandate by the Kansas Legislature in order for the State of Kansas to be in compliance with the Department of Transportation National Standard Curriculum for EMS for Advanced EMT. This will require each department member to undergo an additional 120 hours of specialized training to maintain their EMS licenses. As the transition will require our medical protocols to be re-written, we need to complete our transition as soon as possible to provide for the best educational outcomes for the students and patients. Our Medical Director is supportive of training all staff as quickly as possible to avoid having staff operating from two different protocols. This 120 hours of training is in addition to the 108 hours required of regular operational training. It will be nearly impossible to provide all the required training in one year without a station video conferencing system.
2) Multi-Agency Training: The Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical department has established itself as a community leader for training in Hazardous Materials Response, EMS, Technical Rescue, Incident Management and traditional fire service operations. Due to manning, geography and funding, educational opportunities for other Emergency Response agencies in NE Kansas are scarce. Our daily training and educational opportunities can be made available to the surrounding areas. Video-conferencing will allow cross training to prevent scene confusion and protect responders.
3) Communication: Video-conferencing allows seamless communication for multi-agency response as well as training. A key element to resolution to any emergency is communication. We will network field personnel with Emergency Management administrators. This virtual Emergency Operations Center will allow participants to stay within their respective areas. The proposed system will allow us to coordinate a regional team that has shared training and puts that training into action as a team to resolve large-scale incidents.
4) Improved response times: Training evolutions take companies out of their primary response territories. Participation by all city fire units in an average drill session results in many hours of decreased coverage. By utilizing distance learning, we can provide high quality classroom presentations every day and decrease our response times. On average, for stations located in Lawrence, it takes approximately 40 minutes round trip to travel to and from the Training Center. Station No. 11, located in Baldwin City, is 17 miles south of our training facilities and requires one hour round trip to attend each training session.
5) Utilize instructors and drill time better: It is necessary to present material repeatedly in order to reach all members. Several speakers may be required to present a specific class. This can result in inconsistent delivery of important topics. The proposed system will allow us to provide live, instructor-led training once per shift while archiving a presentation and broadcasting it multiple times over multiple days. We will be able to reduce each class load from nine times per class to six times per class. We can then better utilize our resource of experts to bring a constant flow of current information. During re-broadcast, a Training Officer will be available to field questions. By doing academic presentations to a much larger audience, we will be able to dedicate more time to skill development cultivating teamwork between individual department members. By receiving the same information, we can all communicate more efficiently and improve working relationships.
6) Cost efficiency: Video-conferencing will allow us to do this type of training daily with no transportation costs. Fees for instructors will go farther by reaching larger audiences.
Information Systems Director Jim Wisdom has been in contact with a vendor to provide technical information as to the needs of our department for a station video conferencing system. Under AFG guidelines, the City must commit to funding 20% of the cost of the project. Initial quotes indicate the system would cost approximately $285,607, which would require a City commitment of $57,122.
PHYSICAL FITNESS EQUIPMENT (FIREFIGHTER WELLNESS AND FITNESS)
Wellness and Fitness programs are intended to strengthen first responders so their mental, physical, and emotional capabilities are resilient to withstand the demands of emergency services response. To that end, the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical (LDCFM) has implemented several programs over the years that support this mission, including annual health screenings, entry physical examinations, immunizations and behavioral health (Exercise, Health and Safety Management, and Peer Fitness) programs.
In March 2008, the department received accredited status by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. A part of the criteria for being accredited includes the department having a wellness/fitness program. LDCFM recognizes that employees must maintain a high level of physical fitness to safely perform their duties and has implemented Standard Operating Procedures to address this requirement. A health and physical fitness program, identified in “SOP 503.10 - Exercise Program”, was developed to meet NFPA 1500: Standard for Fire Department Occupational Safety & Health Program. Additionally, “SOP 500.01 – Health and Safety Management Program”, identifies several safety strategies including reducing the likelihood of sustaining accidents and injuries by maintaining a work force that is physically and mentally fit.
In late 2010, the department implemented the IAFF/IAFC/ACE Peer Fitness Program and several department members received training and became certified Peer Fitness Trainers (PFTs). As certified Peer Fitness Trainers, they possess the knowledge and skills required to design and implement fitness programs, improve the wellness and fitness of the uniformed members in their departments, assist in the physical training of recruits, and assist the broader community in achieving wellness and fitness. Participation in the Peer Fitness Program program is optional. In addition to the Peer Fitness Trainers, the department also has a Peer Fitness Team, which is comprised of all 6 of the Peer Fitness Trainers as well as other department members interested in promoting and maintaining fitness among the membership.
In mid-2011, the Peer Fitness Team conducted a survey of all shifts at each station to determine physical fitness equipment needs. Survey respondents were asked to identify the equipment which was used most often, used least often, what new equipment they would like to have and what equipment should be removed. During this process, it was discovered that several pieces of equipment were broken, in need of repair or replacement, or otherwise potentially unsafe for continued use due to lacking currently available safety features (e.g. locking mechanisms to prevent dropped weights). Our Peer Fitness Team then developed a list of equipment that can be more easily replaced at a lower cost, is targeted to firefighter training, has a greater life expectancy and can be used in multiple ways. Some of the equipment identified includes treadmills, squat cages, spin bikes, rubber dumbbells and plates, medicine balls and kettle balls, with a goal of having identical equipment available at each station. While any member, regardless of his or her participation in the Peer Fitness Program, will be eligible to use this equipment, the Peer Fitness Trainers will develop specific fitness programs geared toward training members on the proper use of this equipment as well as incorporating it into specific fitness programs. Our grant request is for the purchase of the recommended equipment to better support the behavioral health aspect of the purpose behind wellness/fitness programs.
Under AFG guidelines, the City must commit to funding 20% of the cost of the fitness equipment project. Initial quotes indicate this project would cost approximately $46,000, which would require a City commitment of $9200.
CONCLUSION
We are requesting authorization to pursue these grants. The FY 2011 AFG Grants applications must be received by Friday, September 16 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Grants are awarded in “rounds”, which means there is no identifiable deadline when we will be notified whether our grants have been awarded. Typically, FEMA prefers to see the grant money spent and the grant closed out within one year after the award.