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Fire Services Fire Services April 1999 ABEST P RACTICES R EVIEW Photos courtesy of Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Fire Department Office of the Legislative Auditor State of Minnesota Table of Contents Page PREFACE vii SUMMARY ix 1. BACKGROUND 3 The Structure of Fire Services in Minnesota 4 Financing Fire Department Services 9 Services Provided by Fire Departments 12 The State Role in Fire Services 23 Chapter Summary 28 2. CHAPTER TWO 31 Goals 31 Actions and Best Practices To Meet the Goals 32 Assess Risks and Develop Long-Range Plans 34 Evaluate Fire Department Performance and Use Resources Cost-Effectively 40 Promote Public Awareness of Fire Safety 58 Ensure Fire Code Enforcement 67 Develop Effective Communications Systems 74 Prepare a Competent Workforce and Support Safe Operations 79 Plan for On-Scene Responses 93 Chapter Summary 109 APPENDIX A: Study Methodology 113 APPENDIX B: A Checklist for Measuring Performance 153 APPENDIX C: Bibliography 165 RECENT PROGRAM EVALUATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES REVIEWS Back Cover List of Tables and Figures Tables Page Table 1.1 Time Spent on Fire Prevention vs. Fire Suppression, by Type of Fire Department, 1997 13 Table 1.2 Elements in Fire Departments’ Public Education Programs, 1997 14 Table 1.3 Fire Code Activity by Fire Departments or Fire Marshals in Larger Cities, 1997 16 Table 1.4 Fire Departments that Relied on State Fire Marshal or Law Enforcement for Investigations, 1997 16 Table 1.5 Fire Departments Offering Emergency Medical Services, 1997 18 Table 1.6 Fire Departments Offering Rescues, 1997 18 Table 1.7 Response Times and Expenditures per Capita by Type of Fire Department in Larger Cities, 1997 21 Table 1.8 Comparison of Select Performance Measures by Type of Fire Department in Larger Cities, 1997 22 Table 2.1 Practices Fire Departments Used to Measure Performance, 1997 41 Table 2.2 Activities Included in Fire Departments’ Mutual Aid, 1997 44 Table 2.3 Fire Departments with Fire-Safety Public Education, 1997 60 Table 2.4 Fire Department Interactions with Volunteer or Paid On-Call Members, 1997 81 Table 2.5 Health and Safety Practices in Larger Fire Departments, 1997 83 Figures Figure 1.1 Fire Departments by Type of Staffing, 1997 5 Figure 1.2 Percentage of Minnesota Population Served by Type of Fire Department, 1997 6 Figure 1.3 Fire Department Average Revenue Sources, 1997 9 Figure 1.4 Percentage of Fire Departments Receiving Revenue from Various Sources, 1997 10 Figure 1.5 Circumstances Under Which Larger Fire Departments Charged Fees, 1997 11 Figure 1.6 Levels of Emergency Medical Service 17 Figure 1.7 Levels of Hazardous Materials Response 19 Figure 2.1 Actions for Successful Fire Department Management 33 Figure 2.2 Five-Year Volunteer Retention Rates, 1993-1997 80 Figure 2.3 Fire Departments That Instructed Members in Preserving Fire Scenes, 1997 97 Figure 2.4 Fire Departments with Preventive Maintenance Programs, 1997 99 Preface his report is a best practices each by the Minnesota Association of Treview of fire services in Townships and the Minnesota Minnesota. It is the fifth in a Association of School Administrators. series of best practices reviews This advisory council recommended conducted by the Office of the the topic of fire protection to the Legislative Auditor. Legislative Audit Commission, which approved it in May 1997. The 1994 Legislature established best practices reviews as a way to identify We acknowledge and appreciate the practices that aid in delivering local help provided by many local fire government services efficiently and Our best department personnel around the state. effectively. Our approach is similar in Their interest and cooperation in this some respects to one used by the practices review contributed greatly to the final British Audit Commission in England report. The State Fire Marshal and Wales to determine the state of the reviews Division in the Department of Public art in the delivery of local services. Safety was among several state look at agencies that also willingly offered The emphasis on identifying what assistance. local governments do well is one of effective the key distinctions between best The report was researched and written practices reviews and traditional and by Jody Hauer (project manager), audits or program evaluations, which Valerie Bombach, and Caryn Mohr, typically focus on compliance and efficient with technical assistance from Gregg performance deficiencies. The Davies. For readers with access to the Legislature intended that best methods of Internet, this report and related practices reviews help local material may be found over the World governments improve their service delivering Wide Web at http://www.auditor.leg. delivery by learning about effective state.mn.us/pe9907.htm. and efficient methods used by local jurisdictions similar to them. government To determine which local services St. Paul, Minnesota should be subjects of best practices services. April 1999 reviews, the Legislature created a local government advisory council when it established the program. By law the advisory council comprises three members appointed by the Association of Minnesota Counties, three by the League of Minnesota Cities, two by the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities, and one Fire Services A Best Practices Review SUMMARY ire departments in Minnesota relying on national and local sources. perform a variety of duties. Early in the study, we visited a number FThey all fight fires, but many of fire departments to learn about their also conduct rescues, inspect buildings operations and observe them in action. for compliance with fire code After identifying standards of high provisions, offer information and performance in fire services, we demonstrations on fire prevention, and convened focus groups of fire respond to hazardous materials releases personnel in different regions of the and emergencies requiring medical This review state for feedback. We talked with services. profiles other fire professionals around the state and made site visits to 11 fire This report identifies practices that fire certain departments to collect in-depth departments should adopt to provide information. Throughout the review, the high level of emergency services effective and we relied on the professional advice of and fire protection the public expects. a technical advisory panel consisting of Several of these practices are already efficient fire fire fighters, fire chiefs, fire marshals, used by many fire departments around and others. the state. We found that some departments practices, however, are not as and widespread. We recommend that more FIRE SERVICES IN fire departments become active in the recommends MINNESOTA areas of assessing local fire risks and developing long-range plans based on that fire Minnesota has nearly 800 fire those risks, taking full advantage of departments departments, most of which have cooperative opportunities, providing volunteers or paid on-call members comprehensive fire prevention adopt who are employed elsewhere but activities, customizing personnel respond to emergencies when recruitment strategies, and training fire identified contacted. Only 3 percent of fire fighters on preserving arson scenes. departments had exclusively full-time best paid staff in 1997. Another 5 percent, In conducting our review, we sent practices. known as “combination” departments, questionnaires to all fire departments in employed both full-time fire fighters communities with more than 8,000 and others who were paid on-call or people and to a large random sample of volunteer fire fighters.1 Approximately fire departments in smaller 62 percent of fire departments had paid communities. The questionnaire asked on-call fire fighters, and 30 percent had departments for data on activities in exclusively volunteer members who 1997. We also conducted a broad received no compensation but may review of literature on fire services, have been eligible for pensions. 1 For our study, we defined “combination” departments as those with six or more full-time fire fighters. Those with five or fewer full-time members were grouped with volunteer and paid on-call departments because they are unlikely to be able to operate on an around-the-clock basis at their fire stations. x FIRE SERVICES 53 percent, and all-volunteer departments about 5 Purpose of This Report percent of the population. This report identifies some of the effective and Full-time fire departments in Minnesota are efficient practices related to fire services in Minnesota. It is based on a statewide study of typically found in areas with large populations, high activities in Minnesota’s fire departments. densities, and older buildings; they are located in fairly equal proportions inside and outside the The purpose of this report is to profile effective seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. practices, demonstrate the conditions under which Combination fire departments are also located both they appear successful, and encourage their inside and outside the Twin Cities. They tend to adoption wherever appropriate around the state. Unlike a regular audit or evaluation, this report does serve in cities with mid-size populations that have not focus on deficiencies, but instead it highlights relatively newer housing stock, but in areas much successful practices. less dense than areas with full-time departments. Volunteer or on-call departments, on the other hand, We hope that Minnesota’s local governments will typically serve the smallest and sparsest actively use this report to examine their own populations, and about 85 percent are located practices and consider the ideas presented here outside the Twin Cities area. They generally serve that contribute to effective and efficient fire services elsewhere. cities or towns that have older housing stock with a median age similar to that in cities with full-time This review is part of a program established by the fire departments. 1994 Legislature to identify best practices in local government service delivery. Virtually all Minnesota fire departments rely on mutual aid agreements for additional resources during extraordinary emergencies.
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