Saint Cloud, Minnesota

Fire Protection Evaluation and Master Plan

March, 2005

Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Table Of Contents Table Of Figures ...... 4 Executive Summary ...... 6 Section I- Current System Analysis...... 9 Objective One- Organizational Overview ...... 9 Responsibilities and Lines of Authority ...... 10 Foundational Policy ...... 11 Organizational Structure ...... 13 Maintenance of History ...... 17 Finance ...... 18 Cost Recovery Efforts...... 20 Population...... 22 Alarms...... 23 Objective Two- Management Components ...... 24 Mission, Vision, Strategic Planning, Goals and Objectives ...... 24 Availability of SOG's, Rules, Regulations, and Policies...... 25 Critical Issues ...... 25 Internal and External Communications...... 26 Document Control and Security...... 28 Reporting and Records...... 29 Objective Three- Planning ...... 31 Organizational Planning Processes...... 31 External Customer Planning Involvement...... 39 Internal Customer Planning Involvement...... 39 Objective Four- Risk Management...... 41 Liability Issues ...... 41 Property Issues...... 43 Health and Safety ...... 43 Objective Five- Personnel Management...... 46 Personnel Policies and Rules ...... 46 Compensation, Point System, and Benefits ...... 46 Personnel Records ...... 47 Disciplinary Process ...... 48 Counseling Services ...... 48 Application and Recruitment Process...... 49 Ongoing Competency Evaluation ...... 49 Objective Six- Staffing ...... 51 Administration and Support Staff ...... 51 Emergency Services Staff ...... 52 Assignment of Responsibilities ...... 54 Objective Seven- Capital Assets and Resources ...... 57 Facilities...... 57 Apparatus ...... 65 Support and Small Equipment ...... 72

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Maintenance ...... 72 Objective Eight- Service Delivery ...... 76 Notification System ...... 76 Emergency Response Resources ...... 78 Response Activity ...... 79 Response Practices...... 84 Performance and Outcomes...... 87 Response Performance Objectives ...... 93 SCFD Response Performance ...... 96 Mutual and Automatic Aid...... 104 Insurance Services Office...... 105 National Benchmarks and Comparables ...... 107 Service Delivery Observations and Conclusions ...... 108 Objective Nine- Training ...... 109 General Training Competencies ...... 109 Training Facilities...... 109 Training Staff ...... 110 Entry Level Training...... 110 Ongoing Skills Maintenance Training ...... 110 Career Development Training...... 113 Training Program Planning ...... 113 Competency Based Training ...... 114 Training Records and Reports...... 114 Objective Ten- Fire Prevention...... 116 New Construction Review...... 117 Fire Safety Inspections ...... 118 Life and Fire Safety Education...... 120 Fire Investigation ...... 122 Incident Information Analysis...... 124 Section II- System Demand Projections...... 126 Community Growth Potential ...... 126 Service Demand Projections ...... 127 Community Risk Analysis ...... 128 Section III- Recommended Long-Term Strategy...... 131 Deployment Model...... 132 Facilities...... 132 Apparatus ...... 135 Staffing...... 136 Organizational Structure...... 141 Fiscal Projection...... 144 Section IV- Short and Mid-Term Strategies...... 146 Administrative and Management Strategies ...... 146 Capital Asset Strategies ...... 149 Emergency Service Delivery Strategies ...... 150

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Training Program Strategies...... 151 Fire Prevention Strategies ...... 151 Methods for Prioritization of Recommendations ...... 152 Appendices ...... 154 Summary and Analysis of Customer Input ...... 154 Report Maps...... 156

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Table Of Figures

Figure 1: Resource Allocation Comparison...... 10 Figure 2: St. Cloud Fire Department Organizational Chart ...... 14 Figure 3: Observed Organizational Structure of St. Cloud Fire Protection...... 16 Figure 4: Budget By Category...... 19 Figure 5: Fire Service Cost Per Person...... 20 Figure 6: Estimated Revenue Potential - Code Enforcement...... 21 Figure 7: SCFD Demographic Data, Population and Housing ...... 22 Figure 8: SCFD Five-Year Call Volume History ...... 23 Figure 9: SCFD Liability Insurance Coverage Summary...... 42 Figure 10: SCFD Property Insurance Coverage Summary ...... 43 Figure 11: Administrative/Support Staffing Summary ...... 51 Figure 12: Field Operations Staffing Summary ...... 52 Figure 13: Comparison of Firefighters Per 1,000 Population ...... 53 Figure 14: Daily Staffing Level Analysis...... 54 Figure 15: Facility Overview and Condition Summary ...... 58 Figure 16: Apparatus Replacement Funding Tables...... 65 Figure 17: Apparatus Condition Rating Definitions ...... 67 Figure 18: Resource and Staffing Availability Tables...... 79 Figure 19: Workload by Type of Incident...... 80 Figure 20: Service Demand By Geographic Distribution...... 81 Figure 21: Workload by Month of Year...... 82 Figure 22: Workload by Day of Week...... 83 Figure 23: Workload by Hour of Day ...... 83 Figure 24: Career and Paid-on-call Response Zones ...... 85 Figure 25: St. Cloud Standard Response by Type of Call...... 86 Figure 26: Fire Growth vs. Reflex Time...... 88 Figure 27: Cardiac Arrest Event Sequence...... 90 Figure 28: Minimum Firefighting Personnel Needed Based Upon Level of Risk...... 92 Figure 29: First Unit Response Time Performance ...... 97 Figure 30: Current Four-Minute Travel Time Capability ...... 98 Figure 31: Current Four-Minute Travel Time Capability- Career Stations Only ...... 99 Figure 32: Priority Incidents with Five-Minute Response Time Achievement ...... 100 Figure 33: Priority Incident with Greater Than Five-Minute Response Time...... 101 Figure 34: Priority Incident Response Time Performance by Hour of Day...... 102 Figure 35: Response Time Performance Analysis- Paid-on-call Zones...... 103 Figure 36: Example Premiums Based on ISO Ratings ...... 106 Figure 37: Table of Benchmark Comparisons...... 107 Figure 38: SCFD Training Hours Per Member ...... 111 Figure 39: Fire Prevention Division General Activity Summary...... 118 Figure 40: Inspection Frequency Recommendation Table...... 119 Figure 41: Fire Inspection Activity Summary...... 120 Figure 42: Fire Causes in St. Cloud ...... 123 Figure 43: Investigation Activity Summary by Cause Determination...... 123 Figure 44: St. Cloud Population Forecast ...... 126 Figure 45: St. Cloud Community Growth Potential...... 127 Figure 46: St. Cloud Workload Forecast ...... 128 Figure 47: Current Community Risk By Geographic Area...... 129 Figure 48: Future Community Risk By Geographic Area ...... 130 Figure 49: Long-term Facility Deployment Strategy ...... 133 Figure 50: Long-term Deployment Strategy Performance Comparison ...... 134

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Figure 51: Mid-Term Staffing Strategy ...... 137 Figure 52: Long-Term On-Duty Staffing Strategy...... 138 Figure 53: Long-term Staffing Strategy Benchmark Comparisons...... 138 Figure 54: Long-Term Strategy Organizational Structure ...... 142 Figure 55: Long-Term Strategy Cost Projections ...... 145 Figure 56: Customer Input- Service Prioritization Analysis ...... 155

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Executive Summary

Purpose of This Report

This report details the study of fire protection services in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. Specifically, the study involves the Saint Cloud Fire Department. The first section of the report provides a thorough and detailed evaluation of the agency, its management, its assets, its operations, and its service delivery. The second section identifies the anticipated changes in the population, risk factors, and service demand that will be faced by the Saint Cloud Fire Department in the future. The final two sections of the report provide feasible strategies for changes in the overall organizational structure of the fire department, as well as recommendations for specific changes in the deployment of facilities, apparatus, and staff necessary to achieve the target levels of performance identified by the communities. Short and mid-term strategies provide recommendations for organizational or program changes that can be implemented within the next one to three years.

The staff of the Saint Cloud Fire Department and the City have provided a great deal of written and verbal information to us. Many of the staff members have been generous in their effort to provide us with accurate and complete information. We are grateful for their able assistance and cooperation throughout this process.

We recognize that information, by its very nature, is often incomplete as it changes from moment to moment. Every effort is made though, to compile data that are as comprehensive and as accurate as possible. Our information gathering process includes a broad evaluation checklist of each organization, measuring results against acceptable industry standards and good practices. Whenever possible, we make quantifiable comparisons to other fire service organizations. Checklists and documentation are followed up by one-on-one interviews with key staff members from the agency and every program area.

Section I

The section provides an in-depth evaluation of the agency and describes its governance, management components, staffing systems, current resource deployment, service delivery performance, and special programs. The agency’s facilities and apparatus were inventoried, reviewed, and evaluated.

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The report found the department operating with an expected level of effectiveness. However, the organizational structure between career resources and paid-on-call resources was found to be ineffective and divisive. One facility was identified as in poor condition and two were incapable of 24- hour staffing. Apparatus was generally found to be in good to excellent condition and well-suited to its applicable use.

An analysis of the current workload identified no unusual or unexpected service demand for a community of this nature. Workload history showed light growth in overall service demand.

The analysis of system-wide performance and outcomes reveals that the system is not currently meeting the performance objectives identified by the department. Further analysis by geographic information systems software indicates the current facility and resource deployment is not capable of these response times at the stated 90th percentile performance objective. Gaps in service delivery capability were visually identified and noted. Some redundancy was found within the current deployment.

Section II

This section created the population and service demand projections necessary to the creation of future deployment models. The section includes a review of population forecasts indicating continued growth in the community. Service demand is expected to climb to 2,125 incidents by the year 2025. If additional responsibilities for provision of first responder emergency medical services are initiated as recommended in the report, this service demand will increase by between 1300 and 1500 incidents annually.

A community risk analysis, based on occupancy types and density, is provided in this section along with a graphical representation of the analysis city-wide. As with population forecasts, the community risk analysis is another building block on which the future deployment models are based.

Section III

This section provides the “meat and potatoes” of the twenty-year master plan. It contains detailed recommendations for necessary deployment of facilities, apparatus, and staffing over the course of the twenty-year planning period.

In summary, the plan calls for the:

• The relocation of one existing fire station (Station 6) within two to four years.

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• Renovation of one existing fire station (Station 5) within one to three years • The addition of one new fire station (Station 7) when service demand and growth justifies • The addition of one fire engine to the apparatus fleet • The eventual replacement of one engine with a “quint” unit • A daily minimum staffing deployment of 30 on-duty suppression personnel • A minimum of twelve administrative and support personnel

This section of report also provides a new organizational strategy: • Full integration of career and paid-on-call personnel and divisions into a single, unified combination fire department.

These long-term strategies provide sufficient means by which the operational costs of the twenty-year deployment model could be projected (in today’s dollars for comparison ability). Total capital expenditures necessary to fully implement the deployment model were also projected. The summary of these cost projections1 is as follows:

Long-Term Strategy- Total Capital Costs Replacement Station #6$ 1,250,000 Station #5 Renovation$ 195,000 New Station #7$ 1,250,000 Apparatus Additions$ 320,000 TOTAL CAPITAL COSTS$ 3,015,000 Long Term Strategy- Annual Operating Cost Additions Station #5 Staffing$ 688,986 Station #6 Staffing$ 688,986 Station #7 Staffing$ 688,986 Administrative and Support Staffing$ 212,550 Annual Station Operating Costs$ 60,000 TOTAL ADDED ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS$ 2,339,508

Sections IV

The report concludes with a series of additional strategies for consideration that involve possible methods for improving the efficiency of the current operation on a more short to mid-term basis. These ninety individual recommendations are categorized for easy reference.

1 Capital cost projections shown do not include costs associated with recommendations found in the City of Saint Cloud Facilities Study, conducted by SJA in 2004.

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Section I- Current System Analysis

Objective One- Organizational Overview The Saint Cloud Fire Department is a department of the City of Saint Cloud, which is a governmental entity, formed under the laws of the State of Minnesota and granted authority to levy taxes for the purposes of providing fire and emergency medical services. The department’s jurisdiction encompasses all areas within the city limits of St. Cloud, along with an additional area served under contract with St. Augusta. The response area includes urban areas containing dense commercial and residential development, as well as suburban and rural areas. The department’s jurisdiction is situated along the Mississippi River at the confluence of Stearns, Sherberne, and Benton Counties.

SCFD provides emergency services to a population of 63,8072 in an area of roughly 60 square miles. These services are provided from six facilities located within the jurisdiction. The department maintains a fleet of vehicles including five fire engines, an aerial tower, two tankers, two aircraft crash/rescue vehicles, and three wildland firefighting vehicles. Several additional vehicles are available in a reserve fleet, not typically used for front-line service.

There are 82 individuals3 involved in delivering these services to the jurisdiction. The department is primarily managed by a Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Administrative Secretary, three Assistant Chiefs, and the Fire Marshal. Primary staffing coverage for emergency response is provided by an on-duty shift strength of 14 personnel (at minimum staffing4).

The following figure provides an overview of the Saint Cloud Fire Department’s fire suppression resources and compares these with the average rate of resource allocation in other communities of similar size within the North Central region of the United States5.

2 U.S. Census Bureau, Corrected Population Total plus 1,500 estimated population of St. Augusta service area 3 Current number at time of field research 4 The department is currently at minimum staffing approximately 41% of the time. 5 Comparison data is from the National Fire Protection Association’s “Fire Department Profiles- 2002”. Does not include ARFF station.

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Figure 1: Resource Allocation Comparison

Comparison of Resources per 1,000 Population

0.090 0.083 0.079 0.082 0.082 0.080 0.070 0.060 0.050 0.040 0.030 0.020 0.016 0.016 0.010 0.000 Stations Pumpers Aerials

Regional Mean Saint Cloud FD

The chart demonstrates that SCFD has a fairly average allocation of stations when compared to the typical deployment for communities of its population. The department also has a reasonably average number of pumpers and aerial devices when compared as a ratio to population served.

The department provides a variety of services including fire suppression, victim rescue, emergency medical assistance, technician-level hazmat response, code enforcement, and public fire safety education. The hazardous materials response team is a regional service, supported through an agreement with the State of Minnesota.

St. Cloud Fire Department has achieved a current score of 4 on the Insurance Services Office Community Fire Protection Rating system used to determine fire insurance rates on many structures. The most recent full survey conducted by ISO on the department was performed in 1997. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of the jurisdiction is equipped with pressurized fire hydrant systems.

Responsibilities and Lines of Authority

The City of Saint Cloud is a municipal corporation, formed under the laws of the State of Minnesota, that is provided the authority to levy taxes for operating a fire protection system.

The City operates under a Mayor-Council form of government, and the Council is provided with broad power and authority to govern the provision of fire protection and emergency services within the City including: organizing a fire protection system, appointing officers and members, purchasing land and

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equipment, entering into contracts, issuance of bonds, and levying of taxes. A City Administrator carries out day to day management of the City’s affairs.

The role and authority of the Council, Mayor, and the City Administrator is further clarified within city ordinances and written policy documents describing their function and tasks. The elected officials typically maintain strictly policy-level involvement, avoiding direct management and hands-on task assignment.

The Fire Chief’s position is appointed under the guidelines of the Civil Service process and, thus, is not provided with a personal services contract. The City does not currently provide a formal written evaluation of the Chief’s services as a means of documenting performance and establishing personal objectives. There was indication that the City Administrator would be initiating this process soon.

Foundational Policy

Organizations that operate efficiently are typically governed by clear policies that lay the foundation for effective organizational culture. These policies set the boundaries for both expected and acceptable behavior, while not discouraging creativity and self-motivation.

A comprehensive set of departmental operating rules and guidelines should contain at least two primary sections. The following format is suggested.

1. Administrative Rules – This section would contain all of the rules that personnel in the organization are required to comply with at all times. Administrative Rules, by definition, require certain actions or behaviors in all situations. The City Council should adopt or approve the Administrative Rules since the chief is also subject to them. However, the officials should then delegate authority to the chief for their enforcement on department personnel. The Administrative Rules should govern all members of the department: paid, paid-on-call and civilian. Where rules and policies, by their nature, require different application or provisions for different classifications of members, these differences should be clearly indicated and explained in writing. Specifically the Administrative Rules should contain sections which address:

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• Public records access and • Harassment and discrimination retention • Personnel appointment and • Contracting and purchasing promotion authority • Disciplinary and grievance • Safety and loss prevention procedures • Respiratory protection program • Uniforms and personal appearance • Hazard communication program • Other personnel management issues

2. Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG’s) – This section should contain “street-level” operational standards of practice for personnel of the department. SOG’s are different from Administrative Rules in that variances are allowed in unique or unusual circumstances where strict application of the SOG would be less effective. The document should provide for a program of regular, systematic updating to assure it remains current, practical and relevant. SOG’s should be developed, approved, and enforced under the direction of the Fire Chief.

SCFD maintains two primary policy manuals: the Standard Operating Guidelines, which contain both operational standards and administrative procedures, and the Volunteer Division Policy Manual, which also contains separate operational standards and administrative procedures. In addition to these, the City maintains a set of Administrative Policies covering all city employees and the St. Cloud Firemen’s Relief Association maintains a set of by-laws. The various manuals were given a basic review for quality and content.

The City Administrative Policy documents are well organized, and it appears that a great deal of time went into writing the documents in a professional and clear manner. The manual includes the appropriate policies either required by law or focused on reducing the risk of civil liability. These include a sexual harassment policy, family medical leave, and disciplinary policy. It was not immediately clear whether clarification exists within the policies identifying them as applicable to paid- on-call members of the fire department. This should be verified and, if not existing, such a clarification should be included in future drafts.

The Fire Department Standard Operating Guidelines were described as a “work in progress” by department members. Many of the policies are very thorough and well-written. Others appear to be intended, but not completed at this time. The intermingling of “street-level” operating procedures and department administrative policy is somewhat distracting and additional effort should be made to clarify what is a “guideline” and what is a “policy”, as described earlier in this section.

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Again, following the recommended format discussed earlier, the Standard Operating Guideline Manual should be stripped of administrative policy that belongs in a Fire Department Administrative Policy Manual. The remaining document should then be expanded to include a far greater collection of guidelines for actual incident actions, including special hazard incidents such as technical rescue, hazardous materials releases, etc. Several model documents are available through industry trade organizations. The resulting document should be considered for publication in a pocket-sized field guide format.

The presence of a separate policy manual covering only the paid-on-call personnel is unwise and further reinforces a culture of internal division and separation. Any administrative policies governing the on-call members of the agency should be fully integrated into the department’s primary policy documents. In addition, the volunteer (paid-on-call) division should not operate under separate or different standard operating guidelines. This condition presents both a safety and liability risk with its inherent potential for on-scene confusion.

Organizational Structure

A well-designed organizational structure should reflect the efficient assignment of responsibility and authority, allowing the organization to accomplish effectiveness by maximizing distribution of workload. The lines on an organizational chart simply clarify accountability, coordination and supervision. Thorough job descriptions should provide the details of each position and ensure that each individual’s specific role is clear and centered on the overall mission of the organization.

The department operates with out-of-date job classifications and descriptions that no longer accurately reflect the typical responsibilities and activities of all positions within the agency6. This process of revision is typically performed by the City Human Resource Department, but only at the request of the individual department when the need arises. The fire department should request that the documents be completely revised to adequately describe the primary functions and activities, critical tasks, levels of supervision and accountability, as well as reasonable qualifications of each class or position within the organization.

The department currently maintains collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with certain classifications of employees within the organization that clarify the salary, benefits, and many of the

6 Job Description versions we were provided were written twelve years ago.

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working conditions under which the employees in that classification will operate. Currently, the Deputy Chief, Captains, Firefighters, Fire Marshals, and clerical staff are covered by the CBA.

A review of this agency’s organizational chart7 reveals that they are organized in a typical top-down hierarchy. The chart indicates a well-defined chain of command and reasonable distribution of responsibilities and authority.

Figure 2: St. Cloud Fire Department Organizational Chart

Saint Cloud Fire Chief

Suppression Administration Training Prevention Division Division Division Division

Secretary Fire Marshal Deputy Chief Clerk Assistant FMs Assistant Volunteer Chief (Shift) Division Chief

Station 1 North Station

Station 2 South Station

Station 3 Vol. Assistant Chiefs Vol. Captains ARFF Station Vol. Lieutenants Vol. Firefighters Fire Captains Fire Lieutenants Firefighters

The organizational structure of the department, as shown on the organizational chart, demonstrates a clear unity of command, in which each individual member reports to only one supervisor (within the context of any given position) and is aware to whom he or she is responsible for supervision and accountability. This method of organization encourages structured and consistent lines of communication and prevents positions, tasks, and assignments from being overlooked. The overall goals and objectives of the organization can be more effectively passed down through the rank and file members in a consistent fashion.

As shown, the organizational structure is charted with clear, designated operating divisions that permit the core functions of the organization to be the primary focus of specific supervisors and assigned members. While some task-level activities may carry over from division to division, the primary focus

7 The department provided a multi-page organizational chart. ESCi compiled the charts into the figure shown.

14 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan of leadership, management, and budgeting within the division are clarified by the division's key function within the mission statement. Those individuals supervising or operating within a specific division are positively clear as to the role of the division and its goals and objectives.

The chief executive officer (Fire Chief) appears to directly supervise seven other individuals, including the Deputy Chief, three Assistant Chiefs, Volunteer Division Chief, the Fire Marshal, and an Executive Secretary. Given that only one of the Assistant Chiefs is on-duty per 24-hour shift, the Chief's span of control falls within the range typically considered normal and acceptable. This is a positive reflection on the agency's organizational structure, since many times Chief officers accept or encourage a span of control that greatly exceeds their ability to maintain good communication and leadership, often with good intentions but just as often to the detriment of the department. The Fire Chief has been provided with the authority to impose discipline up to, and including, recommending termination where appropriate to the Mayor.

Unfortunately, the organizational chart shown above does not truly represent the manner in which this department operates. While the appearance, on paper, is that the St. Cloud Fire Chief has full organizational control, the reality is that the Volunteer (paid-on-call) Division operates in the fashion of a completely separate organization. In fact, during interviews, personnel at both the career and paid- on-call level referred to the division as a “department”, further reinforcing an apparent culture of organizational independence.

According to interviews, the paid-on-call personnel elect their own “Fire Chief”, Assistant Chiefs, and Secretary. As stated earlier, the division operates under completely separate rules and policies. Though paid-on-call firefighters are appointed through the City’s Human Resource Department, a separate Board of Review is used by the paid-on-call members to deal with personnel issues. Members admitted that they even maintain their own Training Division, handle much of their own facility and apparatus maintenance, and have a separate financial budget for the paid-on-call “department”.

As a result of our observations, we conclude that the actual organizational structure of the St. Cloud fire service system is more accurately reflected in the following figure.

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Figure 3: Observed Organizational Structure of St. Cloud Fire Protection

The history behind this existing organizational structure is associated directly with an agreement forged as part of the unification between the City of St. Cloud and St. Cloud Township ten years ago. At the time, the volunteers operated the Township’s fire department and were, indeed, a distinctly separate organization. The City annexed the unincorporated portions of the Township through a process negotiated between the elected officials of both entities. During that process, the methodology for merging the two fire departments was designed.

The merger agreement as it relates to the unification of the two fire departments was poorly designed. In an effort to accomplish a unification in an atmosphere of stressful political change, the agreement attempted to provide assurances to each fire department that the effects of the merger would be kept to a minimum. The result was a series of organizational compromises that, in effect, kept two fire departments operating under a single name. In the simplest terms, the two departments are not “married”, they are simply “roommates”.

This internal culture of organizational independence is extremely counterproductive to an effective fire service consolidation or merger. In order to build a unified organization, individual employees and members must accept a unified identity and build pride, loyalty, and camaraderie toward that end. Mechanisms of divisiveness must be eliminated wherever possible. An examination of some of the

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most effective fire service mergers in the United States will quickly reveal outstanding examples of this principal. Examples include:

• Tualatin Valley Fire Rescue Department near Portland, Oregon • Orange County Fire Authority in Orange County, California • Central Kitsap County Fire Rescue in Kitsap County, Washington • Clackamas County F.D. #1 in Clackamas County, Oregon • LaPlata County Fire in Colorado • Eastside Fire and Rescue in Washington State

If the St. Cloud Fire Department is to develop into a more united organization, it must overcome ten years of destructive organizational culture precipitated by an ineffective, though well intended, merger design. The initial step will need to be the development of willingness, “buy-in”, and acceptance by its members. The intended organizational structure of the unified department, shown in Figure 2, must be fully implemented in actual reality and not just on paper. The programs, processes, and organizational procedures that have supported dysfunction must be eliminated. This would include the elimination of separate policy documents, separate programs (such as training and maintenance), separate membership meetings and, eventually, the separate facilities operated by career and paid-on-call personnel.

The problems related to the attempt to maintain some organizational independence of these two formerly separate fire departments stretches beyond organizational culture and structure. Additional comments regarding issues related to this organizational problem will be found in other sections of this report, including its effect on service delivery.

Maintenance of History

The Saint Cloud Fire Department has at least some level of history retention programs in place. Appropriate records of all corporate or municipal meetings are maintained in accordance with the laws of the state governing various types of public meetings and decisions involving public funds. However, the department does not formally maintain a "scrapbook" or file containing items of historical significance, including pictures, newspaper articles, etc. This is a missed opportunity, as such items are helpful when updating a historical perspective of the organization and the major events in its development.

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A regularly maintained historical record serves as a valuable tool for planning and decision-making. It allows quick recollection of how the department has adapted to changes in the community. It provides valuable historical data to agencies, such as the Insurance Services Office, for evaluation purposes. It also allows for permanent memory of the people who have contributed to the success of the department in its service to the community.

A well-produced annual report can serve to satisfy this need. In addition, an annual report is a wonderful communications tool to share the efforts and activities of the department with the public. The department has been producing and distributing an annual report of activities and accomplishments that provides a measurement of its activities and performance. The annual report is professional in appearance and well-written.

We commend the department for its efforts on the annual report and make only the following suggestion. At a minimum an annual report should include:

• Brief history of the department • Summary of events and activities during the report year • Description of major incidents handled by the department • Descriptions of new or improved services and programs • List of people who served with the department during the year • Awards received by the department or individuals • Financial summary including revenues and expenditures, grants, etc. • Statistical analysis, with trends, of key community service level indicators

The annual report should be printed and distributed to the community and made available at such places as the local chamber of commerce and library.

Finance

The tax capacity value of the City of Saint Cloud is $34,687,421 with a total current fiscal year tax rate for its operating expense fund of 39.30. Fire department operating expenses are included in this tax rate and are part of the City’s General Fund.

The City incurred approximately $2.5 million in debt related to the fire service, primarily for the construction of Station #1, and is expected to retire this debt in 2006. Approximately $550,000 is remaining in the debt, which is serviced through the General Fund and is included in the total tax rate

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indicated above. In addition, the City is involved in paying an unfunded liability resulting from the transfer of its Fire Relief Association, which merged into the Public Employee Retirement Association in 1989. This will require an annual payment of $424,000 for another four years.

The following figures provide an overview of the fiscal year budget8 for the fire department. The Hazardous Materials, Volunteer Division, and Fire Relief programs are established as separate funds, but are included here to account for all fire protection expenditures.

Figure 4: Budget By Category

St. Cloud FD Budget- 2004

Services and Capital Outlay, Fire Relief, Hazardous Charges, $4,300 $424,000 Materials, $174,100 $10,000 Volunteer Division, Supplies, $193,400 $144,400

Personal Services, $4,589,900

These expenditures are paid primarily from the General Fund, either directly or through intergovernmental transfer. Revenue sources include a contract with St. Augusta for fire protection services generating approximately $40,000 annually, a contract for the provision of regional hazardous materials services for approximately $45,000 annually, and certain plan review fees, alarm fees, and permit fees.

Given the population receiving direct services from the Saint Cloud Fire Department, the following chart demonstrates fire protection costs9 per person and contrasts this with other communities, both larger and smaller.

8 Budget in effect at time of project fieldwork. Includes all fire protection expenditures except debt service. 9 Excludes debt service and payments to unfunded Fire Relief liability.

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Figure 5: Fire Service Cost Per Person

Comparison of Tax Cost per Capita $175.00 $150.00 $150.00 $125.00 $100.00 $100.00 $83.87 $75.00 $60.00 $50.00 $25.00 $15.00 $-

e e e g g ge g D n n n n F a a a a ud R R R R o w h w h l o ig o ig t C L H L H in n n al l a a a r ra S rb rb u u U R R U

The comparison figures that are provided have been developed by ESCi and, as such, represent the company’s collective experience with fire service tax costs as observed during work in agency evaluations, growth management plans, staffing studies, station location studies, merger and consolidation studies, and strategic planning in fire department agencies. As used in this chart, urban refers to those communities utilizing primarily career or combination staffing systems serving populations in excess of 20,000 persons or with average population densities of greater than 3,000 persons per square mile. Rural refers to those communities utilizing primarily volunteer staffing systems serving populations less than 20,000 or with average population densities of less than 3,000 per square mile.

Since the Saint Cloud Fire Department is a combination of urbanized residential and commercial development bordered by suburban properties, we select to consider the urban cost ranges as the most appropriate benchmark. The chart above demonstrates a very reasonable emergency services cost per person within the Saint Cloud Fire Department, one which is significantly lower than our comparable urban benchmark.

Cost Recovery Efforts

For most emergency service systems, major cost recovery options are limited primarily to Emergency Medical Services, where costs are underwritten by health insurance providers and Medicare. Additional possibilities exist in the area of hazardous materials response, fire suppression response, and code enforcement.

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Some revenue can be gleaned from response to hazardous materials incidents, where “spiller pays” laws often require that departments are reimbursed for their mitigation efforts. However, this is typically limited to actual documented expenditures and, with the exception of very busy hazmat teams, provides little in the way of a predictable revenue stream.

Some fire departments have initiated billing for fire suppression responses, primarily to insured structures. However, most insurance carriers provide very limited coverage for such fees, thus the revenue is rarely worth the political and public relations challenges or the administrative efforts to collect it. As a result, many such efforts have begun and failed.

Code enforcement efforts often provide the most reliable, consistent and predictable source of revenue aside from EMS. Many communities have established a fee ordinance for their code enforcement division which initiates billing for everything from routine inspections to licenses and plan review. Code enforcement fees such as this can be based on occupancy type (reflecting the relative complexity of the inspection), while plan review fees are often based on the square footage of the structure reviewed.

There are some cost recovery efforts underway in Saint Cloud Fire Department, consisting primarily of limited fees for certain plan reviews and permits.

The Saint Cloud Fire Department does not generally charge for services provided by the Fire Marshal and, given the strength of the business and development community, the initiation of such fees may be a public relations challenge. However, given the potential revenue, it may be worth pursuing at some point. The following table demonstrates potential revenue based on sample fees for services and the number of such services performed as reported in the previous year. The table demonstrates a revenue potential of over $55,000 which could be used to offset the costs of the Prevention Division.

Figure 6: Estimated Revenue Potential - Code Enforcement

Activity '01-'02 Sample Potential Fee Revenue Inspections 507$ 50.00 $ 25,350.00 Re-Inspections 461$ 25.00 $ 11,512.50 Permits 384$ 50.00 $ 19,200.00 Total$ 56,062.50

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Given the limited amount of revenue from this source, this report is not necessarily recommending a fee structure for code enforcement be initiated at this time, but consideration should be given to its overall potential.

As a final note in regards to cost recovery and revenue issues, our initial review indicates that the fees charged to St. Augusta for fire protection should be revisited. As indicated earlier, the roughly estimated fire protection costs per capita in St. Cloud is about $84. Using the estimate of population served in St. Augusta, we see that the roughly estimated fire protection cost per capita there is only about $26. While we agree that some disparity may be appropriate given the much greater travel distance to that service area, the difference should not likely be this great.

The City’s Finance Department should conduct a more thorough analysis of assessed values protected, as well as other pertinent factors, and reconsider whether the existing service fee of $40,000 to St. Augusta is appropriate. Failure to charge a reasonable fee results in a subsidy of the St. Augusta services by the taxpayers of St. Cloud.

Population

The Saint Cloud Fire Department provides direct emergency services to an estimated population of nearly 60,000. Several interesting points of demographic data are provided in the following table, derived from the 2000 U.S. Census information for the City of Saint Cloud.

Figure 7: SCFD Demographic Data, Population and Housing

Selected Demographic Information- City of St. Cloud 1990 to 2000 Total Pop Age <5 5 to 24 25 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74 75 and up 2000 59,107 3265 23255 16285 6589 3649 3054 3010 1990 48,812 3025 20628 13875 3197 3086 2689 2312 change 21% 8% 13% 17% 106% 18% 14% 30%

Demographics- Population By Age

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0 Age <5 5 to 24 25 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74 75 and up

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Selected Housing Information- City of St. Cloud 1990 to 2000 Housing Units Owner Occupied Renter Occupied Vacant 2000 23249 12671 9981 597 1990 18828 9195 8731 902 change 23% 38% 14% -34%

Demographics- Housing By Occupancy

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0 Housing Units Owner Occupied Renter Occupied Vacant

During the last decade, the population of St. Cloud grew by 21%. Recent growth rates in the population are expected to continue.

Alarms

According to the data provided by the department, the Saint Cloud Fire Department responded to a total of 1,556 emergency calls in 2003. The following figure provides an overview of the workload history of SCFD for emergency responses. Additional analysis and projection of call volume will be found later in this report.

Figure 8: SCFD Five-Year Call Volume History

Five-year Workload History 1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Fire 323 354 331 303 358 Rescue 264 255 261 235 243 Other 854 841 908 998 955

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Objective Two- Management Components As with most emergency service agencies, the Saint Cloud Fire Department faces challenges to organizational growth and management. In addition to the continuing growth of the community and workload, the management of personnel always presents unique issues involving the consistency and adequacy of response, maintenance of competencies, and recruitment of future workforce. This section of the report examines the department’s efforts in this area and preparation for the future health of the organization.

Mission, Vision, Strategic Planning, Goals and Objectives

The process of strategic planning involves clarifying an organization’s mission, articulating its vision for the future, and specifying the values within which it will conduct itself.

The City of Saint Cloud has completed a citywide strategic planning process that involved the various departments of the City charting a clear direction for its future. The City's mission statement is valid and up-to-date, and clear values have been articulated in writing. A vision is provided by the document, enabling readers to identify where the City intends to be in the next several years.

Through its strategic planning process, the City has stated the specific goals and objectives whereby it intends to meet its vision. These goals and objectives provide clear guidance in decision-making and focus the government's efforts on the most critical issues that will impact its success in the future. In addition, the plan provides the employees with clear direction on the future and how they each fit in.

The City is to be praised for its proactive efforts in this respect and should continue to maintain the Strategic Plan as a living, up-to-date document through revision meetings with its planning team at least annually.

At the department level itself, strategic planning has not been completed. Though a citywide effort provides the global view of the City’s goals and objectives, a strategic planning effort within the fire department can involve members at various levels within the organization addressing critical issues and goals for their specific agency. Experience has shown that such planning efforts within a fire department lead to improved morale, commitment, and an increased sense of responsibility for organizational problem-solving. We recommend a strategic planning effort be completed at the fire department level.

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Availability of SOG's, Rules, Regulations, and Policies

As discussed previously in this report, departmental management policies exist. Regardless of the quality or condition of such policies and guidelines, their availability and familiarity to workers is critical.

Department members indicate that administrative policies or rules and regulations are available in the workplace or distributed individually. This practice is encouraged, since easy access to such policy is important and reinforces its importance in the organization. A distribution system is also in place to confirm the receipt of revisions or additions to the documents.

Standard Operating Guidelines have been distributed adequately in support of their purpose. Members have access to the operational guidelines for reference during training sessions and drills and can study them at their leisure. This encourages the daily use and application of the guidelines and ensures that outdated ones are brought to the attention of management as early as possible.

Critical Issues

It is extremely important that there be a clear understanding of critical issues facing the departments. Without such an understanding, department leadership cannot be prepared to face these issues. In addition, the enunciation of critical issues to employees and members increases their awareness of the organization’s priorities and assists them in becoming focused on solutions.

A further exploration of critical issues should be completed during strategic planning processes, but for now, the following issues should be given serious consideration for inclusion in the final list. These are items that have been identified by the officers of the departments as issues with significant potential for impacting the success of the organization and the effectiveness of its service.

In the Saint Cloud Fire Department, they are:

1. The organization structure of SCFD between career and paid-on-call 2. The department's involvement in EMS first response 3. Potential burnout of administrative personnel wearing "multiple hats" and juggling responsibilities 4. The need for a south side fire station

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As with critical issues, it is important for any agency to have an appropriate level of future thinking. This permits an agency to identify what external challenges may present themselves to the organization in the coming years. This awareness of future challenges ensures that the department does not miss out on opportunities or blindly stumble into crisis unprepared.

Again, further exploration of future challenges should be part of a complete strategic planning process, but the following items have been identified by the officers of the department as external challenges likely to be faced by the agency in the coming few years.

1. The demand for fire prevention services vs. the capability of the division as funded 2. The trickle-down effect of state budget cuts 3. Increasing mandates in training and certification

Internal and External Communications

Quality communications is an achievable goal for any organization, but one that always seems to be most elusive. However, it is extremely important. To its credit, there are some established communication processes within this department that provide opportunities for department personnel to be heard and be involved. However, there continues to be room for improvement in internal communications.

Staff meetings involving primary management staff and officers are consistently held in the agency, though at a relatively low frequency. Senior staff members conduct a semi-annual meeting, while operational meetings occur from time to time with line officers. Regularly scheduled meetings permit management personnel to openly exchange ideas on a regular basis, share issues and concerns, apply creative teambuilding and problem-solving, and improve the overall flow of communications. Minutes or summaries of regular staff meetings are not regularly made available or distributed for review by all members of the organization. Such an effort is recommended, as it encourages internal communications and permits members to share ideas on issues involving departmental issues, enhancing a feeling of empowerment among personnel.

Written, formal memorandums are regularly utilized for distribution of information, ensuring that all members receive critical data in an organized and consistent fashion. This process also provides a critical written record of internal communications that are important to organizational efficiency. A

26 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan systematic method for distribution of written communications is in place and is followed regularly in order to make certain that no members are left out of the information loop. When certain types of critical memos or policies are released, a system has been established for verification of the distribution to all personnel. This system provides a record of confirmation that the information was received and improves accountability.

Opportunities such as open personnel meetings or forums are rarely held for the purpose of exchanging and discussing concerns, ideas, or issues directly with management staff. These types of opportunities enhance the feeling of teamwork, open lines of communications, and encourage a feeling of ownership among the members. Some effort in this regard is recommended. No employee/member newsletter has been initiated. Internal newsletters provide an excellent opportunity for distribution of agency news and information, as well as less formal information about members such as birthdays, marriages, or personal off-duty accomplishments. Though such newsletters require significant effort, they have proven very beneficial in organizations that utilize them.

Departmental bulletin boards are adequately controlled and organized, with information being sorted and updated on a regular basis.

Departmental business email addresses have been issued to appropriate personnel, offering an efficient and verifiable method of information distribution. Individual member mailboxes or station/shift mailboxes are used to exchange important hard-copy documents and prevent missing or misplaced documents. Voicemail, another modern and useful means of exchanging information, has been put in place for primary staff and officers permitting other members or the external customer to efficiently and quickly leave personal contact messages.

Various efforts are currently made to communicate with the public. The department has not published a community newsletter for distribution to the public. Such a newsletter would permit the release of specific and detailed information, authored directly by the agency, to those served by its programs and could be an excellent tool for improved public relations. A formal procedure has been established for handling complaints from the public and is intended to make certain such complaints are handled consistently, quickly, and with due process.

Though the fire department has some pages on the City website, it does not yet maintain what would be considered a truly progressive website to provide an additional means of distributing information and communicating with the public. Many model fire department websites are available as examples and typically contain a variety of information sufficient to answer the most frequent inquiries of the

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public at large. The site must be kept up to date and should provide contact information for major programs operated by the department.

On occasion, the department has performed a public survey or questionnaire intended to provide customer feedback on service priorities, quality issues, or performance efforts. These surveys, when utilized appropriately, can provide valuable input for organizational planning. Consideration should be given to establishing a citizen's advisory group that can meet occasionally with department management to provide the customer perspective to issues within the department and assist in planning efforts. This process encourages a close connection between agency management and the consumer of its services and also serves as an additional public relations tool.

Document Control and Security

Records management is a critical function to any organization. A variety of uses are made of written records and, therefore, their integrity must be protected. State law requires public access to certain fire department documents and data. Clear written procedures are in place to provide for public records access through the department staff. Paper records (hard copy files) are adequately secured with passage and/or container locks with limited access. Important computer files are backed-up to a secure data location on a regular and consistent basis.

The Saint Cloud Fire Department has a significant investment in facilities, apparatus, equipment and other items, along with its financial assets. Protecting these assets is very important. Stations are reported to be inconsistently locked and inadequately secured from unauthorized entry. Public access to the buildings is not sufficiently limited to business areas and visitors are sometimes permitted to move about freely without being accompanied by an employee. Locking codes are rarely changed to prevent unauthorized entry. No security alarm systems are used to provide for automatic notification of unauthorized entry or break-in, though monitored fire alarm systems provide early smoke and fire detection for buildings, as well as an additional life-safety measure for occupants in the event of a fire.

Department computers are programmed with password security on sensitive file access and software to provide an additional level of security and data integrity. However, personnel often leave their work stations without logging out, allowing for unauthorized persons to use their access in their absence. Firewall protection is in place for computers accessing the internet and other outside servers. The protection is adequately up to date and capable of preventing most unauthorized network intrusions. Up to date virus protection software is utilized on all incoming email and files or operating systems are regularly scanned for undetected virus infection.

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The agency maintains a current inventory of capital assets whose value is in excess of a specified dollar value. A process is in place to maintain this inventory and new assets are logged and recorded at purchase. Some amount of business-related cash is routinely kept on the premises of the department, increasing the risk associated with burglary and theft. Petty cash is available for use by key managers, but even tightly controlled petty cash systems can pose problems in loss, theft, or accountability. The department may wish to eliminate this practice in favor of rapid reimbursement systems or use-controlled credit cards. General-use credit cards, such as VISA™ or MASTERCARD™, are issued to key managers, but strict account controls, low credit limits, and zero liability fraud protection are in place. Written, formal purchasing policies and procedures are in place and are strictly enforced. Virtually all purchases require specific purchase orders (PO,s) with appropriate approval signatures and appropriation verifications.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) includes regulations that require all individually-identifiable health care information be protected to ensure privacy and confidentiality when stored, maintained, or transmitted. The law primarily applies to agencies involved in transportation and billing of patients. Still, the Saint Cloud Fire Department, upon becoming involved in EMS first responder services, should appoint a HIPAA compliance officer and institute strict policies to guide medical records security. Efforts to access response records containing protected medical information should be strictly controlled and require appropriate identification of the purposes involved in such access.

Reporting and Records

The department utilizes records management software to enter and store incident information. The software is compliant with NFIRS (National Fire Incident Reporting System) standards, but the software is difficult to manage, has limited capability for analysis, and is only able to generate a limited number of reports. Training records are maintained on computer, permitting some retrieval of accurate reports on training attendance, certification status, and subject matter. Code enforcement activities and occupancy records are maintained in an effective database to permit analysis of prevention activities, community risks, and trends. Maintenance records for apparatus and equipment are computerized to increase the efficiency of the fleet management program.

Personnel records are complete and up-to-date, and maintained in a manner that protects private medical information. Records are maintained on employment history, discipline, commendations, work assignments, injuries, exposures and leave time. Financial activities, including budgets, expenditures, revenues, purchase orders, and other encumbrances are kept in a financial records management

29 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan software system permitting consistent and up-to-date monitoring of all financial activities and accounts.

The department uses a PC-based computer system, with Windows XP as its primary operating system, and all computers are networked to a municipal server.

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Objective Three- Planning The emergency services exist in a rapidly changing environment. Along with improvements in tools and methods used to provide service comes increased regulation of activities, new risks to protect, and other challenges that can quickly catch the unwary off guard. Only through continuous internal and external environmental awareness and periodic course corrections can an organization stay on the leading edge. The St. Cloud Fire Department (SCFD) has recognized the need for a stronger planning effort by pursuing this evaluation, master plan, and considering a customer centered strategic plan.

The St. Cloud Fire Department operates under the following Mission Statement:

The Primary Mission of the St. Cloud Fire Department is to provide emergency services to protect the lives and property of those it serves from dangerous conditions through the following: Fire Suppression Public Education Light and Heavy Rescue Emergency Medical Services Hazardous Material Control Fire Prevention & Code Enforcement

Organizational Planning Processes

The process of planning in advance for occurrences that will take place in the future requires both discipline and organization. In order to be truly effective, an emergency services agency must consider planning on three distinct levels: tactical planning, operational planning, and master planning. Tactical planning is practical preparation of incident strategies for potential emergency incidents. Operational planning is preparation for the day-to-day activities of the agency and its integration into other regional or national response networks. Master planning (long range planning) is preparation for the future success and effectiveness of the agency in a changing environment.

There is active short-term planning occurring within the Fire Department. The budget process is used to define the level of effort for the year involved. Day-to-day activity planning also occurs. The truly long-term perspective is not sufficiently emphasized. Creating a truly long-term perspective is important to the organization. The capability to conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis of level or quality of service should be developed. Since this clear definition is missing, it is difficult for policy makers and department managers to know when “great service” is achieved. Developing well-

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defined performance objectives at the Department level will allow the organization and policy makers to more readily identify and address future service delivery issues.

Tactical Planning

A firefighter’s typical work area is usually quite foreign to him or her. Normally, a firefighter’s first visit to a building is when the building is involved in fire or other emergency. This is also the point in time where the internal environment is at its worst. Contrary to Hollywood’s portrayal of the inside of a building on fire, visibility is at or near zero due to smoke. A lack of familiarity with a building can easily lead a firefighter to become disoriented or injured by an unfamiliar internal layout, or by equipment or other hazards that might be encountered.

It is critically important that firefighters and command staff have comprehensive, accurate information readily at hand to identify hazards, direct tactical operations, and use built-in fire resistive features. This can only be accomplished by building familiarization tours, developing pre-fire plans, and conducting tactical exercises, either on-site or by tabletop simulation.

Establishing a comprehensive process to create and maintain pre-incident plans should become a priority for the SCFD. A defined list of “target hazards” should be developed and aggressive effort taken to ensure response crews have copies of these plans available. Target hazards are defined by:

• Buildings with large potential occupant loads • Buildings with populations who are partially or completely non-ambulatory • Buildings of large size (greater than 12,000 square feet) • Buildings that contain process hazards such as hazardous materials or equipment

Pre-incident plans should be easy to use, quick reference tools, for company officers and command staff. At a minimum a pre-incident plan should include information such as:

• Building construction • Occupant characteristics • Incorporated fire protection systems • Capabilities of public or industrial responding personnel • Water supply • Exposure factors • Facility layouts

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National Fire Protection Association Standard #1620 provides excellent information on the development and use of pre-incident plans and should be used as a reference.

Once pre-plans are established and/or updated, training should be provided to all personnel who may respond to an incident at those locations. In addition, copies of pre-incident plans and drawings should be available on each response vehicle.

Operational Planning

The SCFD enjoys local and regional mutual aid agreements with neighboring emergency services organizations. Mutual aid agreements, contracts, and joint powers agreements currently in place with the SCFD are as follows:

• State of Minnesota Chemical Assessment Team Contract • Fire Protection Contract with the City of St. Augusta • Merger Agreement between the City of St. Cloud and the St. Cloud Township • Tri-County Hazardous Materials Joint Powers Agreement • Automatic Mutual Aid Agreement for the Provision of Aircraft Fire Suppression Services • Central Minnesota Fire Aid Association • Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement

The City of St. Cloud Emergency Management Office has done a good job establishing itself as a resource to the Fire Department. The department can coordinate with other public and private entities to provide additional support as needed and as available. Maintaining a comprehensive and current emergency plan and resource list is the best opportunity for the Department to ensure adequate resources are readily available to control major events. SCFD provides the regional hazmat response unit/resource.

The Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act, found in Title III of the Federal Code (SARA Title III), defines requirements for the tracking of hazardous materials used in fixed facilities and establishes requirements for emergency response planning. The City of St. Cloud Emergency Management Office facilitates the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) responsibility for the City. The LEPC is charged with the responsibility to identify and collect information on the use of hazardous materials by private and public entities. Information collected includes the type of material, quantity, and location at each site. Additionally the LEPC is charged with ensuring local response plans are adequate based on potential risk.

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SARA Title III requires industries that use over a threshold limit of certain highly hazardous materials (extremely hazardous substance facilities – EHS) must develop comprehensive emergency plans for their facility. The act requires that local fire departments coordinate with the involved industry to ensure a quality response to the emergency.

The SCFD and the Emergency Manager, in concert with the LEPC, need to confirm that all EHS facilities within its service area have been identified, ensure that a local plan has been developed, and that fire department operations have been coordinated with it.

Additionally, the SCFD needs to confirm that mandated Tier II reporting forms are being received, reviewed, properly filed, and available for training and use during emergency responses. The status of this process is in question.

Master Planning

The City of St. Cloud’s City Leadership Team has developed a list of consensus goals in conjunction with the City’s new vision and mission statements. The SCFD is an active participant in this action plan. Below is a list of the goals and action steps where the SCFD has responsibility in obtaining the stated City goals.

Goal #1 - To Enhance the City’s Revenue Sources Action Step 1 - Pursue Grants o Pursue 2004 FEMA Grant o Pursue Hazardous Materials Team Grants o Pursue Homeland Security Grants Awarded to Stearns County o Pursue Training Grants o Pursue SAFER Grants Target Date – On going Action Step 2 – Explore Consolidation of Services o Pursue Consolidating Permitting within the City of St. Cloud Target Date – On going Action Step 3 – Research Fee Structure to offset Fire Prevention Division costs Target Date – Research by 12/2004, Presentation 02/2005

Goal #2 - To Ensure a Favorable Public Image of the City Action Step 1 – Conduct an Annual Satisfaction Survey o Fire Department to actively participate in Customer Satisfaction Survey one developed by Administration Target Date – TBD o Fire Department should review current Customer Feedback Report System for any needed modifications and/or improvements. Target Date – 11/2004

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Goal #3 – To Foster Increased Communications & Cooperation with Neighboring Jurisdictions o Action Step 1 – The Fire Department should continue with existing Mutual Aid Agreements and Contracts for services through 2005. Any changes should be based in part on the recommendations of the Fire Service Study and Master Plan. 1. Mutual Aid Requirements ƒ Central Minnesota Fire Aid Association ƒ Airport Automatic Mutual Aid Agreement ƒ Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement 2. Joint Powers Agreements and Contracts ƒ Tri-County Hazardous Material Response Agreement Target Date – On going. Continue with Current fee through 2005 ƒ State of Minnesota Chemical Assessment Team Svcs Contract ƒ St. Augusta Fire Protection Contract Target Date – On going Review/Discussions 2005 o Action Step #2 – Continue Joint Planning Efforts 1. Stearns County Emergency Planning Committee Target Date – On going 2. Stearns County 911 Task Force Target Date – On going 3. Stearns County EMS Task Force Target Date – Recommendation/Application 09/2004; begin two year term 01/2005 4. City/County Emergency Operations Plan Target Date – On going 5. St. Cloud & Central Minnesota Shared Radio Project Target Date – On going 6. Statewide 800 Megahertz Radio Board Target Date – On going o Action Step #3 – Create Intergovernmental Communications Target Date – On going o Action Step #4 – Orderly Annexation Agreement Target Date – On going o Action Step #5 – Create Issue Specific Metro Task Forces Target Date – On going o Action Step #6 – Staff Communicate Between Governments Target Date – On going

Goal #4 – To Recruit and Retain High Quality Employees o Action Step #1 – Provide On going Staff Development 1. New Fire Fighter Orientation Program Target Date – On going. Final 11/2004 2. Driver Operator Program Target Date – On going. Entire fleet 12/2005 3. Provide for complete revision of Department training program and training documentation Target Date – On going. 12/2004

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4. Develop Officer Candidate Training Program including certification of Company Officer Trainers Target Date – On going. Full implementation 07/2005 o Action Step #2 – Respond to Survey Issues and Other Concerns Target Date – Review results 09/2004; Develop/Implement change 11/2004 o Action Step #3 – Provide Challenge and Growth Opportunities Continue to develop Company Officer Development Program with Technical College Target Date – Fall 2004 o Action Step #4 – Recognize Staff Talents 1. Institute a Department staff recognition program. Target Date – Discuss 10/2004; Research 01/2005; Implement 07/2005 2. Participate in current City recognition program Target Date – On going 3. Develop a plan to make member recognition part of our organizational culture Target Date – 12/2004

Goal #5 – To Utilize Technology When & Where Appropriate • Action Step #1 – Reduce paper through the use of document imaging 1. Participate in IT survey Target Date – 06/2004 2. Participate with Planning GIS Technology Project Target Date – 02/2005 • Action Step #2 – Expand Availability of Current Technologies 1. Participate in IT survey Target Date – 06/2004 2. Participate with Planning GIS Technology Project Target Date – 02/2005 • Action Step #3 – Work with Cable Providers to Customize Delivery of Info Have Fire Prevention Division research the possibility of running some type of fire safety and public fire education programs on the local cable access channels. Target Date – 03/2005

Goal #6 – To Ensure the Safety and Security of the City’s Employees • Action Step #1 – Continue providing safety equipment for field employees 1. Continue to support efforts of the Department Hazard Control Committee Target Date – On going 2. Review current turnout gear inspection and replacement program. Target Date – 12/2005

Goal #7 – To Address Demographic & Diversity Related Issues Facing the City • Action Step #1 – Outreach to diverse populations 1. Have the Fire Prevention Division research best practices for providing public fire safety education to diverse populations Target Date – 03/2005

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2. Pursue training opportunities for Fire Prevention staff in the area of public fire education Target Date – On going 3. Continue efforts to recruit a diverse workforce Target Date – On going • Action Step #2 – Foster systemic/institutional change 1. Continue efforts to recruit a diverse workforce Target Date – On going 2. Participate in training opportunities offered through the City Target Date – On going • Action Step #3 – Recruiting and Making Accommodations to Utilize Talents of Diverse Populations Continue efforts to recruit a diverse workforce Target Date – On going

The participation of the SCFD in the City of St. Cloud’s City Leadership Team list of consensus goals in conjunction with the City’s new vision and mission statements is an admirable undertaking and addresses many of the elements of strategic planning that would be included in a Departmental customer-oriented, long term strategic plan.

The Department’s plan would complement the City’s process. This plan would take input from representative community leaders and members to be incorporated into a strategic planning process comprised of a cross section of SCFD employees representing all career ladders all ranks and the bargaining unit.

Establishing a customer oriented, long-term strategic plan would accomplish the following:

• Develop a mission statement giving careful attention to the services currently provided and which logically can be provided in the future. • Develop a Vision of the future. • Establish the Values of the members of the Department. • Identify the Strengths of the Department. • Identify the Weaknesses of the Department. • Identify areas of Opportunity for the organization. • Identify potential Threats to the organization. • Define the Services provided to the Community.

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• Establish the Community’s service priorities. • Establish the Community’s expectations of the Department. • Identify any concerns the Community may have about the organization and its services. • Identity those aspects of the organization and its services the Community view positively. • Establish realistic goals and objectives for the future. • Identify implementation tasks for each objective. • Define service outcomes in the form of measurable performance objectives and targets. • Develop organizational and community commitment to the plan.

In addition to the intra-Departmental master-planning considerations for the SCFD, the Department is currently involved in the following joint planning efforts:

• Stearns County Emergency Planning Committee – This Committee assists in the planning and preparation of the area emergency response community and has been actively involved in the distribution of County grant monies and training opportunities • Stearns County 911 Task Force – This Committee is charged with review and maintenance of the EMS assets within Stearns County. • City/County Emergency Operations Plan – The Department assists in the development and annual review of these plans. • St. Cloud and Central Minnesota Shared Radio Project – This project team is responsible for the development of a new shared radio system for the City and Central Minnesota. • Statewide 800 Megahertz Radio Board – This Board has the governance function for the statewide radio system.

Part of the SCFD’s master planning responsibility must include the Insurance Services Office. The Insurance Services Office, Inc., (ISO) of Marlton, NJ, reviews fire protection capabilities of Minnesota Fire Departments. Communities receive a public protection classification ranging from one to ten with one being ideal protection and ten being no protection. The public protection classification primarily affects the cost of fire insurance for most properties. Generally, the lower the classification, the lower the cost of fire insurance. Thus, attention to this element and its relationship to the cost of fire protection can be an important consideration.

Additional information on the department’s ISO rating and conditions of service delivery related to this rating may be found in the objective eight section of this evaluation titled “Service Delivery”.

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External Customer Planning Involvement

Because the community is the recipient of services and the source of funding for services, their needs and expectations must be a key consideration to selecting the type and level of provided services. Though some effort is made to solicit these views, additional involvement tools should be considered.

Generally, the SCFD does not conduct a comprehensive community survey to solicit a broader base of community expectations, concerns and positive feedback. A well-crafted survey can provide invaluable information to the organization and should be considered. Surveys should be conducted periodically to ensure the Department’s knowledge of community expectations is current, and any concerns are documented and dealt with appropriately. This approach is currently being reviewed within the City’s current goals and objectives.

The SCFD may wish to consider establishing a citizen’s advisory committee/board similar to that used by the St. Cloud Police Department. This committee/board would provide advice and input to the Fire Department and elected officials on such matters as:

• Long-term strategies • Staffing strategies • New services and programs • Performance objectives and targets

This “third party” approach can provide another perspective to fire department needs and provide additional credibility to Department budgetary, policy, and resource requests.

Internal Customer Planning Involvement

The employees/members of the Fire Department are also, in a fashion, customers of the organization. They depend on management and support personnel to ensure they have the tools they need, the training they need and other support, so they can be successful in providing vital community services.

At present, there is little opportunity for member involvement in the critical issues facing the organization. Bringing all employees together to share thoughts and ideas is a logistical challenge. Other strategies will also be necessary.

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Technology provides one opportunity. Email, interactive web pages, and such will allow for a more liberal dissemination of information, sharing of ideas, and an opportunity for members to provide feedback on issues of concern. A creative way to schedule staff meetings and the dissemination of all appropriate meeting minutes allow employees/members to feel more involved in departmental decisions and information.

Those delivering the service often have the best ideas about how to improve it. Effective employee/member involvement is a proven management strategy that is a significant opportunity for the department.

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Objective Four- Risk Management The Responsibility of a manager to safeguard the assets of their organization is just as applicable to a fire department as to any business. Although their mission is to manage community risk, fire departments must also be concerned with risk to themselves. These risks can keep the organization from successfully carrying out it mission. The fire department is open to a variety of risk similar to those faced by every private organization.

There are interesting parallels between the fire department and private enterprise. A risk manager in the private sector tries to protect the assets of the enterprise and ensure that it can stay in business. Similarly, a fire department risk manager tries to protect public assets including personnel, facilities, equipment, and making sure the company can perform its mission.

The fire department manager is also the custodian of public funds and assets. He or she must restrict any undesirable outcome that costs money, consumes public dollars, and reduces the capability to spend funds where they would do the most good.

The City of St. Cloud provides the risk management function for the St. Cloud Fire Department. The City Risk Manager documents the frequency and nature of injuries of Department personnel. This information can allow targeted injury prevention and reduction education and workplace modifications to be developed and delivered as a loss reduction strategy. While there is limited interaction between Fire Department management and the Risk Manager, the kind of regular interaction that typically occurs between risk managers and fire departments should include:

• Periodic safety and risk inspections of fire department facilities. • Review of fire department rules, regulations and procedures for potential risk exposure. • Review of contracts and agreements entered into by the fire department for potential risk exposure. • Training of fire officers on emerging risk such as national liability claim trends, injury prevention, etc. • Periodic review, with the Fire Chief, of risk coverage.

Liability Issues

Nothing is accomplished without some element of risk. Since avoiding risk altogether is impossible, effective management of risk is necessary. This involves a variety of strategies including transferring risk to a third party via insurance. The following Insurance Declarations for the SCFD detail their risk transfer arrangement:

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Figure 9: SCFD Liability Insurance Coverage Summary

St. Cloud Fire Department Liability Insurance Coverages Amount General Liability $1,000,000 Business Income & Extra Expense 5,000,000 Crime, Theft, Disappearance 100,000 Faithful Performance 100,000 Pollution Liability 1,000,000 Liquor Liability 1,000,000 Workers Compensation Insurance 1,000,000 Accident Insurance – Volunteer Workers 100,000

We suggest the Department consider pursuing an increase to their general liability amount. In similar evaluation studies we have found agencies carrying as much as $20,000,000 in liability coverage. A $5,000,000 liability coverage would be the minimum we recommend. When one considers the kinds of actions taken by a fire department in the course of delivering increasingly diverse services, along with the potential impact these actions could have on large and densely developed areas of a community, the risks seem more evident. However, it should be noted that the amount the City carries is the amount to which state law limits the tort liability of municipalities. Provided all civil actions are successfully defended under this tort liability limitation, the current insurance amount will be sufficient.

The SCFD hiring process is defined under Civil Service requirements and is administered through the City’s Human Resources Department. Typically career candidates must have successfully completed the 160 hour Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, and First Responder certifications prior to appointment. New employees must complete a formal twelve month probationary period and verify, by signature, that they have received the SCFD and City policy manuals, the discrimination policy, and the sexual harassment policy. Volunteer Division candidates must complete a two-year probationary period. They must successfully complete Firefighter 1 certification in their first year and Firefighter 2, First Responder in their second year.

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The City maintains the official personnel files for employees, although many duplicate files are maintained by the SCFD including performance evaluations, training evaluations & documentation, disciplinary actions, and attendance. Personnel records for Volunteer Division personnel have been moved and consolidated in the City’s Human Resources Department.

Annual safety training is conducted by SCFD including basic fire ground safety, infection control, driver training, respirator training, SCBA fit test, and monthly SCBA safety checks. All employees and members are provided with a full structural firefighting ensemble. Employees must provide approval from their personal doctor before returning to duty from sickness or injury.

Property Issues

The City of St. Cloud maintains extensive property loss coverage for the SCFD through the League of Minnesota Cities as follows:

Figure 10: SCFD Property Insurance Coverage Summary

St. Cloud Fire Department Property Damage Insurance Coverages Amount Fire Stations [3], Fire Halls [2] $3,533,100 Physical Damage to FD Vehicles Value minus $1,000 deductible FD Trucks over $200,000 in value Real Cost Mobile Property $6,089,112 Auto – Bodily Injury/Property Damage $1,000,000 * Auto – Personal Injury MN Statutory Limits * Auto – Uninsured/Underinsured $1,000,000 *

Source: City of St. Cloud Insurance Declaration Documents **There is a $25,000 deductible on liability

Appropriate property insurance coverage appears to be in place for SCFD.

Health and Safety

Firefighting is a very stressful job that requires physically and mentally fit personnel to perform it safely and efficiently. Approximately 50% of firefighter fatalities come from heart attacks. Of those, 50% had existing heart problems. It is clearly in the interest of the Department and the individual firefighters to ensure programs are in place to periodically review and support high levels of medical and physical fitness.

43 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

“The mission of the St. Cloud Fire Department Wellness/Fitness initiative is to promote the primary mission of the Department by providing an environment that values quality of life for its personnel. In addition, to develop a staff that realizes the role optimal health plays in relation to job risks and responsibilities, team performance, and community service.” The SCFD has developed a number of core values to provide direction to its wellness and fitness initiative.

The SCFD only evaluates ongoing physical capacity through casual observation of personnel in their activities. This does not provide the Department with solid information as to whether an individual remains physically capable of performing the rigorous tasks involved in emergency services. Physical capacity testing should be conducted at least annually. The evaluation can mirror an entry-level physical capacity test but should, within limits, give some consideration of an individual’s age.

Physical capacity testing cannot detect all potential limiting conditions of an individual’s health and fitness levels. A periodic medical examination is necessary. National standards for firefighters recommend a regular medical examination. The evaluation should include all the criteria included in the entry-level examination as well as periodic stress EKGs and blood toxicology screening. Communicable disease vaccinations can also be updated as needed during this process.

Currently SCFD requires an entry-level medical evaluation with on-going medical examinations provided every two years for Career Division personnel. The catalyst for this examination has been determining respiratory certification for fire suppression and hazardous materials personnel. It is unclear whether this medical evaluation is based on standards recommended in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard #1582. The Volunteer Division also participates in a regularly scheduled medical examination and respiratory certification. It should be confirmed that all career and paid-on-call complete an entrance and on-going medical examination commensurate with NFPA Standard 1582. The frequency for the on-going examinations should be based on the age of the employee/member.

The SCFD does not currently provide a formal physical fitness program for the Career or Volunteer Divisions personnel. An ongoing fitness program is an important aspect of an overall firefighter training and performance system. NFPA Standard 1583 provides excellent guidance to the development of a comprehensive fitness screening, improvement and maintenance program. Another good source of guidance for ongoing fitness programs is the Wellness/Fitness Initiative jointly produced by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of

44 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Firefighters. The SCFD should continue to work on implementing a Departmental physical fitness program.

NFPA Standard #1500 recommends a fire department have an active safety committee that meets on a regular basis. The SCFD has established a Hazard Control Committee comprised of a member from each rotating shift, a Deputy Chief, an Assistant Chief, and a City safety liaison representative. The City safety liaison appointee represents the SCFD at the monthly meeting of the City’s Safety Committee. The SCFD has not appointed a Safety Officer and the Department’s Hazard Control Committee does not comply with NFPA’s Standard #1500 requirements. Currently a fire Lieutenant represents the SCFD on the City’s Accident Review Board. This board may determine discipline recommendations for the Fire Chief. The shift Assistant Chief is dispatched to SCFD accident scenes involving Department personnel.

The SCFD Hazard Control (Safety) Committee should organize in compliance with NFPA’s Standard #1500 requirements. In addition to these requirements, the Hazard Control Committee should, at a minimum, be involved in the following:

1. Reviewing safety complaints. 2. Conducting safety inspections and making corrective recommendations. 3. Review accidents and make recommendations to prevent future occurrences. 4. Develop safety procedures. 5. Research new equipment to improve safety. 6. Document and distribute minutes and maintain records of activities and findings.

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Objective Five- Personnel Management An organization’s people are its most valuable resource. Careful attention must be paid to managing that resource to achieve maximum productivity for the organization and maximum satisfaction for the individual. A safe working environment, fair treatment, and recognition for a job well done are key components to job satisfaction.

Personnel Policies and Rules

It is important that members of the organization know to whom they should go when they have a problem, question, or issue related to their relationship to the department. In large companies, this function is typically handled by a human resource department. Staff within such a department handles questions, issues, and tasks related to appointment, benefits, performance, disciplines, promotion, or termination of employees.

In similar fashion, the City of Saint Cloud has established a Human Resources Department. In addition, the SCFD has assigned coordination of most human resource functions to a specific individual, providing members with a primary point of contact when it comes to questions regarding their employment or membership.

Written policies are in place that adequately describe the appointment of employees or members, the salary and benefits to which they are entitled, the conditions under which leave time may be utilized, systems to rate personal performance, processes and qualifications for promotion to higher positions, and systems for grievance. As indicated earlier, these policies have been made available to each member.

Compensation, Point System, and Benefits

The department uses a combination of career and paid-on-call10 staffing to carry out its functions. All administrative and support personnel are full-time career staff. Both career and paid-on-call are utilized in emergency response operations.

10 Though use of the term “volunteer” is routine in Saint Cloud, these personnel actually receive hourly wage for both emergency response and training. Thus, they are more appropriately classified with the standard fire service term “paid-on- call”. However, their response to any given incident is voluntary and this probably leads to continued use of the term “volunteer”.

46 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Typical forms of compensation are provided to the full-time staff members, including salary, health insurance, retirement pension, and dental insurance. For general reference purposes, a full-time firefighter will receive a maximum annual salary of approximately $45,912 plus overtime, along with a variety of compensated leave time.

The department’s paid-on-call personnel receive a specified hourly wage for each call to which they respond and a specified hourly wage for certain other activities. Paid-on-call officers receive a small monthly salary. A pension program is in place for these members, as well as a supplemental life insurance program.

The purpose of this study was not to be a thorough compensation analysis. Thus, this evaluation did not attempt to perform in-depth comparisons with other agencies of similar type and makeup. However, it is important that, within the context of this emergency services evaluation, we determine whether the salary and benefit packages appear to be a strength or weakness of the organization as it affects employee morale, loyalty, and turnover.

In short, the benefit package for members of SCFD appears to be reasonably competitive when compared to other similar organizations. It appears that the compensation package does not present a significant threat to the welfare of the organization.

Personnel Records

The maintenance of adequate and up to date personnel records is critical in every organization that depends on the effective performance of its people. It is every bit as important for paid-on-call members as for career employees. For the most part, SCFD keeps adequate written or computerized records of its personnel.

Original application materials are retained in order to create a full historical record of the member's participation in the organization, from initial appointment to separation. Additional documents and records referring to assignments, promotions, commendations, discipline and other personnel actions for career personnel are kept organized and updated. Forms or other documentation pertaining to performance of the member are retained for an appropriate period of time. Reports describing details of accidents or other injuries or injury-related incidents are maintained for future reference and cumulative evaluation or analysis.

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Records of health evaluations, exposures to hazardous substances or contagious diseases, and other medical records are thorough and complete. All medical-related records, protected under federal privacy laws, are kept separate from routine personnel records and access is strictly limited.

The personnel records of paid-on-call members are maintained at the City’s Human Resource Department. The responsibility for maintaining and updating these records is somewhat split between SCFD administration, the Volunteer Division, and the HR Department.

Disciplinary Process

A formal progressive disciplinary process for personnel is not adequately identified in written policies. Instead, disciplinary practices are somewhat vague. A properly written disciplinary process should provide for various levels of discipline focused on correcting unacceptable behaviors with the most reasonable actions considered appropriate and effective. The process under which discipline is applied must be clear and unambiguous, and should be understood in advance.

A multi-level grievance and appeals process is described in written policy and affords the member who feels aggrieved by an unreasonable action the opportunity to have his/her issues reviewed by an impartial party.

Officers within the department have not been provided any formal training in conflict management and application of discipline. This should occur as a part of their preparation for their position or initial job training. Informal interviews with personnel give the impression that members feel organizational discipline practices are reasonable, fair, and consistently and equitably applied to all personnel.

Counseling Services

Emergency services bring otherwise ordinary people into life and death situations that sometimes end very tragically. Even though department personnel are trained responders, they do not have an impregnable shield that prevents them from being affected by traumatic events. Critical incident stress is a very real condition that affects all emergency service workers to some degree or another. It is how emergency workers deal with that stress that makes the difference. The trigger for significant psychological trauma may be a single event, or a series of events compounding on each other.

Fire and EMS departments have recognized the need to provide a support system for their personnel who are exposed to traumatic incidents. SCFD can call upon the services of trained personnel to conduct critical incident stress debriefings through a regional program. Critical incident stress interventions by this group are short-term processes only. Though normally sufficient to help

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emergency personnel cope with the event, on occasion longer-term support is needed. Failure to provide that support can ultimately lead to the loss of a very valuable member.

An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) had been made available to personnel of the department as a long-term stress intervention tool. The EAP provides additional support for other life problems that may affect a member’s motivation and work quality such as substance abuse, marital difficulties, financial complications, and the like.

Application and Recruitment Process

Recruitment of personnel is a critically important function for emergency service agencies. The community places a tremendous amount of trust in fire department personnel. The process used to select personnel should be quite comprehensive.

The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against individuals with physical disabilities, but permits employees to establish the physical standards that are required to perform the primary functions of any job safely and effectively. History has shown that the most effective method of avoiding a litigation suit involving ADA is through reasonable and consistent application of job- relevant pre-employment physical ability testing. Applicants for both career and paid-on-call positions in emergency response within this department are subjected to a formal physical ability test to measure the applicant's ability to perform critical physical tasks and functions. Applicants for paid-on- call positions are subjected to a formal physical ability test that is job-relevant and adequately measures the applicant's ability to perform critical physical tasks and functions.

Modern firefighting and medical response also requires extensive technical training, much of which is presented at the college level. Career and paid-on-call applicants must demonstrate their aptitude to learn and perform the necessary mental skills to perform the work through a specific written aptitude test or proof of existing certifications.

All applicants are required to pass a pre-employment physical examination. The examination is appropriately required after a contingent offer of employment.

Ongoing Competency Evaluation

Once on staff, personnel should be evaluated periodically to ensure their continued ability to perform job duties safely and efficiently. Technical and manipulative skills should be evaluated on a regular basis. This provides documentation about a person’s ability to perform their responsibilities and provides valuable input into the training and education development process.

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Regular evaluation and feedback for personnel is critical to behavior modification and improvement. A formal performance evaluation system is currently in place for all employees of the department and such evaluations are conducted on a regular scheduled basis. Performance evaluations have not been provided to paid-on-call personnel by officers on a regular basis. Though such a system is more challenging with paid-on-call personnel who are not observed on a daily basis, programs such as this can be delivered through a network of trained officers and can consist of a simplified checklist.

It is important to maintain such programs whenever possible. It has long been proven that employees and members sincerely wish to perform well and to be a contributing part of any organization. This desire to succeed is best cultivated through effective feedback that allows a member to know what he/she is doing well or what needs improvement. The honest and effective presentation of this feedback encourages the member to reinforce those talents and abilities they already excel in and to work harder to improve the areas where they fail to perform as desired.

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Objective Six- Staffing As indicated earlier, the St. Cloud Fire Department uses career and paid-on-call personnel to accomplish its mission and responsibilities to the City of St. Cloud. Administrative functions are generally the responsibility of staff officers with support functions provided by clerical employees/members. Staffing for emergency response to fire, emergency medical and related incidents is provided by career personnel on 24-hour, rotating shifts and a cadre of on-call members.

Administration and Support Staff

One of the primary responsibilities of the Department’s administration and support staff is to ensure that the operational entities of the organization have the ability and means to accomplish their responsibilities on the emergency incident. Efficient and effective administration and support are critical to the success of the Department. Without sufficient oversight, planning, documentation, training and maintenance, the operational entities of the Department will fail any operational test. Additionally, like any other part of the Department, administration and support require appropriate resources to function properly.

Analyzing the ratio of administration and support positions to the total positions of the Department facilitates an understanding of the relative number of resources committed to this important function. The appropriate balance of the administration and support component to the operational component is crucial to the success of the Department’s mission and responsibilities. The administration and support complement of the SCFD is comprised of four Divisions and the Fire Chief’s Office. The following figure summarizes the personnel FTE’s (full time equivalents) assigned to administration and management11.

Figure 11: Administrative/Support Staffing Summary

Adminisrative / Support Personnel Position Title Number (FTE) Fire Chief 1.00 Deputy Chief, Training and Admin 1.00 Administrative Secretary 1.00 Fire Marshal 1.00 Assistant Chiefs (administrative duties) 1.80 Special Projects Assistant 0.50 TOTAL 6.30

11 Assistant Chiefs work a 24-hour duty shift and report that their time is generally split about 60% for administrative duty and 40% for operational duties. This ratio is used in calculating their applicable FTE’s.

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The administration and support staff for the SCFD is comprised of 6.3 FTE’s. Statistically, the SCFD maintains a ratio of 9.8 % of administration and support staff to operational personnel. Each organization should determine the proper ratio of administration and support staff to operational positions dependent upon local need. Based on our experience with similar organizations, we have determined emergency service departments usually enjoy a 10 to 15 percent ratio of administration and support staff to operational personnel. SCFD’s administrative and support staffing level is below this comparison range.

Emergency Services Staff

It is a well known fact that no fire was extinguished or emergency resolved by a fire truck. It takes an adequate and well trained staff of emergency responders to put the appropriate emergency apparatus and equipment to its best use in mitigating incidents. Insufficient staffing at an operational scene decreases the effectiveness of the response and increases the risk of injury to all individuals involved. The following figure summarizes the personnel assigned to street-level service delivery.

Figure 12: Field Operations Staffing Summary

Operations / Field Personnel Position Title Number (FTE) Assistant Chiefs (operational duties) 1.20 Captain 3.00 Lieutenant 9.00 Firefighter 34.00 Inspectors 2.00 Paid-on-call (@ .3 FTE per) 8.60 TOTAL 57.80

An analysis of emergency service staffing begins with a comparison of available emergency service personnel to other communities of similar size and organization. The following chart, using NFPA benchmark data for the region12, provides an overview of the staffing level of the SCFD on the basis of firefighters per 1,000 population13.

12 Comparison data is from the National Fire Protection Association’s “Fire Department Profiles- 2002”. 13 SCFD’s paid-on-call firefighters are calculated at 0.3 FTE’s per person based on varying availability.

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Figure 13: Comparison of Firefighters Per 1,000 Population

Comparison of Firefighters per 1,000 Population

1.5 1.32 1.25

1 0.91

0.75

0.5

0.25

0 Career

Regional Mean Saint Cloud FD

The chart provides a good indication that SCFD is experiencing a lower than “normal” level of emergency response staff in comparison with other cities of similar size in the region. As an additional note, the International City Manager’s Association (ICMA) places the nationwide average city fire department strength at 1.59 per 1,000 population. It should be noted that some of the departments included in these benchmark studies may provide a complete transporting EMS program. This staffing level comparison must be made with this variable in mind.

Regardless of the raw number of personnel available to a department, what matters most is the actual number of emergency responders the agency is able to produce at an emergency scene. This almost always relates to the actual number of emergency responders available for immediate deployment. While SCFD’s career staffing system distributes up to seventeen personnel on each of three shifts, it is important to note that this number is not necessarily reflective of the actual number of personnel on- duty. Due to sick leave, vacation, injuries and other circumstances, the actual number of on-duty personnel often falls below the number assigned to shift. SCFD policy allows the shift staffing level to fall to a minimum of 14.

The following chart shows the percentage of each year that staffing levels were at or above the minimum.

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Figure 14: Daily Staffing Level Analysis

Percentage of Year at Various On-Duty Staffing Levels 40% 14 35% 15 16 30% 17 25% 18 20%

15%

10%

5%

0% 2001 2002 2003 2004

From the chart it can be seen that the amount of time that the department’s on-duty staffing has been at minimum has increased by almost ten percent over three years. With one individual assigned to dispatch duties, this leaves only thirteen personnel available for emergency response. One of the 13 must remain at an assigned post in the Airport Fire Station, leaving only twelve for other district emergencies.

Studies by the International City Manager’s Association (ICMA) place the national average of on-duty firefighting strength of a city fire department at .48 per 1,000 population. With a full staff of fifteen firefighters available for response, SCFD’s on-duty staffing level is .24 per 1,000 population, or just 49% of the national average. At minimum staffing with twelve firefighters available, SCFD’s on-duty staffing level is .19, or 39% of the national average.

Additional information on the effect of staffing levels at emergency scenes will be provided in the Service Delivery section of this report.

Assignment of Responsibilities

In previous and subsequent sections of the report, the need for adequate levels of management and administrative support and staffing are discussed. In some areas the SCFD is challenged to meet the staffing demands of a modern emergency services organization. Analysis of the Department’s current staffing performance will determine where recommendations for improvement may be indicated.

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The Deputy Chief of Training and Administration position does not seem to match the current chain of command and/or rank structure of the Department. This position is a relatively new position to the Department and is the only Deputy Chief rank within the Department’s complement. A review of the position’s job description and compensation should be completed to determine if the position should be reallocated to Assistant Chief or elevated in the chain of command between the Fire Chief and the Assistant Chiefs.

The Assistant Chiefs perform both operational and administrative duties. These individuals report spending about 60% of their work hours on administrative functions, often after normal business hours making coordination with other staff members and the public more difficult.

A review of the current job descriptions was conducted focusing, in particular, on two positions that were found on the same plane of the organizational chart. At Station #1, the Captain and Lieutenant both appear on the organizational chart as supervising a single fire company and reporting directly to the shift’s Assistant Chief. The positioning of two different ranks at the same organizational level prompts a closer examination of the differences in responsibility.

According to the job descriptions, much of the work performed by the two positions appears identical. In the Captain’s job descriptions, there are references to other “Lieutenants under their supervision”, as well as planning the “daily activities of all stations”. However, our interviews indicated that these activities were not normal practice and, indeed, the organizational chart does not reflect this line of supervision.

It appears that this may be a symptom of the outdated job descriptions under which the department is operating. The intent, at one time, may have been to create a line of supervision just below the Assistant Chief and above the other company officers on each shift. However, as a matter of practice this concept was never fully realized and the position, both in reality and on the organizational chart, remained at the level of company officer. Indeed, there are shifts currently operating with the Captain position being filled by a Lieutenant and operating as a routine company officer, in keeping with the structure shown on the organizational chart.

Unless adequate evidence can be shown to justify the need for the additional rank layer of Captain at Station #1, the position should be considered for downgrading to Lieutenant. If, on the other hand, an additional layer of supervision is desired, then the organizational structure and the job description must be made to match. The Captain position would need to be elevated on the chart to demonstrate supervisory authority over the other company officers and stations. In addition, the actual day to day

55 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan activities of the Captain would need to be matched to the job description. However, the effective operation of shifts without a Captain strongly suggests that the additional rank layer is unnecessary.

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Objective Seven- Capital Assets and Resources Fire departments need a balance of three basic resources to successfully carry out their emergency mission: people, equipment and facilities. Because firefighting is an extremely physical pursuit, the adequacy of personnel resources is a primary concern. But no matter how competent or numerous the firefighters are, the department will fail to execute its mission if it lacks sufficient fire apparatus distributed in an efficient manner.

As previously mentioned, St. Cloud Fire Department has several million dollars worth of capital assets. These assets are necessary to provide service and must be maintained and replaced as needed. Maintenance and replacement plans should be created and maintained for facilities, apparatus, and other high value equipment. A funding mechanism should be established to ensure money is available to cover the cost of this effort.

Facilities

There are a lot of questions facing a department that has outgrown its facilities, and the solutions are more complicated than buying a fleet of fire trucks. While volunteer, career, and even combination departments have different facility requirements, there are basic needs each fire station has to address; more specifically- quick response time and housing of apparatus and equipment. Everything else depends on a particular department's budget and needs.

Consideration should be given to the ability of the facilities to support the functions of the department, as it may exist today and in the future. The primary functions that should take place within the fire station environment should be closely examined and adequate, efficient space for all functions should be provided. Here are some examples:

• Housing and cleaning apparatus and equipment

• Residential living for on-duty crew members (male and female)

• Administrative office duties

• Firefighter training

• Firefighter fitness

While this list may seem elementary, the lack of dedicated space compromises in the ability of the facilities to support any of these functions, and can detract from its primary purpose for existing. At this time, St. Cloud continues to operate certain facilities that may be unable to support one or more of the primary functions without the enterprising and creative compromises of the staff.

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St. Cloud has four career fire stations and two paid-on-call stations: the newest built in 1999 and the oldest believed to have been built in 1960’s. St. Cloud’s two older fire stations, #5 and #6, have not had any updating, are marginally efficient, and cannot provide the basic needs of an assigned staff.

Figure 15: Facility Overview and Condition Summary

Station Year Square Foot Condition General Number Built of Building Appearance # 1 1988 19,000 Excellent - Well Maintained Excellent # 2 1971 6,000 Good – Well Maintained Very Good # 3 1988 7,400 Excellent - Well Maintained Very Good # 4 1999 6,100 Excellent - Well Maintained Excellent # 5 1980’s 1,400 Fair – Inadequate For Staffed Station Fair # 6 1960’s 2,400 Poor – Needs To Be Replaced Poor

The following evaluation and general condition assessment was conducted on the facilities. It should be noted, however, that St. Cloud had a city-wide facilities assessment study done in February of 2004. The study was far more detailed than the evaluation conducted for this report and the City should consider the recommendations of the architectural study as final authority in issues of condition and need. Capital improvement estimates included later in this report will not reflect issues addressed in that facilities assessment study.

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St. Cloud Fire Station #1 101 10th Ave. N

Built in 1988, this 19,000 square foot facility consists of four apparatus bays, this station is Headquarters for St. Cloud Fire Department and the Fire Administration offices including the Dispatch Center. Station #1 is an up to date facility, the kitchen is very neat and adequate room with a day room. Exercise equipment room is located on the first floor. Concerns related to maintenance, public access, staff facilities, safety and efficiency are minimal. Any specific problems, concerns or features with this facility can be classified into the following seven categories:

This station is aesthetically designed to fit the surrounding community structures. Designed for two-gender staffing, with separate dorms for sleeping and lockers included, well-suited for • Design: privacy. Sleeping is confined to one firefighter per room. Station is equipped with gender-neutral bathrooms. • Construction: Age of construction design has led to minimal maintenance costs. Roof leaks in apparatus floor. No problems noted. Fire detection system with smoke detectors in all dorms installed, visual and audible fixtures with pull stations, sprinkler system installed. Auxiliary generator is used to power • Safety: portions of this building which is also the location of the fire dispatch center. No security camera system for Dispatch. Fire extinguishers installed throughout the building. • Environment: No problems noted. Turnout gear storage area is well ventilated. Building is ADA compliant, and appears to be in compliance with • Code Compliance: fire and life safety codes. The building is for administrative staff and suppression personnel, includes plenty of room for firefighters to perform daily duties and • Staff Facilities: assignments. Also has additional day room/library on the second floor. No problems noted. This structure should serve as a functional fire station for approximately 30–40 more years with increased • Efficiency: maintenance in the future. Parking lot is small and congested at shift change.

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St. Cloud Fire Station #2 700 41st Ave N

Built in 1971 and renovated in 1990, this 6000 square foot facility consists of two apparatus bays. Station #2 is an up-to-date facility; the kitchen is very neat and has adequate room with a nice size day room for a single company assignment. Exercise equipment is located in a separate room. Concerns related to maintenance, public access, staff facilities, safety and efficiency are minimal. Any specific problems, concerns or features with this facility can be classified into the following seven categories: This station is aesthetically designed to fit the surrounding community structures. Designed for two-gender staffing, with • Design: separate dorms for sleeping and lockers included, wel- suited for privacy. Sleeping is confined to one firefighter per room. Station is equipped with gender neutral bathrooms. • Construction: Age of construction design has led to moderate maintenance costs. Roof has a history of water leaks. No problems noted. Fire detection system with smoke detectors in all dorms installed, visual and audible fixtures with pull stations, • Safety: sprinkler system installed. No auxiliary generator, an adaptor to plug in a portable generator is used to power a limited portion of this building. Fire extinguishers installed throughout the building. No problems noted. Turn out gear storage area is on the • Environment: apparatus floor. Building is ADA compliant, and appears to be in compliance with • Code Compliance: fire and life safety codes. The building is for suppression personnel, includes adequate • Staff Facilities: room for firefighters to perform daily duties and assignments. The location of this station is off the main road far enough to cause a short delay in response time. This structure should serve as a functional fire station for approximately 25–30 more years • Efficiency: with increased maintenance. In the future, any additions to this building for multi-company staffing could be cost prohibited. Parking lot is small but handles the shift assignments.

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St. Cloud Fire Station #3 1201 Michigan Ave SE

Built in 1988, this 7400 square foot facility consists of two apparatus bays. Station #3 is an up-to-date facility; the station is very neat and has adequate room for a single company assignment. Exercise equipment is located in a separate room. Concerns related to maintenance, public access, staff facilities, safety and efficiency are minimal. Any specific problems, concerns or features with this facility can be classified into the following

seven categories: This station is aesthetically designed to fit the surrounding community structures. Designed for two-gender staffing, with • Design: separate dorms for sleeping and lockers included, well-suited for privacy. Sleeping is confined to one firefighter per room. Station is equipped with gender neutral bathrooms. Age of construction design has led to moderate maintenance • Construction: costs. No problems noted. Fire detection system with smoke detectors in all dorms installed, visual and audible fixtures with pull stations, sprinkler system installed. No auxiliary generator, • Safety: an adaptor to plug in a portable generator is used to power a limited portion of this building. Fire extinguishers installed throughout the building. Flammable liquids not stored in a flammable cabinet. No problems noted. Turnout gear storage area is on the • Environment: apparatus floor. Building is ADA compliant, and appears to be in compliance • Code Compliance: with fire and life safety codes. The building is for suppression personnel, includes adequate • Staff Facilities: room for firefighters to perform daily duties and assignments. This structure should serve as a functional fire station for approximately 30–40 more years with increased maintenance. • Efficiency: In the future, any additions to this building for multi-company staffing could be cost prohibited. Parking lot is small but handles the shift assignments.

61 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

St. Cloud Fire Station #4 Airport 1550 45th Avenue SE

Built in 1999, this 6,100 square foot facility consists of two apparatus bays. This station is designed as a sub fire station for airport apparatus. Modern day room and adequate living quarters for suppression personnel. This station is in excellent condition. There are no concerns related to maintenance, public access, staff facilities, safety and efficiency. Any specific problems, concerns or features with this facility can be classified into the following seven categories: This station is designed to fit the surrounding airport needs. This • Design: station has one open dorm with a fold down bed, however only one firefighter is assigned. • Construction: Age of construction design has led to low maintenance costs. No problems noted. Fire detection system with smoke detectors in all dorms installed, No sprinkler system installed. • Safety: Auxiliary generator power provided by the airport. Fire extinguishers installed throughout the building. No problems noted. Turn out gear storage area is on the • Environment: apparatus floor. Building is ADA compliant, and appears to be in compliance • Code Compliance: with fire and life safety codes. The building is for suppression personnel, includes adequate • Staff Facilities: room for firefighters to perform daily duties and assignments. This structure should serve as a functional fire station for approximately 30–40 more years with increased maintenance. • Efficiency: In the future any additions to this building for multi-company staffing could be cost prohibited.

62 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

St. Cloud Fire Station #5 Volunteer Division 1040 County Road 4

This 1,400 square foot facility consists of two small apparatus bays and has a natural appearance for the neighborhood. There are no concerns related to maintenance, public access. There are no staff facilities. Any specific problems, concerns or features with this facility can be classified into the following seven categories:

This station is a small facility with no staffing and apparatus • Design: capability. No training area for members, limited storage. • Construction: Construction design has led to minimal maintenance costs. No fire detection and sprinkler systems installed. No auxiliary • Safety: generator for the building. No infection control area available. Not designed as full-service fire and EMS facility. Not equipped with an automatic exhaust system for vehicles. • Environment: Turnout gear is stored in the rear of the garage. Building is not ADA compliant, but appears to be in compliance • Code Compliance: with fire and life safety codes. This station has no room for any training or work area. No • Staff Facilities: kitchen or day room. No place for any decon procedures. Limited size, cramped facilities. Consideration could be given to • Efficiency: remodeling this location as a full service fire station.

63 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

St. Cloud Fire Station #6 Volunteer Division 2227 Roosevelt Rd.

This 2,400 square foot facility consists of three small apparatus bays. There are concerns related to maintenance and public access. There are no staff facilities, safety and efficiency are marginal. Any specific problems, concerns or features with this facility can be classified into the following seven categories:

This station is a small facility with no staffing and apparatus • Design: capability. Basic storage for apparatus and a meeting room for membership meetings. • Construction: Construction design has led to moderate maintenance costs. No fire detection and sprinkler systems installed. No auxiliary • Safety: generator for the building. No infection control area available. Not designed as full service fire and EMS facility. Not equipped with an automatic exhaust system for vehicles. • Environment: Turnout gear is stored in the rear of the garage. Building is not ADA compliant, and appears not to be in • Code Compliance: compliance with some fire and life safety codes. This station needs renovation if it is ever to be used as a staffed station. Will need a locker room, sleeping quarters, shower and • Staff Facilities: bathroom areas, kitchen and day room. Currently contains no space for decon procedures. Not efficient. Limited size, cramped facilities. Consider replacing • Efficiency: this station.

This section of the report deals only with analysis of current facilities. However, we are recommending development of a full long-range facilities management plan, as well as specific plans to address any current problems.

A long-range facilities management plan should include a variety of items, such as:

• Location, timing, and cost of any new facilities, especially the two paid-on-call fire stations. • Identified long-term maintenance needs for existing facilities • On-going funding plan

64 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Apparatus

St. Cloud maintains a fleet of response vehicles that is well maintained. However, nearly half the fleet is in excess of the typical anticipated front-line lifespan for its type. Average age of apparatus is 8.4 years. Average condition is considered good. The department needs to make apparatus replacement a significant issue in both the short and long term to ensure continued reliability for emergency service use.

The following chart lists all primary heavy apparatus and front line vehicles used by St. Cloud, excluding smaller commercial-style utility or staff vehicles. It includes current age, estimated life expectancy, and roughly-estimated replacement funding requirements.

Figure 16: Apparatus Replacement Funding Tables

Unit Year Life14 Replacement Annual Fund Current Cash Cost Contribution Requirement Engine 1 2001 20 $275,000 $13,750 $55,000 Tower 1 2001 20 $775,000 $38,750 $155,000 Engine 21 1997 15 $175,000 $13,750 $110,000 Squirt 19 1992 15 $525,000 $26,250 $344,500 ARFF 2 2002 20 $525,000 $26,250 $78,750 ARFF 1 (Small Unit) 1997 15 $125,000 $8,333 $66,664 Volunteer Division Engine 11 1991 15 $275,000 $13,750 $192,500 Tanker 14 1996 15 $150,000 $10,000 $90,000 Engine 10 1987 15 $275,000 $13,750 $247,500 Tanker 12 1995 15 $150,000 $10,000 $100,000 Brush 5 2004 15 $75,000 $5,000 $5,000 (Wildland)15 TOTALS $179,583 $1,444,914 * Does Not Include Reserve Vehicles

14 Refers to the anticipated life expectancy or usefulness as a front-line apparatus. Use as a reserve may extend beyond this. 15 Though smaller wildland vehicles are not typically included in this table, we have included this brush truck as it was described as being used for first-due, routine response to a variety of emergencies.

65 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

What this chart shows is that in order to meet apparatus replacement needs of current resources, $179,583 should be contributed to a reserve fund each year. Also, based on the age and replacement schedule of apparatus in use today, there should be $1,444,914 available in a reserve fund. This is based on a continuation of the current number and type of apparatus that St. Cloud maintains. St. Cloud has no such apparatus replacement fund in place for meeting this need.

It should be noted that the chart represents funding levels needed for a capital replacement fund that is both adequate and up to date, assuring cash is available for purchase at the expected time of replacement. This is not meant to exclude other funding methods from consideration. For instance, during time periods when the market provides low rates, municipal lease-purchase programs can be financially efficient. It does, however, require firm commitment on the part of the elected officials toward a scheduled apparatus replacement program. It is far too common, when faced with a large capital purchase that is competing with other community needs, for districts to delay such purchases to the point where efficiency or safety are compromised. St. Cloud can avoid such conditions by remaining firmly committed to a reasonable and effective capital replacement program for fire apparatus.

The primary front-line apparatus of St. Cloud Fire Department were reviewed and a basic inspection was performed to determine the general condition and life expectancy. The following terms and definitions were used to determine the condition and safety status of the fire apparatus.

66 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 17: Apparatus Condition Rating Definitions

Like new condition. No body or paint defects. Clean compartmentation. Interior, Excellent: cab complete and in full working order with no modifications. No significant defect history. Age is less than 25% of life expectancy. Body and cab have good appearance with no rust and only minor cosmetic defects or dents. Clean compartmentation with no visible rust or corrosion. Good: Interior, cab is in full working order and good appearance. Normal maintenance history with no significant defects or high downtime. Age is less than 75% of life expectancy. Body and cab have weathered appearance with minor surface rust and some cosmetic defects or dents. Unimpeded compartmentation with only surface rust or corrosion. Interior, cab is in reasonable working order and appearance. Only Fair: repairable tank or plumbing leakage. Showing increasing age-related maintenance, but with no major defects or unreasonable downtime. Age is less than 100% of life expectancy. Body and cab have weathered appearance with surface corrosion, cosmetic defects or dents, and minor rust-through of non-structural metals (body panels). Unimpeded compartmentation with significant surface rust or corrosion and/or minor rust-through (not affecting use). Interior, cab is in rough, but Serviceable: working order, often with local repairs or modifications to compensate for problems. Occasional or intermittent tank or plumbing leakage. Showing increasing age-related maintenance, but with no major defects or unreasonable downtime. Most service parts still available. Age is greater than 100% of life expectancy. Body and cab have weathered appearance with surface corrosion, cosmetic defects or dents, and visible rust-through of non-structural metals (body panels). Significant rust or corrosion is present in structural or support members. Use of compartmentation is impeded with significant corrosion and Poor: rust-through. Interior, cab is in rough condition with defects impeding safe and proper use. Unrepairable tank or plumbing leakage. Problematic age-related maintenance, major defects or unreasonable downtime are evident. Service parts difficult or impossible to obtain. Age is greater than 100% of life expectancy. Vehicle exceeds its GVWR.

Each heavy piece of apparatus was given a basic review for condition and safety. The following paragraphs describe any notations made during this review.

67 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Engine # 1 2002 Pierce Pumper 500 gallon tank, 2000 GPM pump Five-person cab Condition: Excellent NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. Remarks: • Equipment in compartments should be secured.

Tower # 1 2001 Pierce Ladder 100 Foot Aerial Platform 200 gallon tank, 2000 GPM pump Four-person cab Condition: Excellent NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

Engine # 21 1997 Ford Louisville Commercial Pumper 500 gallon tank, 1250 GPM pump Five-person cab Condition: Excellent NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

68 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Squirt # 19 1992 Telesquirt Freightliner 65 Foot Quint 500 gallon tank, 1250 GPM pump Five-person cab Condition: Fair NFPA Compliant: No

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

ARFF #2

2002 Oshkosh 4X4 Striker 1500 gallon tank, 1950 GPM pump Three-person cab Condition: Excellent NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

ARFF # 1

1997 Ford Airport Pumper 450 gallon tank, Dry Chemical Two-person cab Condition: Good NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

69 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Engine # 11

1990 Ford Commercial Pumper 1000 gallon tank, 1250GPM pump Five-person cab Condition: Good NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

Tanker # 14

1996 International 2000 gallon tank, 250 GPM pump Two-person cab Condition: Good NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

Engine # 10

1987 Ford General 1000 gallon tank, 1000GPM pump Five-person cab Condition: Good NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. Equipment in compartments should be Remarks: • secured.

70 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Tanker # 12

1995 International Tanker 2000 gallon tank, 350 GPM pump Two-person cab Condition: Serviceable NFPA Compliant: Yes

No problems noted. • Remarks: Equipment in compartments should be secured.

Wildland – Brush # 5 see footnote15

2004 Ford Wildland - Brush Unit 200 gallon tank, 80 GPM pump Four-person cab Condition: Excellent NFPA Compliant: Yes

• Remarks: No problems noted.

St. Cloud Fire Department maintains an additional complement of two reserve engines. These engines are used when front line units are out of service for repairs. The reserve apparatus go through the same regular checks and maintenance programs as the front line units. Though well maintained, both units are much older than the remaining fleet. Reserve Unit #18 is nineteen years old and Reserve Unit # 16 is twenty-eight years old.

Reserve units are often used after the front-line life expectancy of the truck has passed. Limited use can reduce wear and maintenance costs and prolong the permanent retirement of a vehicle. Even so, Reserve Unit #16, at twenty-eight years, should be scheduled for removal from service as soon as practical.

71 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Support and Small Equipment

Small equipment can take a significant bite out of an annual budget. Small equipment can be quite expensive and has the additional challenge of having its life limited by technology improvements and a small equipment replacement plan should also be established. At this time St. Cloud does not have such a plan. St. Cloud does include replacement funding in their annual budget for equipment that is known to be in need of replacement, but this is not done by a scheduled replacement plan.

The plan, like facilities and apparatus, should include a schedule of equipment covered, estimated life expectancy, replacement cost, and annual contributions required to replace equipment as needed. It is recommended that all equipment with a value of more than $5,000, as well as groups of equipment with an aggregate value of more than $5,000, be included in the plan.

Examples include:

• Heart monitor/defibrillators • Portable and mobile radios • Computer equipment and systems • Shop diagnostic and maintenance equipment • Breathing apparatus • Computer software (major systems)

Maintenance

Apparatus Maintenance

Vehicle fleet management and the maintenance program is handled through the City of St. Cloud Fire Department. There is one chief officer assigned to oversee maintenance. Equipment is owned by the City of St. Cloud for both the full time and paid-on-call division. However, members of both divisions of the St. Cloud Fire Department are responsible for preventive maintenance and small repairs for fire department vehicles as well as small equipment repairs. Both divisions notify various vehicle repair companies for all larger repairs. In review of their proactive efforts, this department has excelled with its apparatus maintenance operations and services. Currently, on-duty firefighters conduct at least some of the minimal fire department vehicle and equipment repairs at career stations.

St. Cloud Fire Department maintains a fleet of more than 25 vehicles and hundreds of related equipment items. We examined the practices used by the Fire Department in maintaining and

72 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

repairing its firefighting equipment and found that the department performed adequate routine checks of its firefighting apparatus and a completed a regular preventive maintenance schedule. We also found that the department’s information system was reliable for tracking repair and maintenance schedules and costs, and for determining whether maintenance tasks are performed in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The chief officers of both divisions assigned to maintenance are responsible for maintaining approximately 25 pieces of equipment which include:

• 4 Front Line Engines • 2 Reserve Engines • 2 Ladder / Squirt • 2 Tankers • 3 Brush Units • 2 Airport Pumper/Chemical Attack Units • 5 Support Vehicles (Cars, SUV’s, Pick up’s) • 5 Trailers, Boats, Utility (Haz-Mat, etc.)

The Chief Maintenance Officers have implemented a thorough Preventive Maintenance Program for the department. The goal of the program is to have all vehicles in the inventory receive PM service at least semi-annually. In addition, specific standards are implemented detailing turnaround time for PM completion based on vehicle type. Reports of both divisions should be available in a computer system to assist in the monitoring process on a periodic basis.

The emergency service industry has always ensured that response and rescue personnel are trained and certified to appropriate levels based on “accepted standards,” such as the NFPA standards for firefighters and fire officers. A great deal of emphasis is placed on maintaining the condition of the apparatus and equipment used by these personnel, but what about the people who maintain and repair the vehicles and equipment? What level of training have they received to keep a sophisticated piece of machinery in proper operating order?

The St. Cloud Fire Department has not yet taken the steps to ensure repairs are made by certified Emergency Vehicle Technicians (EVT). The Emergency Vehicle Technician Certification Commission, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving the quality of emergency vehicle service and repairs throughout the United States and Canada.

73 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Pump Testing and Hose Testing

Two necessary procedures that must be performed and documented annually are pump testing and hose testing.

The life expectancy of a section of fire hose is determined by the care it receives. Hose is susceptible to mechanical injury, heat and fire damage, mold and mildew, and damage due to chemical contact and excessive pressures. Also, an inventory of all fire hose should be recorded along with a history of each section of hose. After reviewing the hose procedures of St. Cloud, it appears the department has done an excellent job in hose testing and recording keeping.

Fire pumps are one of the most important and expensive parts of any fire apparatus. The care and routine check of a fire pump is a daily necessity and, at St. Cloud, is performed by the assigned driver/operator position. Part of the preventive maintenance program requires that all fire pumps be serviced every six months. This test includes drain and refill of the fluids in the transfer case, grease to the bearings, lubrication of ball valves, linkage, drain valves and pressure relief valves. In addition to the above checks, the booster tank water level gauge is also inspected along with all other gauges, and pump panel lights. This test is performed every six months and an annual pump test is performed every twelve months. After reviewing the pump test procedures of St. Cloud, it appears the department has done an excellent job in pump testing and recording keeping.

Turnout Gear Maintenance Program

St. Cloud’s most expensive and valuable asset is its personnel. Statistical data indicate health and safety are at a much higher risk due to exposure to buildup of contaminants found in many fire situations.

At this time, St. Cloud does not have an acceptable means of cleaning turnout gear in-house. Residential washers and dryers will not clean turnout gear properly. Many fire departments purchase extractors that are designed for cleaning turnout gear, since less sophisticated cleaning methods will remove dirt and perspiration, but will not remove severe contaminates or hydrocarbons.

In the latest revisions to NFPA Specifications 1500, 1581 and 1971, the fire service has addressed the health and safety risks associated with contaminated turnout gear by requiring that protective clothing be cleaned at least once every six (6) months. With the new standards put into place by the NFPA, fire departments across the country are trying to find inexpensive ways to effectively comply with new standards. The life expectancy of gear depends on the type of department, number and type

74 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

of fires fought, and the aggressiveness of the firefighters. Proper care will enable fire departments to lengthen their replacement cycle for new gear and reduce yearly capital expenditures.

Many fire departments have realized significant savings by having gear professionally cleaned, evaluated and, if necessary, repaired by certified companies. These efforts replace a time when contaminated or slightly damaged gear was simply discarded and replaced at a much higher cost. St. Cloud Fire Department inspects and then sends turnout gear out for cleaning and repairs, but does not have a semi-annual program for all turnout gear inspection, cleaning and maintenance.

At any time that St. Cloud does significant renovation or construction of a new fire station, it should consider enclosed turnout gear rooms with the installation of a separate ventilation system. Commercial turnout gear extraction cleaners can also be considered for installation. Currently, St. Cloud has no enclosed ventilated turnout gear rooms in any of its fire stations.

The nature of fire fighting and its associated injuries has evolved substantially over the years. Many departments are reporting far less structural fires, while noting increases in vehicle accidents and EMS calls. Despite a lower percentage of calls involving structural fires, there are still a high percentage of firefighter deaths and injury resulting from stress. Given the additional fatigue of cumbersome protective gear, we suggest that fire departments should focus their turnout gear purchases on attention to stress reduction, while increasing firefighter mobility and comfort.

75 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Objective Eight- Service Delivery The most visible, and valued, of the services provided by the St. Cloud Fire Department is the response to, and control of, emergency events. The department provides a variety of emergency response services including:

• Fire suppression • Emergency medical service (basic life support backup to the St. Cloud Police Department) • Hazardous materials emergency response (“A” level)16 • Entrapment rescue • Public assistance • Confined space rescue • High angle rescue • Water rescue – surface

Notification System

Saint Cloud Fire Department maintains and operates its own communications center, staffed by one firefighter 24-hours a day. This center functions as the dispatch point for all fire calls within the department’s jurisdiction.

This dispatch center is not the primary Public Safety Answering Point for the community and, thus, calls must be transferred by direct line from the PSAP located in the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department. This call transfer is a one-button process and includes transfer of the ANI/ALI (Automatic Number and Location Identification) information on all 9-1-1 calls.

Computer-aided dispatch software is not available to the fire dispatcher. Once transferred, call processing and dispatch is delayed by manual processes that must take place in order to identify the correct unit or stations to dispatch. No formal call processing time standards have been established, and there is currently no system for quality control.

Dispatch takes place by “specific unit dispatch”, with programmed assignment of specific apparatus quantities and types. Apparatus availability for City units is tracked manually by the dispatcher and back-up assignments must be determined on-the-fly without assistance from geo-based computer software. Call information is taken down manually on paper forms. Computer tracking of dispatch, arrival, and control times is not available and must also occur manually. The dispatch center’s records management system consists of a large binder of manually entered log information.

16 SCFD provides hazardous materials emergency response throughout all of seven counties and portions of two other counties. The State of Minnesota pays SCFD for response costs, training, equipment and other support to operate the response service.

76 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The dispatch center has inadequate contingency plans for system failure. Back-up power is in place but no spare console is available and the back-up transmitter is simply a converted mobile radio transceiver. A functionally redundant dispatch site is not available.

The dispatch center requires three rotating personnel assigned to duty. The firefighters assigned to dispatch operate on the same rotating 24-hour shifts. It should be noted that the dispatch center does not utilize any civilian employees. Rather, all assigned employees are sworn fire suppression personnel. Personnel assigned to dispatch functions receive no particular specialized training and are not certified to any national standards.

A review was also made of the PSAP at the Sheriff’s Department. During this review, it was noted that the center is a fully-staffed, professionally managed communications center that dispatches for several other adjacent fire departments. The center has a fully-integrate computer aided dispatch (CAD) system that includes records management and automated time stamping of all incident radio traffic. There are also redundant back-up consoles available on-site. Dispatch personnel there are certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch and receive an intensive six-month training program.

During our review, we could find no compelling reason for St. Cloud Fire Department to maintain its own dispatch center. The effort is redundant to the established regional center operated by the Sheriff’s Department. In addition, the technology, procedures, and training at SCFD’s dispatch center are inadequate for a modern fire dispatch service and completely outmoded when compared to the available system.

Interviews at Stearns County Sheriff’s Department indicated that agency had expressed willingness to negotiate an agreement for taking over dispatching responsibility for St. Cloud Fire. While this report does not attempt to suggest whether the results of such a negotiation would be acceptable to the city of Saint Cloud, we do recommend that the negotiations move forward. Any effort by Saint Cloud Fire Department to fully modernize its dispatch center would be extremely expensive, but the current system is unacceptably outdated. Thus, we believe the efforts to obtain contract dispatching through Stearns County should be exhausted prior to the expenditure of significant funding to improve the SCFD center.

77 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Emergency Response Resources

SCFD provides service using a combination of full-time and paid-on-call personnel. Four of the department’s six stations are staffed 24 hours per day with full-time personnel. The other two are staffed exclusively by paid-on-call. The department covers 41 square miles of territory within the City of St. Cloud and 17.5 square miles of the City of St. Augusta.

SCF D Vol. No. Z SCF D 1 %[

%[ %[ Z SCF D 3 %[ %[ SCF D 2 %[

SCF DAirport SCFD Vol. So.

ã St. Cloud fire station City of St. Cloud SCFD service area in City of St. Augusta

78 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Apparatus and personnel available at each station are identified in the following tables.

Figure 18: Resource and Staffing Availability Tables

Maximum Minimum Career Stations Unit Type On-duty Staffing On-duty Staffing Station 1 Engine 1 Engine 4 3 Tower 1 Ladder truck 3 2 Command 55 Command officer 1 1 Engine 18 Reserve engine 0 0 Dispatcher Staff 1 1 Station 2 Engine 21 Engine 4 3 Brush Rig 4 Wildland unit Cross-staffed Cross-staffed Station 3 Engine 19 Engine 3 3 Engine 16 Reserve engine 0 0 Brush Rig 9 Wildland unit Cross-staffed Cross-staffed Airport Station ARFF 1 ARFF engine 0 0 ARFF 2 ARFF engine 1 1 TOTAL ON-DUTY STAFFING17 17 14

Paid-on-call Stations Unit Type Paid-on-call Staffing Volunteer Station North Engine 11 Engine 13 Tanker 14 Water tanker Volunteer Station South Engine 10 Engine Tanker 12 Water tanker 13 Brush Rig 5 Wildland unit TOTAL PAID-ON-CALL STAFFING 26

Due to vacation, sick, military, and other leaves, daily on-duty career staffing falls to levels below the maximum available. SCFD’s minimum shift strength is 14 on-duty personnel. With one firefighter assigned to dispatch and one to the airport station, twelve personnel remain during minimum staffing to respond to emergencies throughout the city.

Response Activity

Responses that occurred from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2004 (study period) were evaluated to determine workload and performance. The following details the results of this analysis.

17 This reflects total on-duty staffing, not necessarily those available for emergency response. One firefighter remains in dispatch and one firefighter remains on posted duty at the Airport Station.

79 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Incident types

False alarms account for the majority of the department’s response activity. This is highly unusual. Typically, EMS incidents are the predominate response18. In this case a full 42% of the department’s incident workload ended up being unnecessary responses (31% false alarms and 11% good intent).

The chart below illustrates the various response types SCFD handled during the study period.

Figure 19: Workload by Type of Incident

Incidents by Type 7-1-02 to 6-30-04 Good intent False alarm 11% 31% Hazard 14%

EMS 11% Other Fire 5% Vehicle Fire Other 3% Service Rescue Structure Fire 11% 3% 2% 9%

Incident Type Count Incident Type Count EMS 345 Other 52 False alarm 969 Rescue 86 Good intent 334 Service 335 Hazard 443 Structure Fire 271 Other Fire 168 Vehicle Fire 95

Geographic Distribution

Emergencies occur most frequently in the more populated portions of the service area. This is expected. 100% of all medical emergencies are directly related to people. 70% of all fires are

18 St. Cloud Police Department is the primary provider of emergency medical first response services. The SCFD responds to support them and to perform entrapment rescue

80 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan reported by the National Fire Protection Association to occur as the result of human behavior, either the inappropriate use of heat, failure to maintain equipment, and the like. The map below shows the location of responses, by type, during the study period.

Figure 20: Service Demand By Geographic Distribution

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8 Structure fire • Other incident ● Other fire SCFD service area – City of St. Cloud ● EMS incident SCFD service area – City of St. Augusta

81 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Temporal Variations

Response activity can be highly variable over the course of a day, week, and year. Knowledge of the variations can be useful when planning the assignment of response resources. There is some noteworthy variation in SCFD’s response workload, illustrated by the following charts.

The first chart shows responses that occurred during the study period by month. Both years were included to increase the reliability of the analysis. An increase in incident activity is noted during the summer months but it is not significant.

Figure 21: Workload by Month of Year

Incidents by Month 7-1-02 to 6-30-04 350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

The next chart shows responses during the study period by day of week. Little variation is seen.

82 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 22: Workload by Day of Week

Incidents by Weekday 7-1-02 to 6-30-04 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

The final chart shows the number of responses by hour of day. As expected there is a high degree of variability between daytime and nighttime hours.

Figure 23: Workload by Hour of Day

Incidents by Hour 7-1-02 to 6-30-04 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 2 4 6 8 10121416182022 hour

SCFD’s peak activity period is between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm. The department should use this information to ensure that personnel are readily available to respond during these time periods. Activities such as training and inspections that may place a unit out of position or subject to delayed response should be avoided during this period.

83 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Response Practices

SCFD assigns apparatus and personnel to respond to incidents based on both the location of the event and the type of event occurring. The system is somewhat unusual in that responding apparatus may drive past a staffed, but unassigned, station enroute to the incident. For example, paid-on-call personnel from the North Volunteer Station may drive past career staffed Station 2 enroute to a call in the paid-on-call service area. Conversely, a career staffed unit from Station 1 may drive past the South Volunteer Station enroute to a call in the southern portion of the city.

By agreement, volunteer division resources are dispatched to areas of the city that do not have city services (water and sewer) available. The career division responds to areas where city services are available. The map that follows shows the service areas of each division.

84 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 24: Career and Paid-on-call Response Zones

SCF D Vol. No. SCF D 1 %[

%[ %[ SCF D 3 %[ %[ SCF D 2 %[

SCF D Airport SCFD Vol. So.

Career service area Paid-on-call service area

For incidents within the career division service area, response units are dispatched based on pre- defined response assignments. The number and type of units sent depends on the type of incident. Career division response assignments are shown in the following table.

85 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 25: St. Cloud Standard Response by Type of Call

Incident Type Engines Ladders Command Single resource response (dumpster fires, car fires, 1 0 0 vehicle accidents, CO alarms, grass fires, service calls, etc. Automatic fire alarm 2 1 1 Structure fires 3 1 1 Other incidents Dependent on the nature of the incident in progress

Incidents within the paid-on-call division area are dispatched to the entire paid-on-call division. If the incident occurs between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, the career division also responds in accordance with the response assignments described above. On all paid-on-call division incidents, paid-on-call personnel respond in the numbers and on the units their command officers dictate at the time of the incident.

Response to automatic fire alarm activations by the career division includes two engines, a ladder truck, and a command officer. Nearly every fire alarm activation ends up being a false alarm. Thus a significant number of response resources are making unnecessary responses creating additional risk (emergency response to the scene) and reducing resources available for true emergencies during the course of the response to the automatic alarm.

Many fire departments have recognized this inequity and have reduced response to automatic fire alarms to a single engine only, some only sending that single resource non-emergency status. Few fire alarm activations signal an actual emergency. Most of those that are actual emergencies are also reported by telephone. SCFD may wish to continue an enhanced response to critical target hazard occupancies only.

SCFD is proposing to expand its role in emergency medical first response. Decreasing the number of units responding to fire alarm activations will make response units more available for response to medical emergencies.

During the two year study period the department responded to an average of 470 fire alarm activations each year. This number, times three response units, means that 1,410 unit responses

86 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

were made to this incident type. Had only a single engine responded then the number of unit responses would have been 470, a reduction of 940 unit responses per year.

The fire department, if the EMS first responder proposal is implemented, would gain an additional 1,327 unit responses19 per year, or a net increase in overall unit response workload of only 387 responses per year; just above one per day.

Performance and Outcomes

The ultimate goal of any emergency service delivery system is to provide sufficient resources (personnel, apparatus, and equipment) to the scene of an emergency in time to take effective action to minimize the impacts of the emergency. This need applies to fires, medical emergencies, and any other emergency situation to which the fire department responds.

Before discussing the department’s current performance, it is important to gain an understanding of the dynamics of fire and medical emergencies.

Dynamics of Fire in Buildings

Most fires within buildings develop in a predictable fashion, unless influenced by highly flammable material. Ignition, or the beginning of a fire, starts the sequence of events. It may take some minutes or even hours from the time of ignition until flame is visible. This smoldering stage is very dangerous, especially during times when people are sleeping, since large amounts of highly toxic smoke may be generated during early phases.

Once flames do appear, the sequence continues rapidly. Combustible material adjacent to the flame heats and ignites which in turn heats and ignites other adjacent materials if sufficient oxygen is present. As the objects burn, heated gases accumulate at the ceiling of the room. Some of the gases are flammable and highly toxic.

The spread of the fire continues quickly. Soon the flammable gases at the ceiling reach ignition temperature. At that point, an event termed “flashover” takes place; the gases ignite, which in turn ignites everything in the room. Once flashover occurs, damage caused by the fire is significant and the environment within the room can no longer support human life.

19 Currently the fire department responds to an average of 173 EMS incidents each year. The fire department estimates the total EMS incident workload is 1,500 per year.

87 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Flashover usually happens about five to eight minutes from the appearance of flame in typically furnished and ventilated buildings. Since flashover has such a dramatic influence on the outcome of a fire event, the goal of any fire agency is to apply water to a fire before flashover takes place.

Perhaps as important as preventing flashover is the need to control a fire before it does damage to the structural framing of a building. Materials used to construct buildings today are often less fire resistive than the heavy structural skeletons of older frame buildings. Roof trusses and floor joists are commonly made with lighter materials more easily weakened by the effects of fire. “Light weight” roof trusses fail after five to seven minutes of direct flame impingement. Plywood I-beam joists can fail after as little as three minutes of flame contact. This creates a very dangerous environment for firefighters.

In addition, the contents of buildings today have a much greater potential for heat production than in the past. The widespread use of plastics in furnishings and other building contents rapidly accelerate fire spread and increase the amount of water needed to effectively control a fire. All of these factors make the need for early application of water essential to a successful fire outcome.

A number of things must happen quickly to make it possible to achieve fire suppression prior to flashover. The figure below illustrates the sequence of events.

Figure 26: Fire Growth vs. Reflex Time

88 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The reflex time continuum consists of six steps, beginning with ignition and concluding with the application of (usually) water. The time required for each of the six components varies. The policies and practices of the fire department directly influence four of the steps, but two are only indirectly manageable. The six parts of the continuum are:

1. Detection: The detection of a fire may occur immediately if someone happens to be present or if an automatic system is functioning. Otherwise, detection may be delayed, sometimes for a considerable period. 2. Report: Today most fires are reported by telephone to the 9-1-1 center. Call takers must quickly elicit accurate information about the nature and location of the fire from persons who are apt to be excited. A citizen well trained in how to report emergencies can reduce the time required for this phase. 3. Dispatch: The dispatcher must identify the correct fire units, subsequently dispatch them to the emergency, and continue to update information about the emergency while the units respond. This step offers a number of technological opportunities to speed the process including computer aided dispatch and global positioning systems. 4. Turnout: Firefighters must don firefighting equipment, assemble on the response vehicle, and begin travel to the fire. Good training and proper fire station design can minimize the time required for this step. 5. Response: This is potentially the longest phase of the continuum. The distance between the fire station and the location of the emergency influences reflex time the most. The quality and connectivity of streets, traffic, driver training, geography, and environmental conditions are also a factor. 6. Set up: Last, once firefighters arrive on the scene of a fire emergency, fire apparatus are positioned, hose lines stretched out, additional equipment assembled, and certain preliminary tasks performed (such as rescue) before entry is made to the structure and water is applied to the fire.

As is apparent by this description of the sequence of events, application of water in time to prevent flashover is a serious challenge for any fire department. It is reasonable though, to use the continuum as a tool for designing the emergency response system.

89 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Emergency Medical Event Sequence

Cardiac arrest is the most significant life threatening medical event. A victim of cardiac arrest has mere minutes in which to receive definitive lifesaving care if there is to be any hope for resuscitation.

Recently, the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a new set of cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines designed to streamline emergency procedures for heart attack victims, and to increase the likelihood of survival. The AHA guidelines include new goals for the application of cardiac defibrillation to cardiac arrest victims.

Heart attack survival chances fall by seven to ten percent for every minute between collapse and defibrillation. Consequently, the AHA now recommends cardiac defibrillation within five minutes of cardiac arrest.

As with fires, the sequence of events that lead to emergency cardiac care can be visually shown, as in the following figure.

Figure 27: Cardiac Arrest Event Sequence

The percentage of opportunity for recovery from cardiac arrest drops quickly as time progresses. The stages of medical response are very similar to the components described for a fire response. Recent research stresses the importance of rapid cardiac defibrillation and administration of certain drugs as a means of improving the opportunity for successful resuscitation and survival. An Oregon fire department recently studied the effect of time on cardiac arrest resuscitation and found that nearly all

90 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

of their “saves” were within one and one-half miles of a fire station, underscoring the importance of quick response.

People, Tools and Time

Time matters a great deal in the achievement of an effective outcome to an emergency event. Time, however, isn’t the only factor. Delivering sufficient numbers of properly trained, appropriately equipped, personnel within the critical time period completes the equation.

For medical emergencies this can vary based on the nature of the emergency. Many medical emergencies are not time critical. However, for serious trauma, cardiac arrest, or conditions that may lead to cardiac arrest, response time is very critical.

Equally critical is delivering enough personnel to the scene to perform all of the concurrent tasks required to deliver quality emergency care. For a cardiac arrest this can be up to six personnel; two to perform CPR, two to set up and operate advanced medical equipment, one to record the actions taken by emergency care workers, and one to direct patient care.

Thus, for a medical emergency the real test of performance is the time it takes to provide the personnel and equipment needed to deal effectively with the patient’s condition, not necessarily the time it takes for the first person to arrive.

Fire emergencies are even more resource critical. Again, the true test of performance is the time it takes to deliver sufficient personnel to initiate application of water on the fire. This is the only practical method to reverse the continuing internal temperature increases and ultimately prevent flashover. The arrival of one person with a portable radio does not provide fire intervention capability and should not be counted as “arrival” by the fire department.

In order to legally enter a building to conduct interior firefighting operations at least four personnel must be on scene. The initial arrival of effective resources should be measured at the point in time when at least four personnel, properly trained and equipped, have assembled at the fire.

Effective operations at the scene of fire emergencies also depend on the arrival of enough trained personnel to perform all of the duties and tasks required to control a fire event. Tasks that must be performed can be broken down into two key components, life safety and fire flow.

Life safety tasks are based on the number of building occupants, their location, status, and ability to take self-preservation action. Life safety tasks involve the search, rescue, and evacuation of victims.

91 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The fire flow component involves delivering sufficient quantities of water to extinguish the fire, and creating an environment within the building that allows entry by firefighters.

The number and types of tasks needing simultaneous action will dictate the minimum number of firefighters required to combat different types of fires. In the absence of adequate personnel to perform concurrent action, the command officer must prioritize the tasks, completing some in chronological order rather than at the same time, reducing overall fire emergency effectiveness. These tasks include:

command scene safety search and rescue fire attack water supply pump operation ventilation back-up

The following chart illustrates the fire ground staffing recommendations of the Commission on Fire Accreditation, International.

Figure 28: Minimum Firefighting Personnel Needed Based Upon Level of Risk

Maximum Moderate Task High Risk Low Risk Risk Risk Attack Line 4 4 2 2 Search and Rescue 4 2 2 Ventilation 4 2 2 Back-Up Line/Rapid Intervention 8 6 4 2 Pump Operator 1 1 1 1 Water Supply 1 1 1 Utilities Support 1 1 1 Command/Safety 2 2 2 1# Forcible Entry * Salvage * Overhaul * Communication 1* Operations Section Chief 1 Logistics 1 Planning 1* Staging 1* Rehabilitation 1 Division/Group Supervisors 2* High Rise Evacuation 10* Stairwell Support 10* Totals: 53 19 15 6

# Can often be handled by the first due officer. * At maximum and high-risk fires, additional personnel may be needed.

The following definitions apply to the chart:

92 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Low Risk – Fires involving small sheds and other outbuildings, larger vehicles and similar. Characterized by sustained attack fire flows typically less than 250 gallons per minute.

Moderate Risk – Fires involving single-family dwellings and equivalently sized commercial office properties. Sustained attack fire flows range between 250 gallons per minute to 1,000 gallons per minute.

High Risk – Fires involving larger commercial properties with sustained attack fire flows between 1,000 gallons per minute and 2,500 gallons per minute

Maximum Risk – Fires in buildings with unusual hazards such as high-rise buildings, hazardous materials facilities, very large buildings, and high life risk properties (nursing homes, hospitals, etc.). Though they may not require large sustained attack fire flows they do require more personnel to perform tasks required for effective control.

Response Performance Objectives

Emergency service agencies should have clearly defined response performance objectives established to allow evaluation of capability and service delivery. An organization’s performance objectives should clearly state both the current and desired emergency service capabilities in very measurable terms. For emergency response, performance objectives should define response performance using both time and resource criteria. For example:

• Provide for the arrival of adequate resources to initiate basic emergency medical services at the scene of any medical emergency within “X” minutes following dispatch, 90% of the time. Current: 5 minutes Target: 5 minutes

• Provide for the arrival of adequate resources to initiate interior fire suppression operations at the scene of any fire within “X” minutes following dispatch, 90% of the time. Current: 6 minutes Target: 5 minutes

With specific performance criteria a fire department can develop deployment methodologies to achieve desired levels of performance, and can quickly identify when conditions in the environment degrade performance.

SCFD has not formally adopted response performance objectives. There is an informal desire to achieve an average response time of five minutes for all emergency incidents. Since no standard has

93 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan been formally adopted there is no consensus on what should be the SCFD performance benchmark. This analysis will compare SCFD’s performance against its informal performance objective of a five minute average response time and with other nationally recognized standards, specifically the National Fire Protection Association’s Standard 1710.

NFPA 1710

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has issued a response performance standard for all or mostly career staffed fire departments. This standard, among other things, identifies a target response time performance objective for fire departments and a target staffing standard for structure fires. Though not a legal mandate, NFPA 1710 does provide a useful benchmark against which to measure the fire department’s performance.

NFPA 1710 contains time performance standards for structure fire response as well as emergency medical response. Each will be discussed individually.

Structure Fire Response NFPA 1710 recommends that the first company arrive at the scene of a structure fire within five minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time. NFPA uses the 90th percentile rather than average. This allows an evaluation of a department’s performance on the vast majority of its incidents. SCFD’s average response time is at the 60th percentile meaning that 40% of its incidents take longer than its informally stated desired performance.

The standard establishes that a response “company” consists of four personnel. The standard does not require that all four be on the same vehicle, but does expect that the four will operate as a single functioning unit once on scene. The NFPA 1710 response time standard also requires that all four personnel be on scene within the recommended five minutes, 90% of the time. The SCFD informal performance objective does not include this staffing component. Thus there is no way to determine if sufficient resources are on-scene to initiate effective fire suppression operations.

There is another reason the arrival of four personnel is critical for structure fires. As mentioned earlier, current safety regulations require that before personnel can enter a building to extinguish a fire at least two personnel must be on scene and assigned to conduct search and rescue in case the fire attack crew becomes trapped. This is referred to as the “two-in, two out” rule. The only exception to this regulation is if it is known that victims trapped are inside the building.

94 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Given SCFD’s typical staffing of engines, the time it takes for the second unit to arrive becomes very important to achievement of the NFPA standard. If additional help is a considerable amount of time away the fire will continue to grow rapidly contributing to significantly more damage to the property.

Finally, the NFPA standard calls for the arrival of the entire initial assignment (sufficient apparatus and personnel to effectively combat a fire based on its level of risk) within nine minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time. This is to ensure that enough people and equipment arrive soon enough to be effective in controlling a fire before substantial damage occurs.20

NFPA 1710 describes the following performance as meeting the structure fire response criteria of the standard:

• Turnout time within one minute, 90% of the time • Arrival of the first “company” within five minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time, or • Arrival of the entire initial response assignment (all units assigned to the call) within nine minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time

Emergency Medical Response There are three time standards for emergency medical responses. They are:

• Turnout time within one minute, 90% of the time • Arrival of a unit with first responder or higher level of capability (basic life support) within five minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time • Arrival of an advanced life support unit, where this service is provided by the fire department, within nine minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time

The St. Cloud Police Department provides the basic life support component of emergency medical response. SCFD supports their effort with response to entrapment rescue incidents and when more personnel are needed. A private company provides ambulance transportation service at the advanced life support level.

As stated earlier, the St. Cloud Fire Department is considering an expansion of their involvement in delivery of emergency medical services as a “first responder”. The plan would call for some integration of “first responder” services between fire and police, with both agencies having a role in

20 See previous discussion about the “time/temperature curve” and the effects of flashover.

95 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan assisting the paramedic ambulance responder by early response of basic life support. Fire department responders would be particularly beneficial when law enforcement officers are tied up with other calls or activities and are unavailable for EMS response. This would, in essence, be a new level of service provided by the St. Cloud Fire Department.

The following section of this report identifies that St. Cloud Fire Department is currently achieving a response time of 5:00 or less, 90% of the time for EMS incidents to which it responds. Were this response time performance to continue after expansion of the department’s EMS role, the department could play an important factor in permitting the EMS system in Saint Cloud to achieve the NFPA 1710 performance targets for emergency medical services.

SCFD Response Performance

The goal of emergency services is to get sufficient personnel and equipment to an incident quickly enough to be effective. The discussion that follows reviews SCFD’s current performance against this goal. This analysis will compare the department’s performance with their informal objective of five minutes on the average and a response time objective of first unit arrival within 5 minutes of dispatch, 90% of the time. Data is not available to determine when the NFPA 1710 expectation of the first company arrival (four personnel and a fire engine) occurs thus only first “unit” arrival will be evaluated.

First Unit Response Time Performance

The following chart shows response time performance for the first arriving unit for the entire service area, differentiated by type of incident. SCFD is meeting the NFPA response performance targets for EMS incidents and in all cases is meeting its informal objective of five minute average response times.

96 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 29: First Unit Response Time Performance

Response Time by Type 7-1-02 to 6-30-04

05:00 EMS 03:12 90th % Average

Structure 06:00 Fire 03:50

Other 09:00 Fire 04:45

All 08:00 Incidents 04:25

00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00

minutes

Response Time Factors

Response time is the combination of turnout time and travel time. Data is not captured in the fire incident reporting system to evaluate each of these components separately.

Geography is a significant factor in a fire department’s ability to achieve a response time objective. The following map shows the city, its fire stations (career and paid-on-call), and the area that can be reached in four minutes of travel time (two travel miles) from an SCFD fire station at an average response travel speed of 30 MPH (a five minute response time allowing 60 seconds for turnout time). Incident locations have been included to illustrate the quality of current response coverage.

97 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 30: Current Four-Minute Travel Time Capability

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Four minute travel area of SCFD fire stations City of St. Cloud ● Incident location SCFD service area in the City of Augusta

About 60% of the city lies within two miles of a fire station. However, most incidents have occurred within the two mile (four minute) travel zone (89.8% of all incidents occurring during the study period).

Two of the SCFD stations are staffed exclusively by paid-on-call firefighters. The coverage displayed in the previous map assumes that these stations will be able to achieve the 60 second turnout time. This is unrealistic to expect unless personnel are at the station at the time of the alarm. If paid-on-call personnel must respond to the station, turnout time will more likely approach four to five minutes greatly extending overall response time.

98 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The next map shows current four minute travel coverage from the three stations that are staffed 24 hours per day with career personnel, the stations most able to meet the five minute response time target since they should be able to achieve 60 second or less turnout times.

Figure 31: Current Four-Minute Travel Time Capability- Career Stations Only

# # Z SCF D Vol. No. # # # # # # # # ## #### ###### # # ### # ## # ### # # # # ## # ### ### # # ## SCF D 1 # # # # # # ## # # # ### # ### # # ## # # # # ## # ## # # ## # ##### ######## # # # # ### # ##### ## # # ## ## # # # # # ### # # ## # # # ## # # # # # # # # ### ## ## # # ### ## ### # ## %[# # # ### ### ##### # ### # ## # ## # ## ## ## ### # ###### # ## ## ## # # # ## ## # ## # ######## ###### ### # # # ## ### # ########## ##### #### ### ###### # ##### # # # # # ######### ## # # ###### ##### # ##### # ### # # ## #### # # ##### # ### ## ## # # # ###### ######## ### # ### # #### ### ## ## # # # ### ### ## ## # ####### # # # # # ##### ## ## # # ## # # # ## ###### ## ### # # ##### ## ## # # # # ##### # # ## ### # # # ## # ###### ### # #### # #### # # #### # # ## ### # # ## ## ## # ## ###### ######### ###### # # ### # # # # # # ## # # # ## # # # # # ## ## ############ # # ##### ### #### #### # # # # ## ## ## # ###### #### ########## ####### # # ####### ## # ### ## ### ## # ## # ################# ################## # #### ## #### # ##### # # ## # ### # %[ ###### # # # # ######## # ###### # # # # ## # # # # ### ## # ## ##### # ### # # # # # # # ## # ###### # # # ### ######## ############ #### ## ## ### ## # ### ## ### # ####### ## # #################### # ## ###### # # # ####### # # #### # # # ########################### ### ############ ## ### ###### ##### #### #### ## # ###### #########%[##### ######### ### ## # # # ## # #### ##### ### ## ## # ### ####### ############# # # # # ### ####### ####### # # ## ######### ## ############## # ####### # ###### ## # #### ########## ## ##### ############ ## # ### # # ###### ###### # # ##### # ############### ###### # # ## #### # # ##### ### ###### ### # #### ########## # ######### # # # #### Z ################## #### #### ######## ### ############# #### ############ # # ####### # SCF# D 3 # # # # # # # # # #### ### # ## # # ### ### # ####### # ## ###### #### # ######## # ## ## ### # # ### ### ## ### ## ## ####### # # ## ## # # ### ################# ## # # # # ######### ### # ################## # #### ### ## ##### ##### #### ## ############## # ####%[## #### # ## # ## # ##### # # # #### ## # ###### ## ## ### %[# #### ### # # # # ## ## # ####### ####### # # #### # ## ## # # ### # ## ## ############# # # ## ## # SCF D 2 ##### ## ### ### ## # # # ##### ## # ##### #### # # # # # ## # ########## # # ####### # ##### # #### ## ### ##### #### ## # # # ## # # # ### # # ## #### ### # # ### # # # # # # ## # # ### # ## ## ### # ## # ## #### ## # # ## # # # # # ## ### ## # # ### # # ## # # # ## ## # # ### %[# ## # ## # # ## ## ## ### # ### # # # ## # ##### ### # # # # # # # ## ## # # # # ## ### ## # ## # ## # ## # # # # # #### ## # # # # # # SCF DAirport # ### # # # # SCFD Vol. So. # # # ## # # # ### ## # # # # # # # # # ## # ## ### # # # # # ## # ## # # # # # ## # # ### # # # # # ##### # # # # # # ## # # ## # # # # #### # # ## # ## ## # ## # ### # #### ## # # ### # ### # #### # # ## # # # ## # # # ### # # # ## # # ## # # # ## # # # # ## # # # ## ## # # # ## # ## # # # # # ### # # # # ## # # # # # # # ## ## # # # # # # # # ## # #

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Four minute travel area of career-staffed stations City of St. Cloud ● Incident location SCFD service area in the City of Augusta

82.9% of incidents that occurred during the study period were located within the two mile (four minute) travel zone around these three stations. The balance of this discussion will portray coverage from the three career-staffed stations only since they are the ones likely to actually achieve target response time performance.

99 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The next map shows the locations of priority incidents (medical, rescue and fire) in which the five minute response time target was achieved. 95.2% fell within the two mile travel zone of the three career-staffed fire stations.

Figure 32: Priority Incidents with Five-Minute Response Time Achievement

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$Z

$Z

$Z

Four minute travel area of career-staffed stations ▲ Incident location with response time of five minutes or less City of St. Cloud SCFD service area in the City of Augusta

4.8% of priority incidents had a response time of five minutes or less but occurred beyond four travel minutes from a career-staffed station. These likely were incidents where a unit was near the incident location at the time of the dispatch.

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What is not known with available data is what type of resource arrived on scene first. It may have been a fully equipped and staffed fire engine, or one person with a radio. Clearly the emergency event intervention capability of each is significantly different.

The next map shows the location of priority incidents that had response times in excess of five minutes.

Figure 33: Priority Incident with Greater Than Five-Minute Response Time

SCF D Vol. No. Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z SCF D 1 $Z $Z $Z%[ $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z %[ $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z %[ $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z Z $Z$Z$Z $Z $Z SCF D 3 $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z %[$Z %[ SCF D 2 $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z %[ $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z SCF DAirport $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z SCFD Vol. So. $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z$Z$Z $Z $Z$Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z$Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z

$Z $Z $Z $Z $Z $Z

Four minute travel area of career-staffed stations ▲ Incident location with response time of more than five minutes City of St. Cloud SCFD service area in the City of Augusta

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69.8% of all priority incidents with response times longer than five minutes occurred outside the two mile coverage area of a staffed fire station. 30.2% occurred within the four minute travel coverage. Though it is clearly a significant factor, distance is not the only issue driving the department’s current response time performance.

While it can not be quantified using currently available data, another factor likely influencing response time performance is long turnout times. Even if travel times are within targets, delays in initiating the response will cause an incident to exceed the target. Given that some responses are made exclusively from paid-on-call stations, turnout times of 60 seconds are unlikely since responders must travel from home to the fire station in order to initiate response. There are also likely to be incidents handled by career companies that had turnout times in excess of the 60 second target.

The following chart shows response time performance by hour of day for priority incidents. Response times vary significantly during the course of the day. This most likely is caused by delays in initiating response. What causes this delay is unknown but must certainly become a critical issue for the department as it further develops its emergency response system.

Figure 34: Priority Incident Response Time Performance by Hour of Day

Response Time by Hour - Fire and EMS 7-1-02 to 6-30-04 12:00

10:00

08:00

06:00

04:00

02:00 90th% Average

00:00 0 2 4 6 8 10121416182022 hour

Finally, response units that are not available for an incident occurring in their primary service area may also be a factor contributing to the number of over five minute responses inside the four minute travel areas. If a response unit is already committed on an incident, or is away from its station for

102 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan training or other reasons then a response unit from a more distant station will be assigned to the incident. This will contribute to longer than desired travel times.

Effect of Career versus Paid-on-call Service Areas on Response Time Performance

Incidents within the paid-on-call service area were evaluated separately to determine if response time performance was being affected by the split service area dispatch practice. Recall that incidents within a portion of the service area are dispatched to paid-on-call personnel only (except 7 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday when career units are also dispatched).

The following chart shows response time performance for incidents within the paid-on-call service area. The data has been collated to show performance during the paid-on-call-only times of day and those times when career units are also dispatched.

Figure 35: Response Time Performance Analysis- Paid-on-call Zones

Response Time Comparison - Volunteer Service Area

10.0 8.9 EMS 14.4 11.4

12.2 7.8 Fire 17.4 10.8 Volunteer Average Career Average 11.2 Volunteer 90th% 8.3 Career 90th% All 15.0 11.0

0.0 3.0 6.0 9.0 12.0 15.0 18.0

minutes

Career units provided better response time performance than paid-on-call units in all cases. Career units responded to EMS incidents 26% faster than paid-on-call units and 61% faster to fire incidents (the more critical emergencies). In light of this information, maintaining separate service areas should be reconsidered. Residents of the city, regardless of their location, deserve the fastest response possible. Based on this analysis career staffed companies provide the most prompt response.

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Incident Staffing

Delivering sufficient numbers of personnel to the scene to accomplish all the various tasks that are required to effective control an emergency is essential. SCFD has personnel available to routinely staff emergency medical and other non-emergency incidents with sufficient personnel.

The most labor intensive incidents are structure fires. National criteria recommend at least 15 personnel be on scene of a fire in a single family home. More personnel are needed as the size of the structure increases, the life risk increases, or when special hazards exist.

At full staffing SCFD has 15 personnel available to respond to structure fires21. At minimum staffing that number drops to 12. Additional support from the paid-on-call division is also available. Thus SCFD, with support from the paid-on-call division, normally has sufficient personnel to staff moderate risk structure fires. With a good turnout of personnel from the paid-on-call division it can also staff high risk structure fires as well.

Analysis of Outcomes

Loss to property as a result of structure fires also could not be evaluated due to lack of data. Had complete and accurate records of property values and losses been maintained a comparison of SCFD results against regional and national results could have been made.

No data is captured to evaluate SCFD’s effectiveness on other types of incidents.

Mutual and Automatic Aid

SCFD has mutual aid agreements with all surrounding fire departments. Through these agreements SCFD can gain, within a 15 to 20 minute time period, up to an additional 20 firefighters and four response units. SCFD reciprocates to its neighboring departments.

The only automatic aid is provided by the SCFD airport crash rescue unit to aircraft accidents in areas within a five mile radius of the airport.

21 One firefighter stays at the station to act as dispatcher and one firefighter must remain at the Airport fire station.

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Insurance Services Office

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) last rated the St. Cloud Fire Department in 1998. The ISO assigned the city a class 4 rating for all properties within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant and class 9 for all other properties.

The ISO uses a 1 – 10 rating scale with class 1 being the best level of service (and lowest fire insurance premium cost) and class 10 being no service at all. The ISO reviews fire protection in three major categories. These categories, and the credit received for the city rating, are shown below.

Communication (10%) – This evaluates the function and reliability of the dispatch service. The department received 7.49% out of a possible 10% in this category.

Water Supply (40%) – This evaluates the community’s ability to deliver firefighting water in sufficient volumes to combat fires in buildings. The city received 39.02% out of a possible 40%.

Fire Department – (50%) – This evaluates the capability of the fire department to effectively respond to and extinguish a fire. Items reviewed include apparatus, staffing, training, and station locations. The city received 29.30% out of a possible 50%. The primary areas of deficiency included insufficient on-duty staffing, an insufficient number of fully equipped in-service apparatus, and less than ideal distribution of response companies. In addition, the ISO recommended improvements in the department’s training program and facilities.

The total percentage credit received was 68.02%22. In order to achieve the next lower rating the city would need at least 70 percentage points of credit.

The ISO rating is important to a community. Many property insurance companies base the fire risk portion of property insurance premiums on the community’s ISO rating. The charts below show two examples of how fire insurance rates for homes change based on the ISO rating assigned.

22 ISO subtracts points when the quality of the fire department and the quality of the water system are significantly different (divergence). In the 1998 survey 7.79% was subtracted for divergence.

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Figure 36: Example Premiums Based on ISO Ratings

As the ISO class improves, fire insurance rates decrease dramatically until class 5 for homes. Businesses generally benefit from further reductions down to class 123.

While there is little to be gained in insurance premium savings for homeowners by improving the rating within areas served by fire hydrants (currently class 4) there is substantial opportunity for savings to property owners in areas that are not served by fire hydrants (currently class 9). If the department can demonstrate its ability to deliver sufficient volumes of water by truck to areas not served by fire hydrants it can lower the ISO rating in those areas. This will require training, equipment (portable reservoirs), refinement of response practices to ensure prompt response by water tenders, and perhaps additional water tenders.

23 A similar chart is not available for commercial properties. Property use affects the premium and many are individually rated.

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National Benchmarks and Comparables

There are a variety of other standards and performance criteria developed by various organizations with an interest in fire and emergency services. The chart that follows lists a number of these.

Figure 37: Table of Benchmark Comparisons

National Standard or Comparison Organization Current SCFD Standard Minimum effective company staffing is 4 Dallas Fire Dept. Study, Seattle Fire Current staffing levels for engines firefighters Dept. Study, NFPA Standards., is 3 firefighters, 4-person company Federal OSHA assembled at scene Engine company within 1.5 miles of built Insurance Services Office (ISO) Not met upon areas Ladder truck within 2.5 miles of built upon Insurance Services Office (ISO) Not met areas Staffed ladder truck if 5 or more buildings Insurance Services Office (ISO) Not met exceed 35’ high Average fireground staffing to be 15 Commission on Fire Accreditation Unknown24. Data is not available firefighters (up to 53 at mall, high rise, etc.) International (International Association to evaluate fireground staffing. of Fire Chiefs) National average of on-duty personnel = .48 International City/County Management Current strength is .21 per 1,000 per 1,000 population Association (ICMA) population

National average total uniformed, full-time International City/County Management Current strength is .75 per 1,000 personnel = 1.59 per 1,000 Association (ICMA) population Arrive at structure fire prior to flashover FEMA , National Fire Academy First unit arrival is 8 minutes or (typically 5 to 7 minutes from ignition) less, 90% of the time Arrive at EMS call within 4 to 6 minutes of American Red Cross First unit arrival is 5 minutes or cardiac or respiratory arrest less, 90% of the time when dispatched.

24 The benchmark would not be met by on-duty staff alone. Sufficient data was not available to determine the average off- duty or paid-on-call staffing that typically supplements on duty staff.

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Service Delivery Observations and Conclusions

A number of conclusions can be reached from the preceding analysis. It will be very important for SCFD to be mindful of these as it moves forward with the development of its long-range plan of action.

1. Improvements need to be made to collection and analysis of incident data. Additional information should be captured that will allow an analysis of the various elements of response time, the analysis of event outcomes, and greater reliability in address matching with geographic information systems software. 2. No definition of expected performance has been developed and adopted (performance objectives). The department needs to develop its service level expectation in order to properly plan for the expansion of response resources. 3. Growth of the community, both in terms of population and geography, will impact the fire department’s ability to deliver effective services with current resources. Additional resources and facilities are recommended in the long-term strategy section of this report. 4. A much greater level of integration of career and paid-on-call response forces and practices is needed. All incidents should receive the closest (in terms of response time) available unit followed by additional closest units as needed of the right type for the incident. There should be no defined career and paid-on-call division response areas. The entire city should receive the best and closest resources regardless of location. 5. Current response protocols for fire alarm activations are creating an unnecessary over- utilization of response resources. This lost response capacity can be used for other purposes such as implementation of the fire department EMS first responder proposal. 6. The Saint Cloud Fire Department’s distribution of resources and historical response time performance indicates the agency could provide beneficial services to the City’s emergency medical system. Indications are that an integration of fire and police first response at the basic life support level, along with advanced life support paramedic transport services, will meet or exceed the NFPA 1710 performance benchmarks for EMS services. 7. Significant portions of the SCFD service area are well outside reasonable distances from staffed fire stations that are able to provide the most prompt response. Following the adoption of formal response performance objectives a station location plan should be developed that will allow achievement of the performance targets. 8. Insurance cost savings can be created for property owners not served by fire hydrants through improvement in mobile water delivery capability.

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Objective Nine- Training Providing quality and safe fire and emergency services requires a well-trained response force. Training and education of department personnel are critical functions for the SCFD. Without a quality, comprehensive training program, emergency outcomes are compromised and departmental personnel are at risk.

General Training Competencies

In order to ensure quality training is provided it should be based on established standards of good practice. There are a variety of sources available for training standards. The SCFD has selected the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as its main sources of standards and materials. Both are considered industry standards.

Hazardous materials’ training is delivered at the Operations level to Department personnel. A smaller number of personnel are certified at the Technician level.

SCFD, through the oversight of the Deputy Chief of Training and Administration, is currently developing enhancements to the Department’s training program. Some of these enhancements include implementing an Officer Development Training Program, a Fire Apparatus Operator Manual, a formal First Year Probationary Training Program, and a New Firefighter Orientation and Training Program.

Training Facilities

SCFD Station #1 is designed to provide an efficient training environment. The facility, in addition to operating as an active in-service fire station, provides formal classrooms, standard AV equipment, computer projection capability, a training library, a drill ground area with appropriate props and a well designed drill tower providing hose, ladder and other “hands-on” training opportunities. Station #1 also has the capability to “transmit” video programs to Stations 2 and 3. “Live” firefighting and other related “live” evolutions must be accomplished at the City of Minneapolis facility and/or acquired structures obtained by the St. Cloud Technical College.

Providing quality training props and tools to support training efforts should continue to be a priority for the SCFD. Quality training occurs when simulations are created that closely mimic real life emergencies.

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Training Staff

The Deputy Chief of Training and Administration facilitates the SCFD training program. The Department does not have a training committee. A training committee comprised of representative members of the career and paid-on-call personnel can provide the needed input into a well-balanced departmental training program. Company (shift) officers conduct the majority of in-service training commensurate with the training schedule provided by the Training and Administration Deputy Chief. SCFD does not have state certified instructors on staff.

Entry Level Training

Prior to be considered for full-time employment by the SCFD applicants must meet the minimum training requirements prescribed by the Firefighter Job Description. While the hiring process is dictated by Civil Service requirements, applicants must possess the following certifications:

• Fire Fighter I • Fire Fighter II • Minnesota First Responder • High School Diploma or equivalent • Minnesota Driver’s License

Successful candidates complete the SCFD orientation during their 12-month probationary period.

Ongoing Skills Maintenance Training

Once assigned to a response unit, personnel must be continually provided with refresher training to avoid degradation of skills learned during entry-level training. In addition, training must be provided to deal with emerging risks and service demands.

Company officers are expected to provide ongoing training to the personnel at their station. The Deputy Chief of Training and Administration provides an annual training schedule and lesson plans for the company officers to promote consistency in the in-service training being provided. The Volunteer Division Training Officer facilitates this effort for their members. Ongoing training for officers, however, needs improvement to ensure their skills and knowledge remain current. This is especially true with the Department not having certified instructors on staff.

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The following chart identifies the training hours documented for both career and paid-on-call personnel for calendar year 2003 and 2004 (through 06/30).

Figure 38: SCFD Training Hours Per Member

St. Cloud Fire Department – Training Activity Training Hours for CY 2003 & CY2004 through 6/30 CY2003 Average CY2004 Average Training Training Hours Training Hours Training Hours Hours Per Member [1/1-6/30] Per Member Paid-on-call 9.95* 1036.10 39.85 258.70* Division [19.90] Career 77.55* 4366.25 79.39 4265.48* Division [155.10] *These hours represent 50% of CY2004. Doubling their sum will make them statistically comparable to CY2003.

There is a variety of guidance available on the amount of time that a firefighter should spend training each year including the Insurance Services Office, NFPA and others. These sources suggest that 240 hours per year is the minimum needed to ensure proficiency and prevent degradation of skills. Additional hours of training are needed for specialty services such as rescue, emergency medical, leadership and incident management.

A review of 2003 training totals from the Department’s records management system revealed a significant training volume disparity between career and paid-on-call members. Average training hours for career members of the department were reported at 79.39 for CY2003 and 155.10 for CY2004 [adjusted] as compared to paid-on-call members at 39.85 for CY2003 and 19.90 for CY2004 [adjusted]. This represents a measurable disparity in training hours and creates a perceived inequality of knowledge and practice base among the department’s ranks.

SCFD must address the training interface and disparity between the Career and Volunteer Divisions. A centralized, consistent approach to accomplishing training for both Divisions needs to be implemented.

The Department falls short of providing the level of ongoing training identified by the Insurance Services Office for maximum point credit. A more comprehensive program is needed. The Department acknowledges this need and training priorities are being addressed. Training hours for the Career Division have doubled over the previous year.

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Many departments using both career and volunteer or on-call personnel have found increasing challenges in recruitment, retention and training requirements given increased demands outside of the fire department as well as increasing burdens faced by today’s public safety organizations. It is important for organizational readiness as well as for morale within the ranks that similar minimum training requirements be enforced across the Department. Special consideration should be given to providing and maintaining training parity for both paid and on-call members. Incentives and enhanced or more diverse training opportunities may be required to achieve this goal.

Multi-station (within SCFD) training occurs approximately 2/3 of the time that skills maintenance training is provided. The department rarely participates in multi-agency drills although regional disaster drills are usually conducted annually. Night drills are rarely conducted.

The training library is not inventoried and there is no checkout system in place for these materials. The department staff estimates a 1:1 ratio between manipulative and classroom time. This ratio is within accepted standards, however most adult learners prefer greater manipulative, “hands-on” practice time. A safety officer is not appointed on all manipulative training sessions undertaken by the Department in accordance with NFPA standards.

The Department conducts post-incident analysis (PIA) review of major incidents. This is important as lessons learned and opportunities for improvement can be readily identified.

SCFD utilizes outside training opportunities within budgetary limitations and is usually able to sponsor one individual to attend the National Fire Academy annually. Core content and on-site professional networking opportunities make this a unique employee/member developmental opportunity underwritten by federal funding and Congressional mandate. The Department should continue to expand attendance opportunities at the NFA throughout its officer ranks and those developing their company officer skill sets.

The importance of off-site training opportunities cannot be over stated as the challenges facing contemporary fire rescue and public safety agencies are many and diverse in today’s environment. Many state and federal course are either available or in process and should be examined for deployment on a continual basis.

Given the realization that any large scale or even medium sized incident could quickly challenge SCFD resources, on going multi-agency drills and evolutions are essential to a fluid operation on the actual emergency scene and should be regularly scheduled.

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Career Development Training

National standards recommend that personnel demonstrate the skills and knowledge required prior to being promoted to a more responsible position within the organization. Pre-promotional training is often provided to ensure candidates for promotion meet the minimum educational requirements for the position. Then the promotional process is used to select the most qualified individual based on a demonstration of proficiency.

The SCFD does not formally provide organized pre-promotional training to potential or aspiring officers using a standardized curriculum or evaluation system. The National Fire Protection Association has standards for each of these positions. The fire officer standard is NFPA 1021. Other standards exist for specialty skills.

Pre-promotion training programs should be developed and completion required of personnel prior to application for promotion. This kind of training is best performed in an academy setting with consistency in instruction and ample opportunity for student/instructor interaction. Officers at the station can provide some training, but the majority should be in a more formalized setting. Then, as discussed earlier, the promotional process should effectively evaluate applicants to determine who best demonstrates the skills and knowledge required of the position.

Training Program Planning

Like any other activity training and education of personnel should be conducted under a comprehensive plan. This plan should include a clear definition of the goals and objectives of the training program, and a schedule of training activities to achieve them. A Departmental Training Committee could help formulate this plan.

The SCFD makes some effort at training program planning through their annual budget process and the formulation of the annual training schedule by the Deputy Chief of Training and Administration.

Ideally, a comprehensive training plan includes:

• Identification of performance standards for all personnel. • Provisions for periodic review of individual and company level performance. • Scheduled training to prevent skills degradation. • Scheduled skills improvement training.

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• Comprehensive training objectives for each training session presented. • Process for evaluating the amount of learning that occurred. • Scheduling outside training opportunities

Competency Based Training

Ongoing training should follow an identified plan based on demonstrated training needs. Such a plan is best developed as a result of periodic evaluation of the current skill levels of employees and members (competency based training).

Under a competency-based system, an evaluation of skill performance is conducted at scheduled intervals to determine if the person being evaluated can perform the task in accordance with pre- determined standards. Those skills that are performed well require no additional training. Those skills not performed well are practiced until the standard is met.

This approach maximizes the time used for training. Further it ensures that personnel are performing at an established level. Specialty skills can be evaluated in the same manner with further training provided as needed. Ideally the competency based training approach is used on an ongoing basis. For example, each quarter different skills are evaluated on an individual-by-individual basis.

To institute a competency-based approach to training, all of the needed skills must be documented to describe the standard of performance expected. This would include all skills such as hose handling, apparatus operation, EMS procedures, use of equipment and tools, forcible entry, ventilation, tactics and strategy and others.

To operate an effective ongoing training program, even under the competency-based approach, sufficient resources must be available to conduct skill evaluations and to assist with performance improvement training.

Training Records and Reports

Training records are maintained on the “Fire Programs”™ software designed for that purpose. SCFD has had this program for three years, but has only utilized it effectively for the last 18 months. The system is able to provide reports showing the amount of training received by each employee/member by category, by hour. This is an excellent resource for the Department to assist in developing long- range training and education plans.

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During each rotating shift, personnel manually complete the required form showing their participation in training activity. This report is reviewed and submitted to the Deputy Chief of Training and Administration to be entered into a database.

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Objective Ten- Fire Prevention An aggressive fire, medical, and accident risk management program, through active prevention efforts, is a fire department’s best opportunity to minimize the losses and human trauma associated with fire and medical emergency events. The International Association of Fire Chiefs has defined proactive emergency services as:

“…embracing new, proven, technology and built-in protection, like automatic fire sprinkler and early detection systems, combined with an aggressive code enforcement and strong public education programs.”

A fire department should actively promote fire resistive construction, built-in early warning and suppression systems, and an educated public that is trained to minimize their risk to fires, accidents, and medical emergencies.

Background

As a duly formulated municipality in the State of Minnesota the City of St. Cloud has adopted the following Codes and Standards:

2003 Minnesota State Fire Code (amended 2000 IFC) Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office Adopted under the City of St. Cloud Ordinance #2124

2003 Minnesota State Building Code (amended 2000 IBC) Optional 1306 Sprinkler Provisions Minnesota Building Codes & Standards Adopted under the City of St. Cloud Ordinance #2123

1999 NFPA #13, “Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems” SBC/MSFC reference

1999 NFPA #72, “National Fire Alarm Code MSFC reference

2000 NFPA #101, “Life Safety Code” MSFC Reference

As provided for in St. Cloud Ordinance #2124, “The Chief of the Fire Department serving the City of St. Cloud, Minnesota, or his representative authorized by him shall enforce the provisions of this ordinance.”

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“The Chief of the Fire Department may detail such members of the Fire Department as inspectors from time to time as necessary. The Chief of the Fire Department may recommend the employment of technical inspectors, who, when such authorization is made, shall be selected in accordance with the applicable employment policies of the City of St. Cloud.”

The SCFD Chief has authorized three individuals to enforce the Fire Code in the City of St. Cloud; The Fire Marshal, Assistant Fire Marshal A, and Assistant Fire Marshal B. The Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshals are scheduled to work four ten-hour days per week with the Fire Marshal off on Fridays and the Assistant Fire Marshals off on Mondays. In-service, on shift, fire suppression personnel are not used to complete inspection and/or testing duties. A part time employee is used to assist with daily reports & statistics, permit processing, and files.

New Construction Review

Fire and life safety plans are required for new construction. With the exception of fire sprinkler systems, the SCFD Fire Prevention Office reviews new construction plans for the requirements of the Fire Code. The SCFD has recently acquired “sign off” approval authority for new construction prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the Building Official.

At the request of the City of St. Cloud Chief Building Official, fire sprinkler system plans are submitted to and reviewed by the State Fire Marshal. The SCFD Fire Prevention Office conducts the test and acceptance requirements for systems. This request is apparently the result of insufficient SCFD resources to complete a timely system plan review. This process causes at least two significant concerns. First, the SCFD Fire Prevention Office is conducting tests and acceptance requirements on systems without benefit of approved plans on the site and secondly, approved plans for the systems are routinely not completed until well after the occupancy permit has been issued and the building has been occupied.

Considering the intricacies and complexities of detection and suppressions systems it is unclear whether systems are being installed in compliance with applicable codes, standards, approved plans. Understanding that a number of communities in the region delegate this responsibility to the State Fire Marshal, the policy should be reviewed.

Considering the plan review revenue collected for fire detection and suppression systems, additional resources may be funded to locally facilitate the system plan review process. The following chart identifies the SCFD Fire Prevention Office’s new construction/plan review activity:

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Figure 39: Fire Prevention Division General Activity Summary

St. Cloud Fire Department – Fire Prevention Office Activity New Construction/Plan Review Contacts CY2001 CY2002 CY2003 New Construction 706 1972 2267 Projects Plan 310 897 1327 Reviews Plan Review $868,406 $3,215,464 $1,303,167 Valuation [Fire] Source: SCFD Fire Marshal

There have been significant improvements implemented in the SCFD and City’s new construction engineering, plan review, permit and occupancy process in recent years. This reflects the dedication and commitment of the personnel involved in the process. These improvements, and others, could be greatly enhanced with the formalization of the City’s development authorization review process. Pulling together the stakeholders in this process, including community representatives, to solicit input to implement and document a formal development authorization review process for all involved would provide a baseline to more easily improve the process, achieve administrative approval and obtain funding.

Fire Safety Inspections

Property inspections, to find and eliminate potential fire hazards, are an important part of the overall fire protection system. The health, safety, and welfare of citizens and firefighters are in the balance. Additionally, more hazardous structures and processes require a permit to operate in compliance with the applicable code and thus an inspection to ensure a minimum degree of safety exists.

The recommended frequency for fire safety inspections varies by the type of occupancy. Generally they are classified by degree of hazard. The table below describes the various hazard classifications and the recommended inspection frequency.

118 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 40: Inspection Frequency Recommendation Table

Hazard Recommended Classification Example Facilities Inspection Frequency Apartment common areas, small stores and offices, Low medical offices, storage of other than flammable or Annual hazardous materials. Gas stations, large (>12,000 square feet) stores and offices, restaurants, schools, hospitals, manufacturing (moderate hazardous materials use), industrial Moderate Semi-annual (moderate hazardous materials use), auto repair shops, storage of large quantities of combustible or flammable material. Nursing homes, large quantity users of hazardous materials, industrial facilities with high process hazards, High bulk flammable liquid storage facilities, a facility Quarterly classified as an “extremely hazardous substance” facility by federal regulations (SARA Title III) Source: National Fire Protection Association

The SCFD Fire Prevention Office estimates there are approximately 10,000 inspectable properties in the City of St. Cloud, although the exact number is difficult to determine as all of the 1996 through 2000 property files are missing.

Considering 676 code enforcement inspections were completed in 2003, as displayed in the chart below, and considering that all properties might be inspected annually as indicated in the above chart for a low hazard classification, only .07 percent of inspectable properties in the City of St. Cloud were inspected during CY2003. This gives no consideration for the frequency of medium or high hazard property inspections.

It is illogical to believe the three individuals assigned to the Fire Prevention Office might inspect the approximate 10,000 inspectable properties within the City of St. Cloud in any reasonable time frame especially in addition to their other responsibilities. This phenomenon can place residents and visitors, not to mention firefighters, in jeopardy. Should the unthinkable occur where a significant fire originates in a property that has never been inspected or has not been inspected for years and that fire results in serious injury or death, the City may well have a liability exposure.

Fire station personnel should be considered to accomplish fire code inspections. This would also provide a process to accomplish and/or update pre-incident planning. Initially, company officers could be appropriately trained and certified to implement this program that may initially only include low hazard classifications. Only one individual per crew would have to be trained/certified to complete the

119 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan inspection; other crewmembers would accomplish property familiarization and pre-incident updates. A direct liaison with the Fire Prevention Office would be established.

In addition to the above consideration the Fire Marshal/Fire Chief needs to:

• Clearly identify the number of properties that should be inspected. • Establish the frequency these properties should be inspected by level of risk. • Identify the resources needed to conduct inspections, re-inspections, plan review, tests and other related responsibilities. • Develop a comprehensive records management system so that the results of inspections can be recorded, inspections tracked and next inspection dates identified to the inspector. • Explore automation of inspection files • Explore charging fees for required fire inspections. The following chart identifies the SCFD Fire Prevention Office code enforcement and inspection activity:

Figure 41: Fire Inspection Activity Summary

St. Cloud Fire Department – Fire Prevention Office Activity Code Enforcement & Inspection Contacts CY2001 CY2002 CY2003 Code 297 768 676 Enforcement Follow-up 272 520 614 Inspections Orders/Memos 151 355 541 Issued Complaints 131 215 129

Approval - 166 512 of Permits Source: SCFD Fire Marshal

Life and Fire Safety Education

Providing fire safety education to the public to minimize the occurrence of fire and train the community in appropriate actions to take when faced with an emergency is a fire protection strategy particularly important. With extended response times in portions of the City, prevention and education provide the best chance for minimizing the effects of a hostile fire.

120 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Life and fire safety education is conducted by the Fire Prevention Office on an “as can” basis due to workload demands and insufficient staff resources. Fire Station personnel provide station tours by request and conduct the annual fire alarm tests in the City’s 52 schools. This test provides an evacuation exercise for the students.

Educational activities for the Fire Prevention Office include presentations for daycare children, the St. Benedict Center, Prime Vest, MN Deaf Services, New Beginnings, Old County Buffet, and Crime Free Housing. Educational brochures are available to the public.

The SCFD life and fire safety education priority is low and the available resources limited. The SCFD should provide a more aggressive public education program. All segments of the population should receive appropriate to their age and issues they face. There are a number of programs that can be incorporated into an overall education strategy that should be explored for implementation. Many school systems across the nation have adopted the NFPA “Learn Not To Burn” and/or “Risk Watch” programs into their annual curriculum. These programs are time tested with proven positive results.

Providing sufficient resources for delivery of safety education is necessary to ensure an effective program. While the Fire Prevention Office should continue to oversee this responsibility the part time efforts of one or two individuals cannot be effective. Fire station personnel, career and paid-on-call, are an excellent resource for programs delivered within their respective service areas. This is also a significant opportunity to expand program delivery resources through the use of Explorers, auxiliaries, and other community volunteers.

Finally, there should be some way to measure results of the effort. This would include, among other factors, expanding information tracked on each emergency incident to record whether human behavior was a contributing factor to the emergency and whether citizens present took appropriate action when faced with an emergency.

The following chart identifies the life and fire safety data collected by the SCFD Fire Prevention Office:

121 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

St. Cloud Fire Department – Fire Prevention Office Activity Life and Fire Safety Education 2003 Education Activity Number of events Number in attendance Instruct Class or Seminar 36 Attend Class or Seminar 340 3424 Juvenile Fire Setter Prog. 6 Other 124

Fire Investigation

The investigation of fires, explosions, and related emergencies is an integral part of providing life and fire safety to a community.

The SCFD Fire Prevention Office investigates all fires and related incidents when the Fire Department incident commander is unable to establish the origin and cause or has reason to believe the cause may have been intentional. Incident commanders, however, possess limited origin and cause determination training. The Fire Marshal is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Fire Investigation program and the Assistant Fire Marshals have received training through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Fire Prevention personnel work closely with the St. Cloud Police Department and their Crime Lab. When SCFD personnel determine a fire is incendiary in nature or involves a crime the St. Cloud Police Department is called. As a team, the SCFD Fire Prevention Office and the St. Cloud Police Department, with their arrest authority, process the case through the County Attorney for prosecution.

This chart indicates the types of fire causes for residential properties by percentage of all residential fire causes:

122 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 42: Fire Causes in St. Cloud

St. Cloud Fire Department – Fire Prevention Office Activity 2003 Residential Property Fire Causes as a Percentage of all Residential Causes 2001 2002 2003 Heating 5.8 4.8 4.8 Cooking 56.5 60.5 65.4 Electrical 4.4 10.6 3.8 Smoking/Matches 10.1 5.8 8.7 Candles 2.9 3.8 1.9 Incendiary 1.4 2.9 1.9 Gas 0.0 2.9 0.0 Weather 0.0 1.0 0.0 Other 5.8 1.9 7.7 Undetermined 13.1 5.8 5.8 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Source: SCFD Annual Report

This chart indicates a significant community educational problem in the area of cooking in residential properties as almost two-thirds of all residential fires are caused by activities associated with cooking. The SCFD should pursue this community challenge by formally identifying this problem and targeting life and fire safety education programs to address its resolution.

The chart below reflects the number of origin and cause determinations made by the Fire Prevention Office staff:

Figure 43: Investigation Activity Summary by Cause Determination

St. Cloud Fire Department – Fire Prevention Office Activity Fire Investigation CY 2001 CY2002 CY2003 Incendiary 10 13 Accidental 12 22 Undetermined 16 13 Total 60 38 49

Total Fire Loss $ $3,750,430 $1,051,450 Number of Incidents 1536 1556 Source: SCFD Fire Marshal

When deducting the number of rescue and mutual aid incidents from the annual sum of incidents for CY2002 and CY2003 the Fire Prevention Office staff attended 2.93% of incidents in CY 2002 and

123 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

3.75% of incidents in CY2003. Considering the limited arson investigation and awareness training SCFD incident commanders receive, this phenomenon should be reviewed. Basic origin and cause determination training for incident commanders should be enhanced.

Incident Information Analysis

The primary purpose for maintaining a record of emergency responses is to evaluate the effectiveness of fire/rescue programs and performance. This effort includes deployment strategies, training requirements, and the effectiveness of fire prevention, code enforcement, fire investigation, and life safety education programs.

SCFD has the potential of maintaining a good incident record system that provides valuable information for organizational and community analyses. Currently the Department is collecting data in a fragmented manner with little or no coordinated analysis or evaluation being done. For example, based on a review of SCFD’s incident activity for the past several years, we recommend that attention should be given to the determination of false alarms, malicious false alarms, and alarm malfunctions. There is typically a tendency to misclassify these categories; especially when a good intent category is not utilized. When alarms are actuated by non-hostile sources such as repairmen, burnt food, and/or accidental system damage, etc., they are many times classified as a system malfunction when the system did exactly what it was designed to do. These types of alarms should be classified as “good intent.”

Once a coordinated data collection and analysis process is in place, incident records may be used to determine, as an example, what types of incidents are occurring most frequently, the types of properties most often involved in fire, causes of ignition and other facts to assist with targeting fire prevention and accident prevention efforts of the department and future departmental resource needs.

Case in point would be the number of residential fires in St. Cloud caused by activities involving cooking identified in the above chart. This phenomenon, as an example, continues year after year indicating analysis is not occurring that would result in the department addressing and resolving this challenge through aggressive public education and prevention efforts.

The “fire problem” in a community is addressed by a “cycle” of resources provided by the authority having jurisdiction- in this case, the St. Cloud Fire Department. These resources include public education so the citizen is aware of hazards, how to prevent them, and what to do should they occur; engineering/code enforcement so fire an life safety is an inherent part of the community infrastructure and where there is a violation, compliance is achieved; fire suppression so that when

124 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

there is a failure in the education, engineering/code enforcement part of the cycle the emergency can be resolved; and fire investigation where the incident is documented, the cause determined accidental or intentional and steps taken so it will not happen again.

The results of fire investigations suggest public education needs and results, the need for code modifications and changes, fire department training, resources, and deployment, and identification of the community’s “fire problem.”

The SCFD is not completing the “cycle.” While public education, engineering/code enforcement, fire suppression, and fire investigation entities exist; they have little or no formal interface. The entities operate within the same Department but do not necessarily collect, share, and/or analyze data together. The four “cycle” entities tend to operate separate from one another.

125 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Section II- System Demand Projections

Community Growth Potential Various studies have been conducted attempting to predict the future growth of the St. Cloud community. The most recent was conducted by Maxfield Research as part of the St. Cloud Area Joint Planning Project between 1998 and 2000. Maxfield prepared three growth estimates, two of which are shown in the following chart (plan-low and plan-high)25. The third growth projection (trend) is a calculation based on past population growth within St. Cloud.

Figure 44: St. Cloud Population Forecast

Population Forecast 100000

95000

90000

85000

80000

75000

70000 Trend 65000 Plan-Low Plan- High 60000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024

The three scenarios predict that by the year 2025 population will be between 88,804 and 92,710.

The community is also expected to expand in size. The following map shows future geographic growth. Shown are defined areas for primary (short-term) growth, secondary (mid-term) growth, and ultimate (long-term) growth.

25 Maxfield Reseach forecast population to the year 2020. Their estimate has been extended as a trend to the year 2025.

126 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 45: St. Cloud Community Growth Potential

SCF D Vol. No. SCF D 1 %[

%[ %[ SCF D 3 %[ %[ SCF D 2 %[

SCF D Airport SCFD Vol. So.

Existing fire station locations will be inadequate to serve the future community. The fire department and city leadership will need to plan the addition of resources, based on formally established performance objectives, so that desired levels of fire and emergency services can be provided as growth occurs.

Community growth plans anticipate continued development within existing city boundaries and eventual expansion of the city to the east. It is expected that remaining growth areas in the northwestern and southern (north of I-94) portions of the city will develop in the next seven to ten years. Upon development of these areas, future growth will occur to the east of the Mississippi River and south of I-94. Additional transportation improvements are planned including construction of a 33rd Street South bridge, conversion of Highway 10 to a limited access freeway and improving the carrying capacity of Highway 23.

Service Demand Projections Since response activity is largely driven by population it is possible to forecast future fire department workload using population projections. The chart below predicts fire department activity for the three basic response categories to the year 2025 using the “trend” forecast shown in the chart above. The

127 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

forecast uses historic per capita usage of fire department services to estimate future workload in each of the three basic response categories.

Figure 46: St. Cloud Workload Forecast

Response Workload Forecast 1400

1200

1000

800 Fire EMS/Res c ue 600 Other Incidents

400

200

0 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 2020 2023

Fire and EMS incidents, assuming no change in the fire department’s delivery of services, will grow at a very modest rate. Other incidents will grow at a rate of less than 2% per year.

As is indicated elsewhere in this study, the department is evaluating the feasibility of response to emergency medical incidents at the basic life support level, integrating with police BLS response and the transport service’s ALS response. It has been shown that such an effort could provide beneficial improvements in response time consistency and is recommended for implementation. We estimate that the program would have generated approximately 1327 additional calls for the fire department in the past year. Sufficient historical workload data on first responder EMS calls was unavailable to permit an accurate of future workload for this new program, but it can be assumed that, once established, the EMS first response workload would likely grow at a modest rate similar to the City’s overall workload in emergency medical events.

Community Risk Analysis The fire service assesses the relative fire suppression risk of properties based on a number of factors. Properties with high fire and life risk require greater numbers of personnel and apparatus to effectively mitigate a fire emergency. Staffing and deployment decisions are largely based on the level of risk within geographic sub-areas of a community.

128 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The city’s risk assessment has been developed based on potential uses of land within its boundaries. These potential uses are found in the city’s zoning layout. The following map translates zoning (potential scale of development within geographic sub-areas) to three categories of relative fire and life risk.

• Low risk – Areas zoned and used for agricultural purposes, open space, and other low intensity uses. • Moderate risk – Areas zoned for single family properties, small commercial and office uses and equivalently sized business activities. • High risk – Business districts, high density residential, light industrial, and large mercantile centers. • Maximum risk – High rise, unprotected, residential and commercial properties, heavy industrial and high life risk institutional properties.

Figure 47: Current Community Risk By Geographic Area

SCF D Vol. No. SCF D 1 %[

%[ %[ SCF D 3 %[ %[ SCF D 2 %[

SCF D Airport SCF D Vol. So.

Low risk Moderate risk High risk

129 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

The city contains mostly moderate risk properties. The predominance of high risk is located on the city’s central area. Schools are distributed throughout the city.

The city’s zoning pattern complicates, to a degree, the development of an efficient fire resource deployment configuration. Higher risk properties are found in a number of sections of the city.

Using the future land use designations from the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the following map translates future land use (potential scale of development within geographic sub-areas) to three categories of relative fire and life risk to give a view of what community fire risk may look like in the future.

Figure 48: Future Community Risk By Geographic Area

Low risk Moderate risk High risk

130 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Section III- Recommended Long-Term Strategy

The agency evaluation contained in this study provides over 100 pages of in-depth analysis of the Saint Cloud Fire Department and its delivery of services. In the evaluation section, we described our findings and provided a review of conditions or issues that require the attention of the department. In many cases, these issues require relatively short-term effort or corrective action. We have assembled a list of such short and mid-term planning strategies in the next section of this report.

However, a Fire Protection Master Plan is intended to provide strategies that are long-term in nature. It is the job of a Master Plan to identify the most critical issues the agency will face over the long haul, out as much as twenty years in the future. We initiated that process in the previous section of this report where we reviewed community growth, identified risks, and projected future service demands. Now, we will compile the information learned in that section as well as the evaluation to provide a recommended long-term strategy for the growth and development of a healthy SCFD organization, capable of providing the services that are valued most by its customers.

We have identified the following list of the three most critical issues that must be addressed by the department’s long-term growth strategy:

• The department’s organizational structure is divisive and dysfunctional. The lack of integration between career and paid-on-call resources is inefficient and produces inconsistent performance to the customers based on geography or time of day. • The department’s facility deployment is currently incapable of achieving the response time performance target identified by the department and this situation will worsen as growth continues in the south and southwestern parts of the current city limits. • The department’s staffing level is currently incapable of consistently producing adequate personnel for a four-person company response, unable to achieve a two-in and two-out initial incident action sequence, and unable to handle a medium risk incident simultaneous with any other emergency calls. As call volume increases and growth in the community occurs, this situation will worsen.

In response to these critical issues, we have developed the following long-term strategy for the department. The strategy describes the future organizational structure of the agency, the necessary additions to its capital assets (facilities and apparatus), and a staffing level that will support the intended service delivery objectives.

131 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Deployment Model The following long-term resource deployment strategies are intended to allow the St. Cloud Fire Department to continue its existing levels of service as growth in the community continues and, where possible, to improve the level of service toward its target performance objectives.

Facilities

The long-term strategy for deployment of facilities calls for a distribution of seven fire stations, including the airport facility.

Under this strategy, use of the current Fire Station #6 (Volunteer South Station) would be discontinued and a replacement Station #6 would be constructed further to the south on County Road 75, just south of its intersection with 33rd Street. This station would greatly improve the department’s ability to serve growth in south sections of the City along the County Road 75 corridor leading to I-94. At the same time, significant existing redundancy or overlap between the capabilities of the existing Station # 6 and Station #1 would be eliminated. Based on our evaluation of the current facilities (located in “Objective Seven- Capital Assets”), Station #6 is rated in poor condition and was identified as being unsuitable for major renovation or addition.

In addition to the relocation of Station #6, the strategy calls for the eventual addition of a new station, which we have designated Station #7, in the vicinity of County Road 136 approximately one-half mile north of 33rd Street. This facility would greatly improve the department’s ability to serve growth in the southwestern sections of the City.

The following figure shows this long-term deployment strategy and the general five-minute response capability from each of the proposed locations.

132 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 49: Long-term Facility Deployment Strategy

Station 5

Station 1

\&

\& \&

Station 3 Station 2 \& \&

Station 4- Airport

Station 7- (NEW) \&

\& Station 6- (RELOCATED)

Note: Strategy shown with proposed future 33rd Street bridge over Mississippi Rive in place

This deployment strategy demonstrates a significant improvement in projected target-level service performance when compared to the current deployment system. The percentage of city land area falling within a five-minute response time of a fire station is shown in the following chart, with a benchmark comparable showing the current deployment.

133 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 50: Long-term Deployment Strategy Performance Comparison

City Land Area 5:00 Reponse Coverage

100%

80% 65% 60% 46% 40%

20%

0% Current Deployment Proposed Deployment

The proposed strategy shows nearly a twenty percent increase in the amount of the city’s land area falling within the target response time capability.

Timing of new or replacement facilities is always a concern. The deployment strategy represents facility locations that we anticipate will be needed during the twenty-year life of this master plan. It is not our intent to suggest that the facilities are needed today. We anticipate the relocation of existing Station #6 would occur first and in conjunction with the need to create full-time staffing capability at the southern station. This project should have a 2 to 4 year target completion time period.

In addition to this facility relocation, the ability to staff Station #5 in the future would require changes at that facility. Our evaluation of the facility indicated it was in good condition and suitable for continuing use as a full-service fire station. Unfortunately, the building does not have adequate living facilities for on-duty staffing. Currently, however, there is a large portion of this building occupied by another agency.

It is our recommendation that negotiations take place to facilitate this agency’s relocation to another site if at all possible. Doing so will permit the resulting square footage to be renovated for use as living quarters for on-duty staffing. We have anticipated approximately 3,000 square feet of renovation as a capital project that would be part of this long-term strategy. This project should have a 1 to 3 year target completion time period.

Station #7 should be considered when statistical evaluation reveals a sufficient growth in service demand in its anticipated service area to demonstrate that the station would realize a sufficient impact

134 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan on department performance. This evaluation can be performed through the use of geographic information software (GIS).

We must point out that the deployment strategy described in this section does not provide 100% coverage at the five-minute response time capability. There will remain pockets of the City that will have longer response times. These are primarily located in the farthest southern and southeastern sections of the city. While we do not expect service demand in these areas to peak sufficiently to require additional facilities during this master plan period, city officials, including the Planning Department, will need to work closely to identify changes in growth and development trends that would require a reconsideration of this conclusion.

The same can be said of the developing areas north of the airport that have been annexed by the City. These areas are clearly outside of the capability of the current or proposed deployment plan to serve within the performance targets. The airport fire station is not suitably located, nor is it large enough to house and operate as a structural response station. Thus, the City should consider whether to encourage future development that will necessitate a dedicated fire station for that area and how sufficient tax or fee revenue might fund such an investment.

In summary, the long-term facility strategy calls for:

• The relocation of Station #6, constructed for use by on-duty staffing, within a two to four year time frame. • The renovation of 3,000 square feet at station #5 to accommodate on-duty staffing, accommodated by relocation of existing tenant, within a one to three year time frame. • The addition of a new Station #7 in the southwestern section of the City, within a variable eight to fourteen year time frame.

Apparatus

Limited changes will be necessary in the deployment of apparatus under this master plan. The facility deployment calls for a station relocation, which will not require additional equipment. The proposed new station will, on the other hand, require at least an additional engine.

We also anticipate a decreasing need for the tankers as pressurized water systems are added. However, these units will likely continue to serve a useful purpose for both St. Cloud and its mutual aid partners for some time to come. We do, however, recommend that their deployment locations be

135 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

reconsidered on a regular basis to place them at stations with greatest advantage to the majority of calls in non-hydranted areas.

Indications from the ISO rating are that the City of Saint Cloud will need more than the one ladder company it had during its last rating in order to achieve greatest credit in the Community Fire Protection Rating schedule for in-service ladder companies. The City is currently maintaining one dedicated ladder company with on-duty staffing. An additional 65 foot telesquirt is operating as an engine company, but would receive credit for its ladder capability.

In the future, the City may wish to consider replacing one additional engine with a small combination engine-ladder unit. These vehicles, often referred to as “Quints”, are typically most refined as engine companies, but possess the necessary aerial ladder capability to receive credit under the ISO rating and can, when necessary, perform dual function. The three units with aerial capability (one ladder company and two “quints”) should be distributed to the three response districts with the greatest number of occupancies qualifying for ladder service (under ISO), most likely stations #1, #2, and #3. This effort, while likely having only modest impact on actual operational outcomes, could improve the City’s ISO credit for ladder company service and assist in moving it towards and improved overall ISO rating.

This long-term apparatus strategy is intended to identify new apparatus needs or significant changes to current apparatus deployment. It should be remembered that the continuing planned replacement of existing apparatus based on a reasonable life expectancy schedule is recommended elsewhere in this report as an on-going strategy.

In summary, the long-term apparatus strategy calls for:

• The addition of one engine to the apparatus fleet when Station #7 is constructed. • The future replacement of one existing engine with an additional “quint” for a total of three aerial devices, if ISO credit improvement for ladder company service is desired. • Continuing replacement of the current apparatus fleet according to an established schedule based on reasonable life expectancy.

Staffing

The mid-term strategy for staffing calls for an increase in on-duty shift strength to 19 personnel. The objectives of the mid-term strategy is to provide the ability for the agency to maintain minimum

136 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan apparatus staffing strength of three on all companies and to maintain an ability to generate fifteen responders for moderate risk incidents using on-duty personnel.

In order to achieve a reasonable 12% ratio of administrative and support personnel, it will also be necessary to maintain eight full-time equivalents in this category.

The following table describes the mid-term staffing strategy recommended as part of this master plan. This mid-term strategy should be pursued in a one to three year time frame.

Figure 51: Mid-Term Staffing Strategy

Maximum Minimum Fire Stations Unit Type On-duty Staffing On-duty Staffing Engine 1 Engine 4 4 Tower 1 Ladder truck 4 4 Station 1 Command 55 Command 1 1 Dispatcher Staff 1 1 Engine 18 Reserve engine 0 0 Engine 21 Engine 4 3 Station 2 Brush Rig 4 Wildland unit Cross-staffed Cross-staffed Engine 19 Engine 4 3 Station 3 Engine 16 Reserve engine 0 0 Brush Rig 9 Wildland unit Cross-staffed Cross-staffed ARFF 1 ARFF engine 0 0 Station 4 (ARFF) ARFF 2 ARFF engine 1 1 TOTAL ON-DUTY STAFFING 19 17 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL 8 A&S Ratio 12%

We have also developed a long-term staffing strategy to be initiated with the addition of stations five, six, and seven to fully-staffed status. The long-term strategy for staffing emergency incidents calls for an increase in on-duty shift strength to 30 personnel during the time period encompassed by this master plan. Minimum shift would be permitted to fall lower than 30, but only to the extent that the supplemental use of paid-on-call staffing can ensure adequate incident staffing performance on a consistent basis.

In order to achieve a reasonable 12% ratio of administrative and support personnel, it will also be necessary to maintain twelve full-time equivalents in this category.

The long-term strategy should be pursued in direct coordination with the addition of staffed fire stations. In other words, as each identified station comes on-line with capability for housing on-duty personnel, the additional staff should be added. The following table describes the long-term staffing strategy recommended as part of this master plan.

137 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

Figure 52: Long-Term On-Duty Staffing Strategy

Maximum Minimum Fire Stations Unit Type On-duty Staffing On-duty Staffing Engine 1 Engine 4 3 Tower 1 Ladder truck 4 3 Station 1 Command 55 Command 1 1 Engine 18 Reserve engine 0 0 Engine 21 Engine 4 3 Station 2 Brush Rig 4 Wildland unit Cross-staffed Cross-staffed Engine 19 Engine 4 3 Station 3 Engine 16 Reserve engine 0 0 Brush Rig 9 Wildland unit Cross-staffed Cross-staffed ARFF 1 ARFF engine 0 0 Station 4 (ARFF) ARFF 2 ARFF engine 1 1 Station 5 Engine 11 Engine 4 3 Engine 10 Engine 4 3 Station 6 Tanker 12 Water tanker Cross-staffed Cross-staffed Brush Rig 5 Wildland unit 0 0 New Engine Engine 4 3 Station 7 Tanker 14 Water tanker Cross-staffed Cross-staffed TOTAL ON-DUTY STAFFING 30 23 ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL 12 A&S Ratio 12%

Using a conservative leave ratio of 20%, we anticipate that this strategy can be accomplished with ninety operations personnel. Following this strategy in this manner would result in the following statistical benchmarks when the projected population of St. Cloud for 2025 is used.

Figure 53: Long-term Staffing Strategy Benchmark Comparisons

Firefighters Per 1,000 Population

1.4

1.2

1 On-Duty Strength 0.8

0.6 Total Uniformed Personnel 0.4

0.2

0 SCFD ICMA Average

138 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

As can be seen from the chart, the SCFD long-term staffing strategy would continue to place SCFD lower than the national averages published by the International City Manager Association. However, we again point out that some of the departments in that study perform transport EMS services, requiring higher levels of on-duty staffing.

The use of paid-on-call personnel to offset some of the increase in the number of career staff needed in the future, while an admirable concept from the financial viewpoint, is not likely to succeed. The facility deployment strategy was based on a one-minute maximum turnout time for on-duty staff. An additional three to four minutes of turnout time for on-call staff would require the City to adopt a response time performance objective of eight to nine minutes, significantly reducing the chances of successful rescue and early fire control.

To be effective, such a concept would be wholly dependent on the ability of the paid-on-call staff to provide consistent and immediate response to emergencies. This will require that the department maintain statistics to determine the average percentage of all calls to which its paid-on-call members arrive in time to be part of the initial arriving companies. This number then becomes the foundation for determining the number of paid-on-call members necessary to achieve an equivalent to an on-duty staffed position.

For example, let’s assume that the average percentage of all department incidents to which a paid-on- call member responds (as an initial arriving company member) is 18%. Using this figure would result in a calculation of 6 paid-on-call responders for each FTE of on-duty staff.

Using this formula would, for example, permit the City to consider that it would need to recruit and maintain 18 new paid-on-call members in order to reduce the number of new career positions in the future by three. In addition, the department would need to make certain these new paid-on-call members maintained an initial response average of at least 18% of all calls.

Given that national statistics have seen the numbers of volunteer firefighters across the country drop by 10% since the 1980’s, the prospect of recruiting and maintaining a sufficient number of on-call firefighters to have significant impact on reducing the long-term career staffing needs of the department are dismal. The problem is cultural, as well as national in scope, and departments from Maine to California are suffering- the amount of free time people have is decreasing while the amount of time required for a firefighter’s training and certification is increasing. This is not to suggest that there is no value in those on-call personnel who are successfully recruited and retained. Many small to mid-sized cities continue to use on-call personnel as an integral part of their safety force, providing

139 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

supplemental manpower to on-duty staff during emergency incidents and filling occasional vacancies caused by leave. We recommend that Saint Cloud take this approach to the use of paid-on-call responders.

It is also conceivable that part-time staffing could be considered. This would involve the scheduling of part-time employees as a part of this on-duty staff. However, the on-duty staffing hours would still need to be covered one for one. Each on-duty manhour would need to be covered by either full-time career staff or a part-time paid firefighter, resulting in employee costs either way. The effective hourly wage for a career firefighter26 in Saint Cloud is $14.64 while the hourly wage for its paid-on-call responders is $14.56. Any savings might be considered modest when considering the additional issues involved in recruitment, scheduling, consistency and training.

With the additional operations staffing, there will be a need for increases in administrative and support personnel. We anticipate the department maintaining a ratio of between 10 and 15 percent administrative to operations staffing. Thus, we anticipate twelve administrative and support staff positions will be needed as part of this long-term staffing strategy.

In summary, the long-term staffing strategy calls for:

• An increase over the planning period to a total of ninety operations employees or FTE’s • An increase over the planning period to a total of twelve administrative and support employees or FTE’s

26 Firefighters as Grade C

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Organizational Structure The St. Cloud Fire Department should develop into a model combination-staffed fire department, fully integrating career personnel with paid-on-call members in a single, unified organizational structure.

This strategy, while representing a significant change for St. Cloud, is not unusual in the fire service. Some of the most successful combination organizations across the country have fully integrated their career and part-time duty staff, as well as their on-call personnel, into a seamless operation. In many of these departments, one can spend a significant period of time in one of their fire stations without being able to identify which firefighters are career, which are part-time, and which are volunteer or paid-on-call.

The strategy would call for a major overhaul in how services are delivered. Stations would no longer be identified as career or volunteer stations. Instead, each station would operate with blended staff, using a combination of career and paid-on-call personnel. All jurisdictional issues of career vs. paid- on-call response would, as recommended earlier this report, be eliminated in favor of the closest appropriate unit being dispatched to any emergency call. Career personnel would provide the consistent response force for most emergencies and on-call personnel would provide trained supplemental manpower for major incidents or simultaneous calls.

The response of on-duty career personnel would not be restricted by either geography or time of day. Likewise, on-call responders would be capable of responding to incidents from stations in any part of the City of Saint Cloud to provide supplemental manpower to on-duty response strength. In addition, we recommend that on-call responders also be given some opportunity to be scheduled as part-time on-duty firefighters at a specific assigned station for specific assigned shifts. This provides them with a consistent opportunity to attend training alongside the career staff and experience initial response call volume to gain experience. Through this method, opportunity is also created to enhance camaraderie and build some level of unity among personnel.

This strategy has the potential of achieving the greatest effectiveness for an on-call force, if such a force is to be retained by the City of Saint Cloud. It provides the ability for on-call responders to supplement on-duty staff throughout the entire city and provides a significant benefit in the recruitment of on-call personnel. No longer would the geographical criteria for on-call personnel be limited to proximity of two specific stations, but rather recruitment could occur city-wide. On-call responders would be assigned to the station in closest proximity to their residence and/or place of employment.

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The benefit for career personnel is the potential for increasing on-duty strength through the assignment of on-call responders to part-time duty shifts. Even if this were to occur only a portion of the time, the percentage of time a unit responds with four firefighters on board rather than three would increase significantly.

The following figure demonstrates at least an example of the organizational structure, as it might exist, under this strategy27.

Figure 54: Long-Term Strategy Organizational Structure

Saint Cloud Fire Chief

Suppression Administration Training Prevention Division Division Division Division

Deputy Chief Secretary Fire Marshal Division Chief Operations Clerk Assistant FMs

Assistant Volunteer (POC) Chief (Shift) Assistant Chief

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3

2- Career Lieutenant 1- Career Lieutenant 1- Career Lieutenant 6- Career Fiirefighters 3- Career Fiirefighters 3- Career Fiirefighters POC Firefighters POC Firefighters POC Firefighters

Station 4- ARFF Station 5 Station 6 Station 7

1- Career Lieutenant 1- Career Lieutenant 1- Career Lieutenant 1- Career Fiirefighter 3- Career Fiirefighters 3- Career Fiirefighters 3- Career Fiirefighters POC Firefighters POC Firefighters POC Firefighters

Of course, this organizational strategy is not without its downside. It needs to be acknowledged that, while there are many examples of success, there are also many departments using unified combination staffing methodology that are among the most troubled organizations in the fire service.

27 All individual administrative and support positions are not shown. Twelve such positions are called for in the long-term staffing strategy.

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Combination departments are easily the most challenging organizations to manage. This is because of the inherent differences between career firefighting staff and on-call firefighting staff.

Career firefighters immediately point to the disparity in training and experience as a major factor. On- call responders might readily point out the financial benefit they can present over career personnel. Many additional personality factors typically come into play as well. The result is often a culture of distrust, resentment, and even destructive behaviors.

Where such staffing systems have been most successful, managers typically point to the development of a “culture of acceptance”. In short, many ineffective combination departments are filled with on-call responders who want to view the organization as a “volunteer fire department” and see it operate in that fashion. Conversely, many of the career personnel in these same agencies want to view the organization as a “career fire department” and seek to downplay the existence or value of all but full-time staff. The successful combination departments seem to have developed an accepted identity as just what they are- a combination staffed agency. In these departments, both career and on-call personnel clearly understand- and have accepted- what they individually bring to the agency, and what the other side brings to the table as well.

We believe such a culture of acceptance will be extremely difficult, but not impossible, to achieve in the Saint Cloud Fire Department. As was pointed out earlier in the report, the department has had ten years of experience with a poorly planned merger that has built walls between the career and on-call responders that are clearly seen during interviews with personnel at all levels of the organization.

The best opportunity for success in this regard would be through an internal strategic planning process. If the organizational structure of a fully unified and integrated combination staffing system is accepted by the City as its long-term strategy, the internal strategic planning process can bring the personnel within the department into the process of determining how to achieve its success, including transitional methods to achieve the necessary level of acceptance.

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Fiscal Projection This long-term strategy calls for the addition of a new fire station, the relocation of an existing station, the renovation of an existing station, the addition of one engine to the apparatus fleet, and an increase in on-duty staffing. In an effort to demonstrate the financial impact of the strategy, we project both the anticipated capital costs and the impact to annual operating expenditures if this long-term strategy were fully and completely implemented.

We emphasize one very important point. This financial analysis provides a “snapshot” of the fiscal effects of the deployment, resource, and staffing changes as if the action occurs during the current budgetary year. Our analysis does not attempt to predict the actual tax rate after implementation.

The fiscal projections are made under the following declared assumptions:

• Cost per square foot for new construction at $110 • Cost per square foot for renovation at $65 • New fire stations approximated at 10,000 square feet. • Land acquisition costs estimated at $150,000 per property • New engine costs estimated at $320,000 • Benefit costs for staff at .30 of base salary

The following table reflects the estimated financial impact if all recommended changes in facilities, apparatus, and staffing were currently in effect.

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Figure 55: Long-Term Strategy Cost Projections28

Long-Term Strategy- Total Capital Costs Replacement Station #6$ 1,250,000 Station #5 Renovation$ 195,000 New Station #7$ 1,250,000 Apparatus Additions$ 320,000 TOTAL CAPITAL COSTS$ 3,015,000 Long Term Strategy- Annual Operating Cost Additions Station #5 Staffing$ 688,986 Station #6 Staffing$ 688,986 Station #7 Staffing$ 688,986 Administrative and Support Staffing$ 212,550 Annual Station Operating Costs$ 60,000 TOTAL ADDED ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS$ 2,339,508

28 Capital cost projections shown do not include costs associated with recommendations found in the City of Saint Cloud Facilities Study, conducted by SJA in 2004.

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Section IV- Short and Mid-Term Strategies

Administrative and Management Strategies

After completing the ten-objective evaluation of the Saint Cloud Fire Department, the following short and mid-term strategies are offered as recommendations for improving the administration and management functions of the agency. Individual narrative text describing the issues associated with these recommendations may be found in the appropriate sections of this report.

• The Fire Chief should receive a formal performance evaluation at least annually for the purpose of documenting performance and establishing personal objectives.

• Continue efforts to complete a revised set of Standard Operating Guidelines and clarify their application to “street-level” operations.

• Consider further revision of the policy documents to place administrative policies in a separate document or document section to clarify their application as firm and enforceable employee policy.

• Eliminate any separate policy documents, whether administrative or operational, covering only the volunteer or on-call members. All such policies and procedures should be fully integrated into the St. Cloud Fire Department primary policy documents.

• The department’s job descriptions should be completely updated to reflect the most current activities, critical tasks, and necessary skills of each position as it exists today. This process should be conducted at intervals no greater than five years.

• The organizational structure between the career and paid-on-call elements of the department, as designed by the 1995 merger agreement, is counterproductive and promotes a culture of divisiveness. The organizational structure, to be effective, must be overhauled to reflect a truly unified organization and must be supported by efforts to develop an accepted culture of trust, loyalty, and camaraderie.

• The department should maintain a “scrapbook” containing articles, pictures, documents and other items of historical interest to support the future ability to maintain a historical review of the organization.

• The department should assign a “historian” to maintain and organize items of historical interest for the organization.

• The department should continue to develop the annual report and increase its availability to the general public.

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• The fire department should complete a customer-centered strategic planning process within the organization involving stakeholders from various levels of the department.

• Department officers and primary management staff should conduct more frequent staff meetings to enhance group problem-solving, communications, and support mechanisms.

• Minutes or summaries of staff meetings should be distributed and posted to enhance internal communications and allow employees/members to participate in organizational problem-solving.

• An occasional opportunity for open forum meetings of the department’s employees should be considered. An open forum “Chief’s Breakfast” could provide an informal setting to accomplish this goal.

• The department should consider establishing an employee/member newsletter to improve internal communications and allow informal exchange of employee information.

• The department should consider establishing a community newsletter, published perhaps annually, to distribute specific fire department or safety related information to the public.

• The department should develop a truly progressive website with improved access to public information and services.

• The department should consider establishing a citizen's advisory group to meet at least twice annually, providing the customer perspective on service delivery, planning and budgeting.

• The department should update it records management software to enhance the ability to conduct in-depth performance analysis. In addition, the agency should seek to enhance its ability to work with and utilize Geographic Information Software in deployment, performance, workload, and prevention analysis.

• Stations security should become a greater priority and accessibility should be limited. Policies for regularly locking stations should be established and enforced.

• Locking codes and keyed locks should be changed on an occasional basis.

• The department should consider installation of security alarm systems to protect fire stations while unattended.

• Department computers should be set for automatic log-off after the passage of a few minutes and policies should be enforced for limiting unauthorized computer access.

• The department should consider the elimination of all petty cash.

• The department, upon becoming involved in EMS first responder services, should appoint a HIPAA compliance officer and institute strict policies to guide compliance on security of medical records.

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• Enhance internal communications tools to facilitate the sharing of information; solicitation of member input, and continued open communications for Fire Company planning.

• Consider establishing and implementing a customer oriented, long-term Departmental strategic plan.

• Implement an aggressive campaign of pre-incident plan development, training and distribution.

• Confirm that all EHS facilities within the SCFD service area have been identified; ensure that a local plan has been developed, and that fire company operations have been coordinated with it.

• Confirm that MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) forms are being received, reviewed, properly filed, and available for training and use during emergency responses.

• Consider conducting periodic community surveys to ensure the SCFD priorities match those of the community.

• Consider establishing a Fire Department Citizen’s Advisory Committee/Board.

• Enhance the interaction between the SCFD and their Risk Manager.

• Conduct annual physical capacity testing of career and paid-on-call emergency response personnel.

• Confirm that the SCFD Hazard Control (Safety) Committee is organized commensurate with the recommendations of N.F.P.A. Standard #1500.

• Confirm that the entrance and bi-annual medical screening for employees and members meet the recommendations of NFPA 1582.

• Develop an ongoing physical fitness program for all emergency response personnel using NFPA #1583 as a model.

• Confirm the role of the Volunteer Division in the SCFD’s risk management, safety committee, health and wellness programs.

• Consider increasing the Fire Department’s general liability insurance coverage.

• A clear and unambiguous disciplinary process should be described in written policy and should provide for appropriate progressive application of discipline. Levels of disciplinary authority for officers should be included.

• Disciplinary training should be provided to each company and shift officer.

• Establish and maintain adequate performance evaluation systems for both career and paid-on-call personnel.

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• Analyze the Deputy Chief of Training and Administration to determine whether the position should be reallocated to Assistant Chief or assigned in the chain of command between the Fire Chief and the Assistant Chiefs.

• The job description for the position of Captain at Station #1 describes supervisory activities that are not reflected on the organizational chart. The position does not appear to perform at the advanced supervisory capacity indicated in the job description and should be considered for downgrading to Lieutenant.

Capital Asset Strategies

After completing the ten-objective evaluation of the Saint Cloud Fire Department, the following short and mid-term strategies are offered as recommendations on issues related to the capital assets of the agency. Individual narrative text describing the issues associated with these recommendations may be found in the appropriate sections of this report.

• Follow the recommendation of the Community Facilities Assessment Study.

• Develop and adequately fund a long-range facilities management plan in accordance with recommendation for projected service delivery for all stations.

• Initiate efforts to correct existing deficiencies as indicated in the evaluations.

• Provide for automatic exhaust removal system at Station #5.

• The City should consider developing and funding an apparatus replacement program that anticipates replacement schedules (as in the example replacement schedule provided) and builds necessary funding in order to spread cost over multiple years.

• Correct any apparatus deficiencies or problems as noted in the apparatus evaluations.

• Develop and fund a small equipment replacement program that anticipates replacement schedules and builds necessary funding in order to spread cost over multiple years.

• Review equipment to determine if duplicate equipment represents unnecessary redundancy and can be eliminated.

• Establish a record system for maintenance, uses and repairs of small equipment.

• Ensure the contract mechanic possesses Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certification.

• Do not permit vehicle maintenance and repair to be conducted by unqualified individuals.

• Develop and fund a replacement program that anticipates replacement of turnout gear.

• Consider the purchase of a commercial extractor and mobile turnout drying rack.

149 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

• Establish a semi-annual turnout gear inspection and cleaning plan.

• Establish a record system for maintenance, cleaning and repair of turnout gear.

Emergency Service Delivery Strategies

After completing the ten-objective evaluation of the Saint Cloud Fire Department, the following short and mid-term strategies are offered as recommendations on issues related to the delivery of emergency services by agency. Individual narrative text describing the issues associated with these recommendations may be found in the appropriate sections of this report.

• Negotiate an acceptable agreement for dispatching services from the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department Communications Center. Decommission the SCFD Dispatch Center and reassign firefighters to response duty.

• Improve the department’s capability to collect and evaluate incident data to ensure its ability to evaluate performance and effectiveness in the future.

• Adopt performance objectives for emergency services that clearly define response performance expectations in measurable terms.

• Discontinue the separation of the city into volunteer and career response areas. Develop a dispatch plan that sends the closest appropriate response unit regardless of its career versus paid-on-call status.

• Discontinue sending three response units to fire alarm activations. Send only a single engine unless it is verified that an actual emergency is in progress.

• Consider adopting local law that creates a penalty for excessive numbers of false fire alarms at a given location.

• The Saint Cloud Fire Department’s distribution of resources and historical response time performance indicates the agency could provide beneficial services to the City’s emergency medical system. An integration of fire and police first response at the basic life support level, along with advanced life support paramedic transport services, will meet or exceed the NFPA 1710 performance benchmarks for EMS services. This project should be moved forward.

• Develop a resource deployment plan that will allow the fire department to meet established performance objectives now and as the community grows.

• Improve the department’s ISO rating by developing the capability to deliver sufficient water supply to areas not served by fire hydrants.

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Training Program Strategies

After completing the ten-objective evaluation of the Saint Cloud Fire Department, the following short and mid-term strategies are offered as recommendations on issues related to the training programs of the agency. Individual narrative text describing the issues associated with these recommendations may be found in the appropriate sections of this report.

• Establish a training committee comprised of representative members of the Volunteer and Career Divisions to provide the needed input into a well-balanced departmental training program

• Achieve State certified instructors for the Department; especially the Deputy Chief of Training and Administration.

• Enhance officer training to ensure their skills and knowledge remains current.

• Address the training disparity between the Career and Volunteer Divisions. A centralized, consistent approach to accomplishing training for both Divisions needs to be implemented.

• Consider increasing individual training hours to 240 hours per year as a minimum needed to ensure proficiency and prevent degradation of skills.

• A safety officer should be appointed on all manipulative training sessions undertaken by the Department in accordance with NFPA recommendations.

• Implement a night drill/training program.

• Implement a multi agency training program.

• Inventory the Department library and implement a process whereby members/employees may “checkout” materials.

• Expand attendance opportunities at the NFA throughout the officer ranks and those developing their officer skills.

• Implement a competency-based training program.

Fire Prevention Strategies

After completing the ten-objective evaluation of the Saint Cloud Fire Department, the following short and mid-term strategies are offered as recommendations on issues related to the fire prevention programs of the agency. Individual narrative text describing the issues associated with these recommendations may be found in the appropriate sections of this report.

• Consider implementing a formal, citywide development authorization review process.

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• Clearly identify the number of properties that should be inspected.

• Establish the frequency these properties should be inspected by level of risk.

• Identify the resources needed to conduct inspections, re-inspections, plan review, tests, fire investigations, life and fire safety education and other related responsibilities.

• Develop a comprehensive records management system so that the results of inspections can be recorded, inspections tracked and next inspection dates identified to the inspector.

• Explore automation of inspection files

• Explore charging fees for required fire inspections.

• Consider utilizing in-service fire station personnel to complete fire code inspections.

• Modify the SCFD’s life and fire safety education culture from an “as can” attitude to a priority mission for the Department.

• Enhance basic origin and cause determination training for incident commanders.

• Consider adding a “good intent” category for reporting incidents involving detection and suppression systems.

• Implement a Departmental data collection and analysis process where all entities of the Department routinely and jointly accomplish data analysis to set the direction and mission of the Fire Department

Methods for Prioritization of Recommendations

While it may seem as if this list of recommendations is long, the content of the recommendations varies from rather insignificant issues that are easily and quickly dealt with to major organizational changes that will take some time to accomplish. A system of prioritizing the various recommendations found in this report may be useful.

ESCi suggest the following criteria be used by the department to rate the priority and relative significance of the recommendations when setting timetables for change. Priorities are listed from greatest to least.

1. Immediate Internal Safety The objective deals with an improvement or initiative that solves an issue affecting the safety of firefighters and/or other department personnel. These are not matters that simply make it easier to do a particular function, but in fact make a currently unsafe situation, safe. ESCi did not note

152 Saint Cloud Fire Department, Minnesota Fire Protection Master Plan

any significant recommendations dealing with immediate safety issues within this study. SCFD is to be commended for this finding.

2. Legal or Financial Exposure The objective resolves a situation that is creating, or is likely to create, the opportunity for legal action against the department or its members. It also may be a situation that could subject the department to a significant expense.

3. Corrects a service delivery issue The objective addresses a service delivery situation that, while it doesn’t create an immediate safety risk to personnel or the public does affect the department’s ability to deliver service in accordance with its standards of performance. For example, adding a response unit to compensate for a growing response workload, or delivering training needed to allow personnel to deal effectively with emergency responses already being encountered.

4. Enhances the delivery of a service The objective improves the delivery of a particular service. For example, relocating a fire station to improve response times to a particular part of town, or adding a piece of equipment that will improve the delivery of a service.

5. A good thing to do The objective doesn’t fit within any of the above priorities, but is still worth doing.

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Appendices

Summary and Analysis of Customer Input In preparing for this study, ESCi developed a Public Input Plan to accomplish the following:

• Increase public awareness of the fire and EMS system master planning process

• Inform interested members of the public regarding the study methodology and anticipated end product

• Encourage input from members of the public on issues such as current service satisfaction, service delivery levels, concerns about service providers, and measurements of service excellence

A public meeting was conducted, with accompanying public notice, media releases, and newspaper and public access television advertising. The meeting was also broadcast live on the government cable channel and rebroadcast at several later times. An ESCi facilitator conducted the meeting using audio-visual presentations and graphics. Printed input survey forms were used to guide consistent collection of opinions and were available for download from the City website. The meeting lasted approximately one hour and twenty-five minutes.

During the public input meetings, respondents were asked to rank, in order of greatest personal priority, the expectations that they have for the fire and emergency medical services system and its planning efforts. The survey instrument used required each participant to rank each listed service expectation against every other service expectation until all had been cross-ranked against each other. Results were tabulated into the following chart, indicating the overall ranking of service priorites the public wished to express as part of the planning process. It should be noted that, because of the methodology used, the bars on the chart reflect the prioritization of these service relative to one another.

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Figure 56: Customer Input- Service Prioritization Analysis

Customer Service Prioritization

Fire Suppression

Basic Rescue

EMS First Responder Services

Advanced Technical Rescue

Fire Code Enforcement

Hazardous Materials Mitigation

Public Fire Safety Education

0 50 100 150 200

The results, though not statistically valid due to low attendance, do seem to indicate that basic response to fire and rescue emergencies remain the highest priority to those responding to the survey instrument. Respondents also ranked the potential for emergency medical first response nearly equal in priority to the basic victim rescue skills that have been a traditional fire department service for decades.

In addition to the survey tabulated above, narrative feedback in text form was requested and encouraged. Text responses were received from all citizens in attendance. Though too numerous to list here, the responses were compiled and reviewed by the ESCi project team during the preparation of the report and recommendations.

Emergency Services Consulting, inc., wishes to thank all of those citizens who attended or watched the public input meeting and provided their valuable input into this important process.

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Report Maps

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Current Four-Minute # # Z SCF D Vol. No. # # # # # # # # ## #### ###### # # ### # ## # ### # # # # ## # ### ### # # ## SCF D 1 Travel Time Capability # # # # # # ## # # # ### # ### # # ## # # # # ## # ## # # ## # ##### ######## # # # # ### # ##### ## # # ## ## # # # # # ### # # ## # # # ## # # # # # # # # ### ## ## # # ### ## ### # ## %[# # # ### ### ##### # ### # ## # ## # ## ## ## ### # ###### # ## ## ## # # # ## ## # ## # ######## ###### ### # # # ## ### # ########## ##### #### ### ###### # ##### # # # # # ########### # # ###### ##### # ##### # ### # # ## #### # # ##### # ### ## ## # # # ###### ######## ### # ### # #### ### ## ## # # # ### ### ## ## # ####### # # # # # ##### ## ## # # ## # # # ## ###### ## ### # # ##### ## ## # # # # ##### # # ## ### # # # ## # ###### ### # #### # #### # # #### # # ## ### # # ## ## ## # ## ###### ######### ###### # # ### # # # # # # ## # # # ## # # # # # ## ## ############ # # ##### ### #### #### # # # # ## ## ## # ###### #### ########## ####### # # ####### ## # ### ## ### ## # ## # ################# ################## # #### ## #### # ##### # # ## # ### # %[ ###### # # # # ######## # ###### # # # # ## # # # # ### ## # ## ##### # ### # # # # # # # ## # ###### # # # ### ######## ############ #### ## ## ### ## # ### ## ### # ####### ## # #################### # ## ###### # # # ####### # # #### # # # ########################### ### ############ ## ### ###### ##### #### #### ## # ###### #########%[##### ######### ### ## # # # ## # #### ##### ### ## ## # ### ####### ############# # # # # ### ####### ####### # # ## ######### ## ############## # ####### # ###### ## # #### ########## ## ##### ############ ## # ### # # ###### ###### # # ##### # ############### ###### # # ## #### # # ##### ### ###### ### # #### ########## # ######### # # # #### Z ################## #### #### ######## ### ############# #### ############ # # ####### # SCF# D 3 # # # # # # # # # #### ### # ## # # ### ### # ####### # ## ###### #### # ######## # ## ## ### # # ### ### ## ### ## ## ####### # # ## ## # # ### ################# ## # # # # ######### ### # ################## # #### ### ## ##### ##### #### ## ############## # ###%[### #### # ## # ## # ##### # # # #### ## # ###### ## ## ### %[# #### ### # # # # ## ## # ####### ####### # # #### # ## ## # # ### # ## ## ############# # # ## ## # SCF D 2 ##### ## ### ### ## # # # ##### ## # ##### #### # # # # # ## # ########## # # ####### # ##### # #### ## ### ##### #### ## # # # ## # # # ### # # ## #### ### # # ### # # # # # # ## # # ### # ## ## ### # ## # ## #### ## # # ## # # # # # ## ### ## # # ### # # ## # # # ## ## # # ### %[# ## # ## # # ## ## ## ### # ### # # # ## # ##### ### # # # # # # # ## ## # # # # ## ### ## # ## # ## # ## # # # # # #### ## # # # # # # SCF DAirport # ### # # # # SCFD Vol. So. # # # ## # # # ### ## # # # # # # # # # ## # ## ### # # # # # ## # ## # # # # # ## # # ### # # # # # ##### # # # # # # ## # # ## # # # # #### # # ## # ## ## # ## # ### # #### ## # # ### # ### # #### # # ## # # # ## # # # ### # # # ## # # ## # # # ## # # # # ## # # # ## ## # # # ## # ## # # # # # ### # # # # ## # # # # # # # ## ## # # # # # # # # ## # #

# ## # # # # # # # #

#

# # # Four minute travel area of SCFD fire stations City of St. Cloud ● Incident location SCFD service area in the City of Augusta #

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Future Recommended Facility Deployment Strategy Station 5

Station 1

\&

\& \&

Station 3 Station 2 \& \&

Station 4- Airport

Station 7- (NEW) \&

\&

Station 6- (RELOCATED)

Note: Strategy shown with proposed future 33rd Street bridge over Mississippi Rive in place

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