Savannah Fire Department General Organizational Review
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Savannah Fire Department General Organizational Review Final Report February 2019 Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 2 Department Overview ................................................................................................................. 3 Benchmarks ............................................................................................................................... 5 Policies and Procedures ........................................................................................................... 6 Options ................................................................................................................................... 7 Operations Division ..................................................................................................................... 7 Options ................................................................................................................................. 11 Logistics Division ....................................................................................................................... 12 Planning and Research .......................................................................................................... 12 Training .................................................................................................................................... 12 Options ................................................................................................................................. 16 Stations, Apparatuses, and Safety Equipment ................................................................... 18 Fire Stations ......................................................................................................................... 18 Apparatuses and Safety Equipment ................................................................................ 19 Options ................................................................................................................................. 21 Fire Prevention ........................................................................................................................ 21 Options ................................................................................................................................. 23 Public Information and Community Outreach ..................................................................... 24 Options ................................................................................................................................. 26 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 28 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................. 29 Introduction This report is one of four that the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government has researched and written on the operations of the Savannah Fire Department (SFD) at the request of the City of Savannah. The other three reports focus on the areas of opportunities for organizational efficiency, implementing emergency medical services, and personnel issues. The SFD has earned an ISO 1 rating,1 the highest a fire department can achieve. Additionally, the department has received national certification from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). Only 2% of fire departments nationally have achieved both of these recognitions.2 These achievements represent generally accepted best practices in fire suppression management and fire department operations, respectively. National certification and an ISO I rating reflect excellent performance of a fire department and city leadership, and the citizens of Savannah can be assured that the SFD is effectively achieving its core mission, to preserve life and property. Examples of areas that are reviewed in the ISO and CFAI accreditation processes include response time, manpower, risk analysis, apparatus maintenance and replacement, training, access to water, public education, and emergency communications.3 Because of the professional reviews that occur under the ISO and national accreditation processes, this organizational review focuses on areas that are not directly related to fire suppression, including training, fire inspections, fire investigations, public outreach, and facilities and equipment.4 While city leaders and the public can be assured that the SFD can competently perform its duties, there are areas in the department that can be improved. The department should focus on more transparency and consistency with policy implementation, which can be difficult in decentralized organizations like fire departments. With proper training and clear communication, it can be achieved. The department offers a wide array of training for firefighters and has rigorous training requirements. To raise the quality of training, the department should consider reclassifying training positions as permanent posts rather than having captains rotate into them annually. The newly created Fire Prevention Division conforms to best practice in organizational design, but the department should consider including within it the public information officer as well. Community outreach is one area 1 ISO is a quality rating assigned by the Insurance Services Office, Inc., a private, for-profit firm. 2 www.columbusga.gov/Fire/fire.htm 3 For more specific information about the SFD’s ISO rating, please see the report Savannah Fire Department ISO and Efficiency Analysis. As part of the general research for these studies, the researcher reviewed SFD’s information from ISO, the accreditation report, and other operations-related documents and asked several questions about operations during interviews and focus groups with employees. 4 In regard to apparatus maintenance, this report focuses on how to improve the organizational efficiency of apparatus maintenance and station maintenance and does not look at the appropriateness of issues directly related to the ability of a fire department to extinguish a fire such as the type of hoses a department uses. 1 where the department could expand its efforts, particularly in regard to fire safety education for youth. One challenge the department will face when it begins providing emergency medical services5 is that firefighters will have little to no time to participate in outreach efforts like the smoke detector program. Rather than diminish its outreach activities, the department may need to hire a public safety educator. Finally, the department does have some challenges in regard to its facilities and apparatus maintenance. The department, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget, should develop a plan for regular investments in station maintenance so that these city assets do not become dilapidated. Using a private maintenance company to service the department’s apparatuses may be a viable way to reduce wait times for repairs and maintenance. Methodology The Institute of Government research team used the following methodologies to research operational practices of the SFD: A review of SFD documents such as its standards of cover, strategic plan, ISO report, annual budget, training reports, etc. Phone and in-person interviews with SFD’s leadership team, including the fire chief, assistant chiefs, and battalion chiefs6 Interview with a representative from the International Association of Firefighters, Local 574, the SFD’s local employee union Four focus groups composed of SFD line employees An electronic survey sent to every member of the Savannah Fire Department Phone interviews with representatives from the Columbus Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the City of Charleston Fire Department, and the City of Pooler Department of Fire-Rescue. Additionally, the researcher reviewed operational and financial documents from these agencies. Institute faculty interviewed 17 SFD leaders in July 2018 (with follow-up interviews in July and August). The conversations ranged in length from 50 minutes to 1.5 hours and covered a wide range of topics such as the challenges facing the department, stations and equipment, community outreach activities, training, offering emergency medical services (EMS) citywide, and personnel issues. 5 For more information on this topic, see the report Savannah Fire Department EMS Analysis. 6 Institute faculty also conducted a phone interview with Captain Marcus Wilson, who is responsible for fleet and equipment maintenance. While this interview included some discussion of department personnel issues, the focus was on the status of the department’s vehicle maintenance program. 2 The four focus groups were held in late August 2018 and were composed of SFD employees with the rank of captain and below. For each focus group, Institute of Government faculty randomly selected 15 employees to participate. The sample was stratified by years of service with the department to ensure a diverse level of experience in the focus groups. The focus groups were 2.5 hours in length and were held over two days. A total of 32 employees chose to participate in the focus groups (eight in each). The following topics were discussed during the