LONGMONT FIRE Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover 2019
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LONGMONT FIRE Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover 2019 LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 1 1 LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 2 2 This page intentionally left blank LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 3 3 Acknowledgements Longmont City Council Mayor Brian Bagley Mayor Pro Tem Polly Christensen Representative Bonnie Finley Representative Marcia Martin Representative Joan Peck Representative Aren Rodriguez Representative Tim Waters Longmont City Manager Harold Dominguez Longmont Public Safety Chief Mike Butler Risk Assessment Standard of Cover Committee Deputy Public Safety Chief Jerrod Vanlandingham Assistant Chief Dan Higgins Assistant Chief John Weaver Assistant Chief Dan Ditirro Fire Marshal Captain Michele Goldman EMS Lieutenant/Paramedic John Michael Lieutenant Mike Becker Lieutenant Cyndi Fronapfel Engineer Erin Lehman Firefighter Stewart Visser Firefighter/Paramedic Steven Parker LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 4 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................Page 4 Executive Summary …............................................................................................................Page 6 Definitions ….........................................................................................................................Page 7 Part 1 Introduction/ Purpose …..............................................................................................Page 8 Part 2 Community Served …...................................................................................................Page 10 Part 3 Current Situational Status ….........................................................................................Page 18 Part 4 Planning Zones …..........................................................................................................Page 39 Part 5 Risk by Category and Methodology …...........................................................................Page 45 Part 6 Risk Analysis by Planning Zones …................................................................................Page 69 Part 7 Critical Tasking and Effective Response Force Recommendations ................................Page 88 Appendices ….........................................................................................................................Page 101 LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 5 5 Executive Summary The Longmont Division of Fire, within the Department of Public Safety is committed to serving the community by protecting life, property and the environment through preparation, prevention and response. This document is the culmination of internal and external stakeholder groups, data collection, analysis and many committee meetings to help the fire department achieve its mission. In order for Longmont Fire to provide an efficient, effective, well equipped, and well trained response force it must continually evaluate the operations. The Longmont Division of Fire will continue to strive for excellence in accordance with the City Charter and its Mission. This document will help the organization identify risks, determine commensurate level of service, and continually evaluate its response over time. This document is designed to be updated and re-evaluated as the community and organization changes. Through the strategic planning process, the community and subject matter experts have agreed upon the priorities of providing a safety net of reactive services along with preventative services that best provides for having a safe community. This document presents opportunities in both reactive and preventative services. Part 1 of the document further explains the purpose. Part 2 is an environmental scan of the community served. Part 3 lays out Fire Services current situational status of what types of services are provided and how it responds to calls for service. Part 4 identifies Longmont’s planning zones. Part 5 is an overview of the methodology and risk assessment for each risk within the community as it pertains to fire, emergency medical services, hazmat, technical rescue, wildland and codes and planning. Part 6 drills down on the risks within each of the six planning zones. Finally, Part 7 is the Recommendations section that identifies specific response matrixes and ideas that are needed in order to maintain the current level of service as well as evolve along with the growing community. LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 6 6 Definitions Baseline- Historical performance Benchmark- Goal CAD- Computer Aided Dispatch Concentration- All resources that fill the alarm. Response time clock stops when all units arrive CFAI- Center for Fire Accreditation International Critical Tasking- Assignments needed on the incident to stabilize the situation Distribution- First arriving resource. Response time clock stops when this unit arrives Effective Response Force (ERF) - The amount of personnel and equipment needed to stabilize the incident within the desired time frame EMD- Emergency Medical Dispatching ISO- Insurance Service Office; the entity responsible for evaluating and assigning community fire protection rating NFPA- National Fire Protection Agency Reliability- System capacity to absorb total call volume Unit Capability- Unit staffing, pump capacity, tools and equipment of each unit LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 7 7 Part 1 Introduction/Purpose One of the issues the fire service has historically faced is how to define the levels of service for the community it serves. There have been many attempts to create a standard methodology for determining the exact number of firefighters, fire stations or fire inspectors a community needs. In 2001, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) proposed a deployment standard that was successfully adopted as NFPA 1710. This national deployment standard does not, however, recognize local issues, conditions, service demands or community needs. Additionally, very few departments in this country can meet the response time and staffing levels outlined in the standard, including the City of Longmont. Hence, many fire service professionals view this deployment model as a goal. As part of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) process, a Risk Assessment and Standards of Cover (RASOC) document must be developed and adopted by the agency having jurisdiction. Like NFPA 1710, the RASOC outlines an agency’s service level objectives; however, it uses a systems approach to deployment rather than a one-size- fits-all prescriptive formula. In a comprehensive approach, each agency should be able to match local need (risks and expectations) with the costs of various levels of service. As Longmont Fire Services proceeded to establish its service level goals, it did so based on national standards such as NFPA 1710, the CFAI accreditation model, and the Insurance Service Office (ISO) Grading schedule. The City of Longmont now has an ISO Rating of 2 with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst. This RASOC document is a rational and systematic way of looking at the basic services provided by Longmont Fire. The purpose of this document is to provide a system which will assist with: LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 8 8 Assessing fire and non-fire risks within the City of Longmont Defining baseline and benchmark emergency response performance standards Planning future station locations Determining apparatus and staffing patterns Evaluating workload and ideal unit utilization Measuring service delivery performance Supporting strategic planning and policy development relative to resource procurement and allocation The Standard of Cover process consists of seven parts: 1. Introduction and Purpose 2. Community Served- boundaries, location, demographics, climate, infrastructure 3. Current situational status 4. Planning Zones 5. Risk by category and methodology 6. Risk Analysis by planning zone 7. Recommendations This document is designed to provide elected officials and residents with information on fire service operations and integrated risk management planning. It is a legacy document that will help guide the organization in future strategic and master planning. LONGMONT FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT AND STANDARD OF COVER 9 9 Part 2 Community Served Longmont, Colorado, located within Boulder County, is a city with 22 square miles, more than 300 days of sunshine and a spectacular vista of the Rocky Mountains. Longmont sits at an elevation of 4,979 feet above sea level. With more than 1,500 acres of parks and open space, Longmont is perfect for outdoor enthusiasts. Longmont is also home to several high-tech companies and a vibrant restaurant scene. It is conveniently located near Denver, Boulder and Rocky Mountain National Park. Did you know? Longmont named one of the "Best Places to Live" in 2006 and 2008 by CNN/Money Magazine and in 2014 by 24/7 Wall St. Longmont named an "All-America City" in 2006. Longmont has won multiple awards for its civic leadership. Visit Longmont! is the Longmont Area Visitors Association website and can help with travel plans. According to the Software & Information Industry Association, the Boulder/Longmont area has the highest concentration of software-related jobs in the nation. Longmont is located within Boulder County. Compared with the other cities in the county, Longmont has the highest number of people who both