West Metro Fire District, Wheat Ridge Fire District Colorado Cooperative Services Feasibility Study 2015 25030 SW Parkway Ave. Suite 330 | Wilsonville | Oregon | 97070 | www.esci.us | 800-757-3724 | [email protected] West Metro–Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Districts Cooperative Services Feasibility Study TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. iii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................1 Evaluation of Current Conditions ..............................................................................................................5 Environmental Scan .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Organization Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Management Components ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Staffing & Personnel Management ......................................................................................................................... 25 Community Planning .............................................................................................................................................. 37 Service Delivery & Performance ............................................................................................................................. 39 Emergency Medical Services ................................................................................................................................... 78 Capital Assets & Infrastructure ............................................................................................................................. 111 Support Services ................................................................................................................................................... 139 Fiscal Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 185 Current Conditions Review ................................................................................................................................... 185 Financial Trends .................................................................................................................................................... 194 Financial Forecast ................................................................................................................................................. 200 Future Opportunities for Cooperative Efforts ........................................................................................ 207 Strategy A: Status Quo.......................................................................................................................................... 212 Strategy B: Contract for Services .......................................................................................................................... 214 Strategy C: Fire Authority ..................................................................................................................................... 224 Strategy D: Merger ............................................................................................................................................... 227 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 237 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................... 239 Implementation ................................................................................................................................... 241 Establish Implementation Working Groups .......................................................................................................... 243 Meet, Identify, Challenge, Refine, and Overcome ................................................................................................. 245 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... 247 List of Figures........................................................................................................................................................ 247 List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................................... 249 i West Metro–Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Districts Cooperative Services Feasibility Study ii West Metro–Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Districts Cooperative Services Feasibility Study ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) would like to acknowledge the substantial time, effort, and cooperation of the fire chiefs and staff members of the Wheat Ridge Fire Protection District (WRFPD) and West Metro Fire Protection District (WMFPD). Each chief was available to the project team throughout the process, along with multiple individuals from the two organizations. It was evident from the start that both organizations were committed to the project, and that the men and women of the two fire districts represent a tremendous level of knowledge and professionalism. Wheat Ridge Fire Protection District Bob Olme, Fire Chief Kelly Brooks, Assistant Chief, Fire Prevention Brian Eberle, Battalion Chief, Training West Metro Fire Protection District Don Lombardi, Fire Chief Mark Krapf, Deputy Chief, Administration Scott Rogers, Deputy Chief, Operations Bruce Dikken, Division Chief, EMS Kevin Schmidt, Captain, EMS Dan Pfannenstiel, Division Chief, Training Bruce Kral, Division Chief, Life Safety Mike Murphy, Division Chief, Communications Karyn Kretzel, Assistant Communications Manager The men and women of the Wheat Ridge and West Metro Fire Protection Districts who daily serve their communities with honor and distinction. iii West Metro–Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Districts Cooperative Services Feasibility Study iv West Metro–Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Districts Cooperative Services Feasibility Study EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) was engaged by West Metro Fire Protection District (WMFPD) and Wheat Ridge Fire Protection District (WRFPD) to conduct a feasibility study regarding opportunities for collaboration between the fire service agencies. This report is the culmination of that evaluation. ESCI thanks the participating members, staff, and policy-makers of both agencies for their outstanding cooperation in the preparation of this report. All involved were candid in their comments and provided valuable information, perspective, and data to the ESCI team. The results of these interviews were used to identify the critical issues facing each agency and to develop context for the study. Purpose and Approach The purpose of the study was to: A. Assess the current fiscal, service level, and infrastructure conditions of each agency; recommend improvements to their existing processes independently where appropriate; and forecast each agency’s fiscal future for the next five years. B. Identify partnership opportunities available to the agencies to increase efficiency or eliminate duplication, up to and including integration. C. Analyze the most feasible options, recommending those with the greatest opportunity for success financially and operationally. This study determines the feasibility of the agencies increasing their collaboration up to and including full integration. It is not an implementation plan. The decisions required to implement many of these options take active discussion and deliberation (and in some cases, negotiation) by the policy-makers, administrators, and labor groups. This document determines what partnership options make sense and quantifies the advantages and disadvantages of each option being considered. This report contains the following major sections: Current Conditions (organizational, administrative, support and operational elements of the agencies); Processes for Collaboration (including four alternative strategies, ranging from complete autonomy to complete integration of the two agencies); Findings; Recommendations; and Implementation Guidance. The approach taken by the ESCI project team in developing this study was to first evaluate each agency as it operates today autonomously (referred to as Current Conditions in the report) and identify areas where process improvement can be recommended. This information was gathered through data analysis and interviews with the subject matter experts for each agency. The combined information was evaluated by the subject matter experts on the ESCI team who offered each agency recommendations for improvement as appropriate. These individual recommendations are listed in gray recommendation boxes throughout the Current Conditions section. 1 West Metro–Wheat Ridge Fire Protection Districts Cooperative Services Feasibility