4.1. SR 08-09-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM Fire Department TO: Mayor and City Council Members FROM: T. John Cunningham, Fire Chief '~C- DATE: Friday, August 6, 2010 SUBJECT: Fire Department Duty Officer Program In April, 2009, then Fire Chief Bruce West began implementing a paid weekend duty officer program for the fire department. The purpose of the program is to provide a timely response of a ranking fire department officer to each and every emergency incident the department is dispatched to. During the weekend, the on-call officer is compensated fox 16 hours of pay for approximately 60 howl of being "on-call". The on-call officer takes a fire department SUV home and responds directly to the scene. One of my priorities since assuming the position of Fire Chief in late September of last year has been to evaluate the duty officer program and to recommend how/if it should continue in the future. Since the program has a direct impact on the service deliverables of the fire department, it was unportant to evaluate the program in its entirety and, over a peL7od of time, to see how it effects the daily operations of the department and its members. In 2009 and 2010, the costs associated with the weekend duty officer program had not been specifically included in the fire department's operating budget. As we begin discussions for the 2011 budget, I have included a specific request for a duty officer "position" and the anticipated cost o£ $23,500 to continue and expand the program. Pro~rarn Evaluation The duty officer program has been a terrific benefit not only to the fire department but to the thousands of residents and visitors we serve. Above all, the program ensures that a fire department official is responding directly to ,the scene within the first few minutes of being dispatched to a call. Response times have shown a significant improvement. The early arrival of an officer enables the fire department to begin a critical "size-up" of the situation and the officer can begin directing responding units accordingly. At the recent fire at 720 4`h Street in Elk River, the duty officer (in this case, the Fire Chief) was on-scene within minutes of the call being dispatched. The quick arrival of an officer set into motion a number of critical steps, including: the establishment of the Incident Command System