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CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL

AND CONSOLIDATION

FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS REPORT

November 5, 2013

RW Management Group, Inc.1295 Appleton Road, Suite 2

Menasha, WI 54952Phone: 920.727.1000

Fax: [email protected]

www.rwmanagementgroup.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.rwmanagementgroup.com/

CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS TABLE OF CONTENTS

RW Management Group, Inc. i

Chapter Page Number 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1.1 Project Overview ...................................................................................................... 1.1 Project Work Tasks ................................................................................................... 1.2 Overview of the Current Demographics and Environment ....................................... 1.7 Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis .................. 1.7 2. Operational Recommendations ............................................................................. 2.1

Operational Overview and Recommendations .......................................................... 2.1 Governance and Administration ................................................................................ 2.1 Assessment and Planning ......................................................................................... 2.2 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................... 2.3 Financial Resources .................................................................................................. 2.5 Programs ................................................................................................................... 2.5 Physical Resources ................................................................................................. 2.10 Human Resources ................................................................................................. 2.12 Essential Resources ............................................................................................... 2.13 Training ................................................................................................................... 2.14 External System Relations ...................................................................................... 2.15 Consolidation Feasibility ......................................................................................... 2.15 Public Safety Feasibility .......................................................................................... 2.19

3. Implementation Plan by Priority ............................................................................ 3.1 4. Estimated Budget .................................................................................................... 4.1 Project Budget ........................................................................................................... 4.1 Benefits ..................................................................................................................... 4.2 5. Management Summary ........................................................................................... 5.1

Project Overview ....................................................................................................... 5.2 Operational Recommendations ................................................................................. 5.1 Benefits ................................................................................................................... 5.10

6. Glossary ................................................................................................................... 6.1

CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

RW Management Group, Inc. 1. 1

Project Overview RW Management Group, Inc. was retained by the City of De Pere to conduct a Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis. The Study will provide recommendations and options for the City to use now and in the future, when assessing department needs. Based upon the proposal submitted by RW Management Group, Inc. (RW) in August, 2013, the scope of the project was to perform a Feasibility Analysis to assist the City in developing a long-range plan for administrative and managerial improvements. This study was designed to have an independent third party review current service administration, operations, rules, regulations, personnel procedures, operating procedures and provide recommendations on future departmental needs, both short and long term. Further, an evaluation of the consolidation and public safety feasibilities was completed. This portion of the study was to assist in making recommendations regarding consolidating the fire department with area departments and the potential to create a public safety department with the Cities police and fire departments. The findings and recommendations are related to the operations, administration, and response for services rendered, related human resources, and equipment and program review. The review included the following categories:

• Governance and Administration

• Assessment and Planning

• Goals and Objectives

• Financial Resources

• Programs

• Physical Resources

• Human Resources

• Training

• Essential Resources

• External System Relations

• Consolidation Feasibility

• Public Safety Feasibility

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Project Work Tasks To complete the objectives set forth by the City, RW evaluated the Fire- EMS operations. RW met with and gathered the needs and concerns of fire service personnel. RW also met with City administration to further understand the growth potential of the City and contracted areas to determine the relationship between the projected growth of the City and needs of the Department. The following presents an overview of the work tasks completed by RW during the project. Developed a project team of appropriate users and stakeholders to oversee and participate in the project. The project team coordinated project schedules, evaluated findings and recommendations, and reviewed the final documents. Prepared for and conducted a Project Planning Meeting with the RW Project Manager, the Project Team and key project personnel. The purpose of the meeting was to define scope and mission, discuss the work plans, establish liaison responsibilities, coordinate project schedules and confirm other general arrangements. Initial Assessment and Observations Obtained and reviewed documentation provided by the department pertaining to this project, such as existing Fire/EMS documentation, Department policy and procedure manuals, detailed call volume statistics, service contracts, surveys, risk assessments and previous studies. Continued Assessment and Documentation

Assessed the current Fire/EMS operations, potential consolidation opportunities and began to develop future needs by performing interviews and on-site observations with members of the Department. The interviews and observations were held in both group and individual settings. nterviews and observations were conducted with personnel from the following areas: I

Fire Department Administration Officers Firefighters Paid on Call Police Department City Administration Elected Official Neighboring Departments and Associated Agencies Other key Stakeholders in the community

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I nterviews and observations primarily focused on the following issues:

Current Fire/EMS operations, staffing and levels of service Administrative organizational structure Analysis of policies, procedures, standard operating guidelines and rules of the Department Major equipment analysis Facilities Consolidation feasibility Reviewed and analyzed the “corporate culture” of the Fire Department to determine the internal cooperation of members, the working environment and general camaraderie of the organization. Prepared for and facilitated a project status meeting to discuss the results of the interviews and on-site observations with the Project Team and reviewed the next steps of the project. Analysis, Performance Review and Recommendations Reviewed present Fire/EMS workflows and processes to develop and analyze potential organizational and operational requirements. This review was based on the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) categories and criteria. The performance indicators that were examined included the following:

• Governance and Administration • Assessment and Planning • Goals and Objectives • Financial Resources • Programs • Physical Resources • Human Resources • Training and Competency • Essential Resources • External System Relations

Determined any changes, or future trends, for the public safety industry standards related to Fire/EMS operational requirements. During the development of all recommendations, RW considered many factors and standards as a basis for recommendations, including:

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) • Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) • National Fire Service Accreditation Program • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) • Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) • National Fire Administration (NFA) • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) • Insurance Services Office (ISO) Rating Schedule

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• Local Fire Protection Ordinances • State of Wisconsin Statutes and Administrative Code • Journal of American Medical Association • Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Service (CAAS) • American Ambulance Association

Developed comprehensive detailed Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility recommendations, utilizing the information received from the documentation received, the interviews and on-site interim management. The projected growth and level of service needs were considered during the development of these recommendations. Recommendations include: Current Fire/EMS operations, staffing and levels of service Fire/EMS workload, call volume and activity Governance and administration Assessment and planning Physical resources Human resources Training and Competency Essential resources External system relations Current and anticipated budget issues Current and future facility needs Service delivery in regards to national standards Advantages and disadvantages of local consolidation Funding sources Review of future staffing needs Any other issues identified during the analysis will be addressed Prepared for and facilitated a Recommendations Meeting to present preliminary recommendations and obtain feedback from the Project Team. Document Preparation and Review

Listed and described the findings and recommendations on the Fire/EMS governance and administration, assessment and planning, goals and objectives, financial resources, programs, physical resources, human resources, training and competency, essential resources and

xternal systems relations into a draft report. e Assembled the Analysis document. Perform a detailed quality assurance review of the document to ensure that the document meets the expectations of the Project Team and conforms to RW's standards.

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Prepared, produced and delivered the draft Analysis to the Project Team for review. Facilitated a Report Delivery Meeting to review content for accuracy and completeness. Facilitated an Analysis Review Meeting with the Project Team one (1) week after the initial delivery to answer questions regarding the content of the Analysis. Made any changes to the Analysis based on the discussions at the Analysis Review Meeting. Facilitated a formal presentation with the City Council of the completed Phase 1 part of the Analysis. Phase 2 Public Safety Analysis Assessed the potential public safety opportunities by performing interviews and on-site observations with members of the Police and Fire Departments. The interviews and observations were held in both group and individual settings. The interviews and observations were conducted with personnel from the following areas: Fire Department Administration Officers Firefighters Police Department Administration Supervisors Officers City Administration Elected Official Other key Stakeholders in the community Interviews and observations primarily focused on the following issues: Current Fire/EMS/Police operations, staffing and levels of service Administrative organizational structure Training Major equipment analysis Facilities Consolidation feasibility Reviewed and analyzed the “corporate culture” of the Police and Fire Department to determine the internal cooperation of members, the working environment and general camaraderie of the organizations.

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Prepared for and facilitated a project status meeting to discuss the results of the interviews and on-site observations with the Project Team and reviewed the next steps of the project. Analysis, Performance Review and Recommendations Reviewed present Police and Fire/EMS workflows and processes to develop and analyze potential consolidation organizational and operational requirements. Determined any changes, or future trends, for public safety industry standards related to Public Safety operational requirements. During the development of the recommendations, RW considered many factors and standards as a basis for recommendations, including: Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) National Fire Service Accreditation Program State of Wisconsin Statutes and Administrative Code Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Service (CAAS) Developed comprehensive detailed Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility recommendations, utilizing the information received from the documentation received, the interviews and on-site interim management. The projected growth and level of service needs were also considered during the development of these recommendations. Recommendations include: Current Fire/EMS/Police operations, staffing and levels of service Fire/EMS/Police workload, call volume and activity Training and Competency Current and anticipated budget issues Current and future facility needs Service delivery in regards to national standards Advantages and disadvantages of public safety Any other issues identified during the analysis will be addressed Prepared for and facilitated a Recommendations Meeting to present preliminary recommendations and obtain feedback from the Project Team. Document Preparation and Review

Listed and described the findings and recommendations on the Public Safety governance and administration, programs, physical resources, human resources, training and competency, essential resources, external systems relations, consolidation and public safety feasibility into a

raft report. d

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Assembled the complete Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis document. Performed a detailed quality assurance review of the document to ensure that the

ocument met the expectations of the Project Team and conformed to RW's standards. d Prepared, produced and delivered the draft Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis to the Project Team for review. Facilitated a Report Delivery Meeting to review content for accuracy and completeness. Facilitated an Analysis Review Meeting with the Project Team after initial delivery to answer questions regarding the content of the Analysis. Made any changes to the Analysis based on the discussions at the Analysis Review Meeting. Produced and delivered final document bound copies. Facilitated a formal presentation with the City Council of the completed Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis. Overview of the Current Demographics and Environment The City of De Pere has a population of approximately 24,209 in 2013 and encompasses approximately 11.58 sq. Miles. The City of De Pere is located in Brown County, bordered by Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Ledgeview and Lawrence. De Pere Fire Rescue has contracts for EMS coverage with the Towns of Lawrence and Ledgeview and the Village of Ashwaubenon. The approximate population of the EMS coverage area is 33,000 and about 34 sq. miles. The department has a total of 29 career full time employees and 14 paid on call firefighters. Positions include the Chief, Assistant Chief, 3 Captain’s, 3 Lieutenants, 3 mechanics, 17 Firefighters and an executive assistant. The Fire Rescue Department responded to 2,089 incidents in 2012. Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis To present the findings and recommendations that resulted from the engagement, RW has prepared this document; commonly referred to as the Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis. The remainder of this report is structured as follows:

• Chapter 2 – Operational Overview and Recommendations: This section lists the findings and presents recommendations on the current and future issues associated with organizational aspects of the Department. This section is outlined in the following sections:

o Governance and Administration

o Assessment and Planning

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o Goals and Objectives

o Financial Resources

o Programs

o Physical Resources

o Human Resources

o Essential Resources

o Training

o External System Relations

o Consolidation Feasibility

o Public Safety Feasibility

• Chapter 3 – Implementation Plan: This chapter contains a phased implementation for the recommendations made in the Analysis.

• Chapter 4 – Budget: Estimated Budget Worksheet

• Chapter 5 – Management Summary: A summarized version of the Analysis is presented, highlighting the projects objectives and recommendations.

• Chapter 6 – Glossary of Terms: A glossary of terms is presented for reference.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHAPTER 2 – OPERATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS


Operational Overview and Recommendations As stated earlier, the objectives of this project were to evaluate the City of De Pere Fire Department (Department) and make recommendations for the Department’s short/long term organizational and administrative needs. The Report includes findings and recommendations relating to the Governance and Administration, Assessment and Planning, Goals and Objectives, Financial Resources, Programs, Physical Resources, Human Resources, Essential Resources, Training, and External System Relations of the Fire Rescue Department. This section evaluates the Department’s present Fire/EMS organizational and administrative needs, and makes recommendations relating to the categories listed above. This review was based on the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), formerly the Commission of Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) categories and criteria. The De Pere Fire Rescue Department overall is doing a very good job of maintaining high standards in providing fire and emergency medical services. Department personnel displayed professionalism and were very cooperative throughout the review. The items italicized in the following pages are currently being implemented. Governance and Administration Findings The De Pere Fire Rescue Department is an organization established by Chapter 18.6 of the City Ordinances. The governing authority is the Common Council working through the City Administrator, and the Police and Fire Commission. The Common Council, City Council and the City Administrator are responsible for Departments over sight, performance program approval, and ensuring policy compliance by the department. The table of organization for the department is also approved by the Common Council. There are communication processes in place through the Fire Chief and City Administration to help guide the Common Council and Department in; policy making, planning, compliance with legal requirements, and the department’s vision and mission. RW Management has concluded that at times there has been inconsistency in communications and miscommunications between the City Common Council, City administration and the Department administration when conducting business. The responsibilities of the Police and Fire Commission (PFC) are limited to the authority granted to the commission by Chapter 62.13 of the Wisconsin State Statutes. The PFC does not have “optional powers”. The Fire Rescue Department currently consists of 28 sworn career and 14 paid on call firefighters and one executive assistant. The Department has an ISO rating of 3, which was completed in 2012. The department responded to a total of 2,089 incidents in 2012. These were

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broken down by 1,737 EMS incidents or 83% and 352 Fire incidents or 17%. The department is part of the State of Wisconsin Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (known as MABAS). The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Senate Bill SB 642 was approved by the Wisconsin State Legislature and signed by Governor Jim Doyle on April 5th, 2006. MABAS is a mutual aid measure that may be used for deploying fire, rescue, and emergency medical services personnel in a multi-jurisdictional and/or multi-agency response. Participation in the mutual aid program is voluntary. Equipment, personnel or services provided under MABAS are at no charge between municipalities. Expenses recovered from the responsible parties are equitably distributed. In addition, emergency personnel that respond to the emergency remain employees of their initial department or agency. MABAS is broken into divisions rather than regions. De Pere Fire Rescue is in the MABAS 112 region. Recommendations

Continue to improve the communications and working relationship between Fire-Rescue administration and City administration.

The Police and Fire Commission (PFC) by law should continue to be responsible for hiring, firing, discipline, and promotions.

The City Common Council is responsible to review, approve, and perform appraisals of fire department programs to ensure compliance with basic City policies. This can be easily attainable through scheduled meetings with the City Administration and the City Common Council.

Assessment and Planning RW reviewed area characteristics, fire and non-fire risk assessments and response strategies, and planning within the Department. The following findings and recommendations are based on planning concerns and risk management criteria that will impact outcomes and provide for the basic needs to complete the mission of the Department. Findings

The City of De Pere has a population of approximately 24,209 and covers an area of approximately 12.2 square miles. The Fire Rescue Department also covers portions of the Town of Ledgeview, population 5,783, with approximately 14 sq. miles, the Town of Lawrence with population of 4,284 and 16 sq. miles and the City of Ashwaubenon with a population of 2,500 and a total of approximately 4 sq. miles covered. The Fire department currently has 29 total members with 1 Chief, 1 Assistant Chief, 1 Executive Assistant, 3 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, 3 mechanics, and 17 career Firefighters and 14 POC Firefighters assigned to fire suppression and Emergency Services. The Department operates 2 fire stations which were built in 1971 and in 2001.

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The Department’s current Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) rating is a 3 in the entire district. The rating schedule measures the major elements of a City’s fire suppression system. These measurements then are developed into a Public Protection Classification number on a relative scale from 1 to 10, with 10 representing less than the minimum recognized protection. The schedule is a fire insurance rating tool used to determine property insurance premiums that property owners pay to their insurance carrier. The Department does not have a “standard of cover” for emergency deployment, which outlines response time, pumping capacity and apparatus and equipment deployment objectives. The water supply system is adequate for the City, and is utilized in the planning effort as it relates to City development. The department relies on mutual aid for water tenders when fighting fires in non-hydrant areas. The Department takes an active role in promoting fire protection suppression and detection systems as part of the development and planning process. The Department does not have a long-range plan, which includes stations, vehicles and personnel for the next five (5) to (10) years. This study will help to provide the basis for the long range strategic plan. There are no current annexation issues or concerns with neighboring communities. Recommendations

A fire risk assessment and response strategy listing the nature and magnitude of the hazards within the City should be completed. The fire risks in each planning zone, including required fire protection resources and special, routine and isolated hazards need to be identified (pre-plans) so an accurate “standard of cover” strategy can be established. The risk assessment and the recommendations and implementation plan in this report will provide the basis for a comprehensive strategic plan.

A long range strategic plan should be developed for the Fire Department.

Develop a program to provide businesses with fire-EMS safety information.

Develop a long term public safety plan for managing the potential growth of the City to the South East.

Goals and Objectives RW performed an evaluation of the City and Department’s goals and objectives, and has made recommendations for future documentation.

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Findings The Common Council does have written goals and objectives for the fire department, but the fire department does not have their own written goals and objectives. The Fire Department management process has been unclear at times, and the fire department organizational structure has been limited due to ineffective responsibility assignments. There has also been an unclear management process in place to meet goals and objectives. The Department has multiple versions of Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG’s) in place. There has been very little in SOG training and limited communications on objectives and goals, causing shifts to interpret the department direction from shift to shift. Recommendations RW Management recommends the Department define and develop a formal written mission statement for the DPFR with corresponding goals and objectives. This can be accomplished by the development of a committee representing the DPFR, Administration, and governing body in the development of the mission statement, goals and objectives. Once completed, everyone on the Department staff needs to be familiar with the mission of their fire department and how the Department is going to achieve its goals.

Fire department needs to update and re-enforce department goals and objectives with members through a required learning/training program to ensure consistency and compliancy with all Department policies. City and department goals and objectives should be reviewed annually by the Chief and the Administrator, with any changes necessary brought to the attention of the City Common Council. This should be a scheduled meeting so that all City Stakeholders can appraise and address the effectiveness of the goals and objectives.

The Department should identify and develop an updated management process (chain of command) that will be responsible for implementing the City and department’s goals and objectives. This can be accomplished by developing a committee of City and fire representatives who through a plan will develop, teach, and ensure that all department employees have a very clear understanding of the chain of command.

Adopt a clear process for the implementation of policies procedures and SOG’s designed to meet the department goals and objectives. Expand administrative duties and responsibilities to provide better management and leadership.

Write and establish clear standard operating guidelines, policies and procedures.

Provide for department input and comprehensive training of new SOG’s and policies

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Financial Resources RW reviewed how the Department handled financial issues. Findings The Fire Chief develops the budget with limited input and recommendations from the officers and firefighters. The budget then goes to the City Administrator and City Common Council for review and approval. Financial reports are provided to the Chief by the Finance Director who reviews them periodically. The City also has an independent audit conducted annually. The Fire Chief reviews invoices for expenses incurred by the Department on a monthly basis and submits them to the Finance Director for processing and payment. The City Common Council has established fees charged for emergency medical calls. The Department is responsible for processing these fees and invoicing and collecting from patients. Given the complexity of medical billing, especially as it relates to Medicare billings, most EMS departments use the services of a third party biller. The De Pere Fire Rescue Department has at times not been able to submit the billing information to the biller on a timely basis. This delay in billings makes collection more difficult, resulting in the potential of lost revenue to the City. Recommendations The City should require all emergency medical service bills be submitted to the third party billing agency by the 15th of each month for the preceding month. Instances where this goal is not met should be reported to the Fire Chief and the City Finance Director. This should be the sole responsibility of one department employee.

The Chief should include officers and line personnel in the budget process, and use it as an opportunity to develop future Chief Officers. An example would be to ask all department employees to submit their own budget requests (wish lists) for the upcoming year, and then organize a meeting to prioritize the requests. All fundraising activities that involve City equipment should be governed by City policies. The Fire Department should utilize current financial practices and principals supported by Generally Accepted Accounting Practices.

Programs

This area is defined as the services, activities and responses provided by the department for the community, and supported by the mission, goals and objectives of the De Pere Fire Rescue Department.

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Findings Fire Suppression The fire suppression performed by DPFR is supported by 3 Engines, 1 Ladder, 1 Utility, 3 Ambulances, 1 Boat, and 2 Chief Cars. All responding personnel are familiar with the Incident Command System (ICS), and seem to work well with their MABAS1 neighbors. The Department had 352 Fire Rescue responses in 2012. The minimum staffing for the Department is 6 career Firefighters. There are currently 14 paid on call firefighters on the roster. There are often multiple incidents at the same time, which often leaves the coverage area empty with no one to respond. The Incident Command System is not utilized consistently. Recommendations Develop an apparatus replacement plan that makes more sense for the staffing levels of the department. RW recommends that the City look at moving towards a Rescue Pumper and a unit to fit their current staffing levels. This would allow both stations to adequately cross staff an ambulance and fire vehicle. Implement ICS SOG’s that provide for consistent utilization of the Incident Command System on a daily basis. Enhance POC utilization and training so that they can be better utilized to support fire-EMS operations throughout the coverage area. The current POC’s are very much underutilized. RW recommends that they are scheduled, trained and allowed to perform fire and EMS duties with career personnel. Develop a duty crew call back for staffing empty stations. This would allow for the ability to staff secondary response vehicles and cover the City and contract areas with immediate response when there are multiple incidents and no personnel left in the stations. The Department should continue to train on NIMS, MABAS incidents, and EOC, with defined role and responsibilities of internal officers and surrounding departments. Fire Prevention Findings A Fire department code enforcement program is in place. State required annual inspections are to be completed with suppression personnel. The records indicate that 1,311 bi-annual 1 Mutual Aid Box Alarm System

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inspections took place in 2012. There were extensive reports and complaints made that follow up inspections were often not taking place and that the same violations were found at the same businesses again and again each year. Recommendations Improve communications and coordination with fire prevention administration and line inspection crews. This would include the development of a written fire prevention program and review of fire inspection follow-ups on a monthly basis. Public Education Findings The Department provides presentations in schools and nursing homes on a regular basis. They also provide fire extinguisher training and have an annual open house event during fire prevention week each year. Recommendations Utilize the information from the recommended risk assessment to design a public education program for the City. This program should include coordination and involvement with all department personnel. Fire Investigation Findings There is a program in place for fire investigations. The Department has 4 members that are part of the Brown County Fire Investigation Task Force and work and train with that unit on a regular basis. The Department investigates cause and origin of fires beginning with Department personnel and escalates the investigation if needed through the B.C. Fire Investigation Task Force and Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. The Department will also work with insurance investigators as needed. Recommendations Create a fire investigation, cause and origin standard operating guideline that outlines the process and steps that should be taken for the investigation of all fires. Prepare written fire investigation program, which outlines the goals, objectives and desired outcomes of the fire investigation program. Continue to facilitate the individual and Department involvement with the regional B.C. Fire Investigation Task Force.

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Technical Rescue Findings The Department provides extrication, elevated rescue, water, ice and some structural collapse rescue when needed. Trench rescue and confined space rescue are provided by external resources. There has been limited tech rescue equipment and training. The boat has limited functionality. It has a small motor, needs to be trailered to a launch and then driven to the scene of an incident. The current boat has inflatable tubes and has had maintenance problems with maintaining the air levels. The boat can also not be used for ice rescue. There is limited availability of technical rescue trained department members. Recommendations A regional technical rescue team needs to be put in place for Brown County. Water, dive and ice equipment and rescue needs to be coordinated regionally. There are multiple technical rescue teams and boats and ice rescue equipment located throughout the County and there is very limited cooperation or coordination between units. Hazardous Materials Findings The Fire Rescue Department is trained to the awareness level. When needed Level A and B teams come from the Green Bay Metro Fire Department who manage the Brown County Hazardous Materials Team. Recommendations The Hazardous Material training level of the Department should be increased to the operational level. RW would also recommend enhanced cooperation with the GBMFD regional team. Emergency Medical Services Findings The Department has an excellent reputation in emergency medical service and RW has received nothing but positive feedback from all contract services and hospitals. The emergency medical technician and paramedic personnel all have current certifications

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The Department has had limited success in developing a comprehensive quality assurance program, designed to maintain a high level of EMS competencies. Recommendations RW recommends enhancing medical direction and involvement with the medical director. This would provide exceptional training and interaction with ER physicians and nursing staff, which could include ride alongs and monthly on-site physician based training. The Department should also work to improve efficiency of durable supply replacement. This can be accomplished by facilitating an agreement with a hospital and improved inventory control. RW further recommends that the Department facilitate a comprehensive quality assurance program. This could be done in conjunction with the enhanced medical direction and hospital interaction. RW also feels that there should be an increase in EMS related public education activities. The United States has an aging population and the need for quality medical information and care is paramount. Emergency Disaster Management Findings There is a City emergency operations plan in place. There has been limited disaster plan or EOC training within the City. Most members of the fire department were unfamiliar with the City EOP. There was also an outdated copy of the Brown County EOP found in all of the fire apparatus. Most of the City administrative and supervisory personnel have received the recommended NIMS training. There is a well-equipped Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located in the basement of the public safety building. There also seemed to be confusion as to who was actually designated as Emergency Management Director for the City. Recommendations RW strongly recommends an increase in the emergency management awareness level. There should be improved cooperation with County Emergency Management and the City EOP should reflect the Emergency Service Functions found in the national Response Framework. RW further recommends that the City establish a written Emergency Management Program, which includes special event coordination and Incident Action Plans (IAP’s). The City should confirm an emergency management director. The appointed director should review the NIMSCAST document with all department heads to increase awareness level of the NIMS requirements.

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The Emergency Management Director should also facilitate increased emergency management and major incident management training and exercises for all departments Health and Fitness Findings There are no Department written health and physical fitness programs in place. There are also no annual physicals for all firefighters. Firefighters are given annual respiratory clearance exams. Recommendations RW recommends that the Department implements annual fire department occupational physicals. SPS 330.15 Wis. Admin. Code (Fire Department Safety and Health Standards):

(1) The employer shall assure that fire fighters who are expected to do structural fire fighting are physically capable of performing duties which may be assigned to them during emergency operations. (2) The fire chief may not permit a fire fighter with known heart disease, epilepsy, or emphysema to participate in fire department emergency operations unless a physician’s certificate of the firefighter’s fitness to participate in such operations is provided.

While this statute does not mandate annual physicals, it is clear that annual physicals would be the predominate method for the Fire Chief to assure that fire fighters who are expected to do structural firefighting are physically capable of doing the job.

RW further recommends that the Department establish a department health and physical fitness program. This should be designed to keep firefighters healthy enough to perform their duties. Physical Resources This section evaluates the Department’s fixed facility, apparatus and maintenance and related personnel needs.

Findings The Department currently has two (2) stations. Station 1 is adequate, properly positioned and maintained. This station is positioned to cover the City as a whole, but the contracted areas in the Town of Lawrence and the Village of Ashwaubenon would be longer responses.

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Station 2 is inadequate and has many design and maintenance related issues. This station currently has the majority of the EMS call volume due to the contracted areas of the Town of Lawrence and the Village of Ashwaubenon. Based on the City’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan Update the largest growth potential for the City will be to the South of Station 1. The department currently has the appropriate apparatus. Current staffing issues may present the need for a change in apparatus types and quantities. The majority of the current fleet is now beyond the average replacement age for apparatus. The department does do a good job of keeping the equipment in good running condition. The department mechanics and the public works mechanics do the majority of the work on the apparatus. None of the mechanics are Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) certified. The ideal standards of coverage for fire and emergency medical responses are 4-6 minutes from the time that the call is dispatched until the unit arrives on the scene. This standard is consistent with the standards of the following agencies;

o Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) o National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) o National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) o American Heart Association Guidelines for Defibrillation and CPR o National Standard of Care for EMS Response o Journal of American Medical Association o Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) o American Ambulance Association (AAA)

These established national standards for response have proven to be valid and will be utilized in legal cases as being the benchmark to which services will be judged. The Department currently meets these standards with the current station locations for City responses, and current staffing levels. This standard is not always met for contracted area response. The apparatus are fully equipped for structural firefighting, water supply is adequate for most areas and emergency medical response times are good. There is a capital Improvement program set up which outlines the replacement schedule for the apparatus, although the station maintenance or replacement is not part of that plan. Recommendations RW recommends that the Department establish a written “standard of cover” for emergency deployment, which accurately reflects the Department’s capabilities. This should be based on the Risk Assessment that was recommended in the Assessment and Planning chapter of this report.

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RW recommends that a new station be planned for, even though it may not be built for many years to come. A committee should be established to look at the stations, their issues and locations, along with the locations of surrounding departments. Update the inventory control system to provide better accountability of current assets. The City and Department should look at and research a bar-code system to better track inventory items. The City capital improvement plan for vehicle replacements seems adequate, but the City Common Council and Fire Department should update the CIP and consider sharing the cost of future purchases with their neighboring departments, based on the recommendations of this study.

RW recommends that the Department certifies the Public work mechanics to the EVT level. Human Resources RW reviewed the development and utilization of human resources for the Department. The Department’s organizational chart, City policies and standard operating guidelines were examined to provide a basis for the completion of this section. Findings The City Human Resources Director is the designated personnel manager for the Fire Department. Human resource polices, along with job descriptions for all personnel are in place. The Department also has current standard operating guidelines in place. The City policies and procedures are currently being revised and should be complete by the end of the year. The Department SOG’s should also be re-written, reviewed, trained on and implemented. Recruitment, selection, discipline, probationary period, and promotion policies are in place, but there are concerns as to how they were or were not followed. Currently the Police and Fire Commission holds the responsibility for these areas with the Fire Chief providing input. The Department does not have a written new member orientation and training program. A written physical/fitness program is not in place at this time. The Department does not have a risk management or career development plan in place. The Department does not have a written risk management program in place. The City does conduct exit interviews when members of the department leave the service.

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Recommendations

RW recommends that the Department develop a career development program and a written health and fitness program for the Department. Mandatory physicals should be part of the health and fitness program.

Establish recruitment, retention, and promotional process committee.

The Department should develop a Health and Safety Committee, and begin putting together a risk management and safety program for the Department.

Develop a written risk management process that will provide the City of De Pere with an analysis of community risk using real world factors. The risk assessment will include determining and defining the differences in risk between single family, multiple family, and commercial dwellings within the City. Update and provide a more structured new member orientation program. Establish a committee to review, re-write, implement and train on new SOG’s for the department. Essential Resources RW interviews and document review provided a basis for the completion of this section. Findings The water supply in most of the coverage area is covered by a hydrant system, which is adequate. Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) provides for Tender coverage from other departments for the areas that do not have hydrants. A county wide VHF Communications system is in place and dispatch is provided by a county wide dispatch center. This system provides interoperability with mutual aid departments. The County is behind on their required narrow banding of this system and installation of a trunked UHF system, which was to be completed by the end of 2012. The Communication Center does have adequate communication standard operating guidelines in place. The management information system does support the current needs of the Department. There is limited administrative support and resources available to the Department. Paper reports are being used for EMS. The station 2 computers are very old and in need of replacement. There is a T1 connection to station 2, which slows down the connection to the City server and applications on that server. There are two different records management systems (RMS) in place, one for fire and a different system for EMS. Paper reporting is still being utilized for EMS.

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There is an office assistant position in place, which helps to support the administrative needs of the department and manages ambulance billing. Recommendations Complete installation of new radio system and adopt policies that will enhance service. RW recommends that the Department transition to one records management system for accurate data reporting. The computers at station 2 and the T1 connection should be upgraded to provide for more effective internet and server connections. RW further recommends that EMS transition to the utilization of notepads in the ambulances utilizing the internet connection to Imagetrend software and the State program. RW would recommend that Imagetrend becomes the single records management system for EMS and Fire and that the Firehouse records management system be discontinued. RW recommends that the office assistant position should transition to a confidential administrative assistant position. This position should be utilized less for billing and more for administrative support and services including purchasing, invoicing, payroll and budget. Training Training supports safety and is the backbone for all fire departments when it comes to providing services to their communities in a safe and efficient manner. Findings The department has processes in place to ensure proper training, but not in a consistent manner for all members. The De Pere Fire Rescue Department had an Assistant Chief position whose duties included being the training officer for the department. This position was eliminated and they have been using a shift captain to fill this void. There are some performance-based measurements are in place. The Department has a training records system in place, but needs updating to ensure that all members remain compliant. Recommendations

Develop a long term comprehensive training plan that will include; training needs, benefits to the department and City, a timeline, mandatory and non-mandatory training needs, and budget. This plan should also identify training needs as they pertain to current and potential future risks. Enhance the accountability system to ensure all members are current with their training. Include daily shift training in the plan. Develop performance-based measurements for training.

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Expand training with MABAS partners and technical rescue departments by setting up mock incidents and worse-case scenarios, to better prepare the members for incident types that are low frequency and high risk. Some examples would be; tornado drill, high school shooting, hazmat incident, etc. Assign training officer duties to the assistant chief. This will provide the ability to keep the training uniform across each of the 24 hour shifts. External System Relations This section of the report covers external department relations for fire, EMS and police coverage and their effect on the station and staffing needs of the Department. Findings The Department does not have a strategic plan in place that would also address the external relationships and potential for changes in those relationships based on population, economic factors, and county-wide emergency planning efforts. The MABAS agreement and related auto-aid agreements, box cards and standard operating guidelines are functioning well. The interaction with the police department has diminished over the last several years. The increased call volume of both departments, the lapse in first responder training for the police department and no joint training have all contributed to the lack of interaction. Recommendations RW recommends that the Department improve interaction and planning with the police department. This can be accomplished in several ways, such as holding joint briefings on special events, forming a joint special event committee, attending each other’s briefings occasionally to address questions or concerns or special planning. The Departments can also provide subject matter training for each other and work and train together for joint incident responses. Consolidation Feasibility Ashwaubenon Public Safety Department Findings De Pere Fire Rescue has a good working relationship with Ashwaubenon. The De Pere Police Department has had limited interaction with Ashwaubenon Public Safety, although this may be

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changing due to the sharing of a radio talk group and dispatcher, which recently took place with the new radio system. Ashwaubenon is landlocked with limited potential for growth, but is bordered by the Towns of Lawrence and Hobart, which have great growth potential. Ashwaubenon stated that all of their training needs are met while off duty and on overtime. That due to the multi-faceted approach there was extensive on-going training that needed to take place. There are currently no automatic aid agreements in place with De Pere. The Public Safety Department is open to automatic aid, shared services, mutual aid, contracted services, jointly staffed stations and assistance with technical rescue. The Public Safety Department does rely on the City of De Pere for assistance with fire and technical rescue. De Pere Fire Rescue is also under contract for EMS in the southern portion of Ashwaubenon. RW did not find interest with Ashwaubenon in consolidation or expanding public safety services in De Pere. Recommendations Facilitate the drafting and adoption of an automatic aid agreement with the Village of Ashwaubenon. This agreement would cover fire, recue and EMS mutual aid and shared services. The MABAS agreement does not provide liability coverage until the fire is at a box alarm level. Currently De Pere Fire Rescue and Ashwaubenon Public Safety provide assistance at the working still alarm level, which is prior to invoking MABAS. An Auto Aid agreement would also provide written legal coverage for non-emergency situations where the departments cooperate and work together. RW also recommends that the City create a committee to explore the potential, to create a joint Fire-EMS building that would replace De Pere Fire Rescue Station 2 on the West side. This station could provide for better coverage of the West side of De Pere and the contracted area in the Town of Lawrence, along with the Southern half of Ashwaubenon. The potential to joint staff this station should also be reviewed. Consolidation Feasibility Bellevue Fire Department Findings The Bellevue Fire Department is a combination department with 6 full time personnel and 32 paid on call personnel. They provide first responders for EMS calls and provide fire protection for the Village of Bellevue. The Village contracts with County Rescue to provide ambulance coverage for the Village. Bellevue Fire also has trained personnel and equipment to provide the Village with technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue and Bellevue Fire have a good

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working relationship and work together on MABAS incidents. There is potential to consolidate technical rescue or fire services. Recommendations RW recommends that an auto-aid agreement with Bellevue Fire is put into place. This will provide a legal and liability base for the departments to work towards enhanced working relationships. The enhancements should include creating a joint technical rescue team, increased MABAS utilization and joint training. Consolidation Feasibility Ledgeview Fire Department Findings The Town of Ledgeview contracts with the City of De Pere to provide EMS services for the majority of the Town. County Rescue is also contracted to provide EMS services for a smaller portion of the Town. Ledgeview Fire is a paid on call department with no full time or EMS first responders. The Fire Department is interested in shared services, auto-aid and technical rescue, but not consolidation with De Pere Fire Rescue. Recommendations RW recommends that the City signs an auto-aid agreement with the Town so that there is a legal basis to respond to each other’s working still alarm calls. This agreement would also provide coverage for joint training and providing technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue should schedule and facilitate joint training with Ledgeview Fire Department at least semi-annually. Consolidation Feasibility Lawrence Fire Department Findings The Lawrence Fire Department is a Paid on call department with no full time personnel. They provide first responders for EMS calls and provide fire protection for the Town of Lawrence. The Town contracts with City of De Pere to provide ambulance coverage for the Town. Lawrence Fire Department and De Pere Fire Rescue have a good working relationship and work together on EMS responses, working Still alarms, highway response, pump and ladder testing and MABAS incidents. The Town of Lawrence is also a growing community and is experiencing a

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growth in emergency incident responses. The Lawrence Fire Department is open to more joint training and shared services, but has no interest in consolidation. Recommendations RW recommends that the City signs an auto-aid agreement with the Town so that there is a legal basis to respond to each other’s working still alarm calls. This agreement would also provide coverage for joint training and providing technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue should schedule and facilitate joint training with the Lawrence Fire Department at least semi-annually. The town of Lawrence contract area and growth potential should be reviewed as part of the station re-location and Ashwaubenon joint station project. Consolidation Feasibility Green Bay Metro Fire Department Findings The Green Bay Metro Fire Department is a full career department with about 200 sworn Fire-EMS personnel. The department responds to more than 10,000 incidents per year and provides fire suppression, paramedic, technical rescue, hazardous material, fire prevention and inspection and fire investigation services to the City and the Village of Allouez. GBMFD and De Pere Fire Rescue have worked together on joint purchasing, MABAS and hazardous material responses. GBMFD is open to automatic aid, sharing of resources, technical rescue, investigations, Haz-Mat and dive/water rescue. They are also open to discussing multiple forms of consolidation. Recommendations RW recommends that the City establish an auto aid agreement with GBMFD to allow for increased shared services. RW also recommends functional consolidation. Functional consolidation is having each department remain legally separate, but working closely together and sharing functions and services, as though they were one department. This recommendation would include putting together a shared services project team to work out shared services in the following areas initially: Administration Prevention Operations Technical Rescue Water – Ice rescue Standards of coverage

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RW recognizes the need to continue pursuing efficiencies in operation of Fire-EMS Departments and encourages the utilization of joint ventures to maintain or improve that acceptable level of service to the communities without an increase in cost. Functional consolidation could take place in many of the areas listed below:

• Informal sharing of personnel or equipment between departments to help with a short-term project or problem.

• Sharing of reserve apparatus. • Combining specialized services or equipment, such as ladder trucks or towers,

apparatus maintenance services, combining technical-rescue teams (personnel, equipment and apparatus) to help ensure an adequate response to an incident.

• Creating a process for hiring or contracting one another's specialized staff for special projects.

• Sharing training, fire prevention and investigation • Administrative sharing and coordination • Standards of cover, apparatus placement

When emergency needs exceed the limits of any one agency, it's common for that agency to reach out for assistance using auto-aid and mutual-aid agreements, like MABAS. It only makes sense that agencies go even further, committing to some form of functional or legal consolidation. A frequent roadblock is misunderstanding the options that functional consolidation offers. In a functional consolidation, separate fire departments are retained and duties normally performed separately are assigned as a combined new organization. Examples would be a joint training center, joint administration or joint fire-prevention bureau. Functional or partial consolidation is where separate fire departments are retained and a special agreement is formulated to handle specific challenges. An example would be shared staffing of a fire station. Public Safety Feasibility Findings The initial training levels needed for new firefighters would be the following; Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Haz-Mat Operational Level, Driver Operator – Pumper and Aerial. This would add up to 264 hours of training. Paramedic certification would take an additional 1000 hours of training. The initial training level requirements for police officers would be an associate degree and a 520 basic police training course. There would also be annual recertification classes needed for all disciplines.

The Fire Rescue Department currently staffs with three 24 hour shifts. Two of the shifts have 9 personnel and one has 8 personnel. There are 2 chief officers and 1 executive assistant. The department primarily handles all fire, rescue, EMS, hazardous material, and technical rescue responses to incidents within the City limits. The Department also has contracts with the Village

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of Ashwaubenon, and the Towns of Ledgeview and Lawrence to provide ambulance coverage. The Department also performs one to two fire safety inspections on all public buildings in the City, training and public education events on shift. The Police Department currently staffs with 35 sworn personnel and 4 non-sworn positions. There is 1 Chief, 1 Captain, 1 Lieutenant, 6 Sergeants, 3 Detectives, 3 Liaison Officers, 1 Community Resource Officer and 19 Officers. The Department handles all law enforcement issues in the City of De Pere and participates with the County Drug Task Force and SWAT Teams. The interviews and discussions with De Pere Police and Fire personnel revealed that most were not at all interested in being trained to perform dual roles of police and fire. There was also concern relating to the extensive amount of training that would have to take place initially and then on an annual basis to maintain certification in multiple disciplines. There was also a major concern and perception that there would be a degradation of service levels in both police and fire.

Recommendations The basic mission of Fire/EMS and Police departments is vastly different. Despite a shared goal of public safety, the mission, objectives, tactics and threats remain separate and distinct. The activities of law-enforcement officers and firefighter/paramedics require vastly different training. These critical skills not only require different initial training, but also very different ongoing education. The Fire/EMS service typically enjoys a position of trust in the community that is different than the fear of authority or reprisal. Law enforcement’s mission to prevent crime from different threats creates varied public opinion and reaction, including being perceived as a threat. Firefighter and Law Enforcement personnel often have a predisposition to be better suited for the distinct duties and environment of either fire/emergency or law enforcement service. Personnel who must repeatedly switch between two roles are subject to even higher levels of stress that may contribute to inefficiency, morale or health issues. De Pere Firefighters and Police personnel were clear about having a preference for one or the other role. Being placed in a completely different role may also diminish efficiency or lead to higher job dissatisfaction. The public safety concept replaces the functional unit of a fire department (company unit) that can rapidly assess and respond to many hazards with the limited response of an individual or two individuals in a single unit. These small numbers are unacceptable for the fireground, urgent medical care and other situations where citizen and public-safety personnel lives are dependent on rapid intervention. Similarly, public safety exchanges the team concept for individual action. Individual action on a fire or EMS scene leads to unsafe acts, inefficiency and chaos, which too often has fatal consequences. Public safety will not affect the volume of calls for fire, EMS or police assistance, and the City would still need to meet that demand. This may be especially burdensome to De Pere, which

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like other communities nationwide, have been faced with servicing their population with less revenue. RW recommends that the City create a joint Police-Fire-EMS Committee to review ways of enhancing public safety and emergency management in the City of De Pere. Based on the study of the current police and fire departments, we do not feel that the creation of a consolidated public safety department would enhance public safety in the City of De Pere. The two departments working closer together and coordinating their activities should enhance public safety and provide an improved service to the citizens of De Pere. It is our opinion that the creation of a consolidated public safety department at this time would actually be a degradation of public safety services. It would take several years to complete the cross training that would be needed, there would be extensive overtime costs related to the training and a transition stage of personnel leaving the departments due to lack of interest in performing multiple services.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHAPTER 3 – IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

RW Management Group, Inc. 3.1

Implementation Plan by Priority To properly and successfully implement the recommendations made for department operations, administrative services, policies, and other related recommendations, certain key components must be addressed. Without the implementation of these components, overall services, productivity and organizational buy-in will be tempered and system performance will suffer. The following implementation plan lists, by priority, those requirements that satisfy the principles of comprehensive delivery of Fire EMS service protection. The plan has been developed also considering the benefits that have a high overall return to the residents, the Department, the City and the neighboring communities. Using this approach, the City will not only be moving toward sound Fire EMS department services, practices and systems, but they will also be implementing changes in operations, services and technology that yield the highest returns first. The exact details and dates for some of these changes are left up to the project team to determine the specifics of how the current corporate culture is, and the immediate need. The recommendations italicized are already in the process of implementation. Fiscal Year 2014 The goal for the first year is to start the comprehensive implementation of the recommendations. Many of these recommendations, those italicized are already being implemented. The following areas are to be implemented during 2014: • Define a Project Team made up of members from the City and Department. This team will

provide oversight of the Fire Department Operations and Administrative Review Study recommendations and of the planned organizational changes to occur with internal and external resources to coordinate efforts.

• Continue to improve the communications and working relationship between Fire-Rescue administration and City administration.

• The Police and Fire Commission (PFC) by law should continue to be responsible for hiring,

firing, discipline, and promotions.

• The City Common Council is responsible to review, approve, and perform appraisals of fire department programs to ensure compliance with basic City policies. This can be easily attainable through scheduled meetings with the City Administration and the City Common Council.

• Develop a written risk management process that will provide the City of De Pere with an

analysis of community risk using real world factors. The risk assessment will include determining and defining the differences in risk between single family, multiple family, and commercial dwellings within the City.

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• A fire risk assessment and response strategy listing the nature and magnitude of the hazards within the City should be completed. The fire risks in each planning zone, including required fire protection resources and special, routine and isolated hazards need to be identified (pre-plans) so an accurate “standard of cover” strategy can be established. The risk assessment and the recommendations and implementation plan in this report will provide the basis for a comprehensive strategic plan.

• RW recommends that the Department establish a written “standard of cover” for emergency

deployment, which accurately reflects the Department’s capabilities. This should be based on the Risk Assessment that was recommended in the Assessment and Planning chapter of this report.

• Develop a long term public safety plan for managing the potential growth of the City to the

South East. • RW Management recommends the Department define and develop a formal written mission

statement for the DPFR with corresponding goals and objectives. Once completed, everyone on the Department staff needs to be familiar with the mission of their fire department and how the Department is going to achieve its goals.

• The Fire Department needs to update and re-enforce department goals and objectives with

members through a required learning/training program to ensure consistency and compliancy with all Department policies.

• City and department goals and objectives should be reviewed annually by the Chief and the

Administrator, with any changes necessary brought to the attention of the City Common Council. This should be a scheduled meeting so that all City Stakeholders can appraise and address the effectiveness of the goals and objectives.

• The Department should identify and develop an updated management process (chain of

command) that will be responsible for implementing the City and department’s goals and objectives. This can be accomplished by developing a committee of City and fire representatives who through a plan will develop, teach, and ensure that all department employees have a very clear understanding of the chain of command.

• Adopt a clear process for the implementation of policies procedures and SOG’s designed to

meet the department goals and objectives. Provide for department input and comprehensive training of new SOG’s and policies.

• Expand administrative duties and responsibilities to provide better management and

leadership.

• Write and establish clear standard operating guidelines, policies and procedures.

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• Develop a program to provide businesses with Fire-EMS safety information.

• The City should require all emergency medical service bills be submitted to the third party billing agency by the 15th of each month for the preceding month. Instances where this goal is not met should be reported to the Fire Chief and the City Finance Director. This should be the sole responsibility of one department employee.

• The Chief should include officers and line personnel in the budget process, and use it as an opportunity to develop future Chief Officers. An example would be to ask all department employees to submit their own budget requests (wish lists) for the upcoming year, and then organize a meeting to prioritize the requests.

• All fundraising activities that involve City equipment should be governed by City policies. • The Fire Department should utilize current financial practices and principals supported by

Generally Accepted Accounting Practices. • Implement ICS SOG’s that provide for consistent utilization of the Incident Command

System on a daily basis. • Enhance POC utilization and training so that they can be better utilized to support fire-EMS

operations throughout the coverage area. The current POC’s are very much underutilized. RW recommends that they are scheduled, trained and allowed to perform fire and EMS duties with career personnel.

• Develop a duty crew call back for staffing empty stations. This would allow for the ability to

staff secondary response vehicles and cover the City and contract areas with immediate response when there are multiple incidents and no personnel left in the stations.

• The Department should continue to train on NIMS, MABAS incidents, and EOC, with defined

role and responsibilities of internal officers and surrounding departments. • Improve communications and coordination with fire prevention administration and line

inspection crews. This would include the development of a written fire prevention program and review of fire inspection follow-ups on a monthly basis.

• Create a fire investigation, cause and origin standard operating guideline that outlines the

process and steps that should be taken for the investigation of all fires. • Prepare written fire investigation program, which outlines the goals, objectives and desired

outcomes of the fire investigation program. • Continue to facilitate the individual and Department involvement with the regional B.C. Fire

Investigation Task Force.

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• A regional technical rescue team needs to be put in place for Brown County. There are multiple technical rescue teams and boats and ice rescue equipment located throughout the County and there is very limited cooperation or coordination between units. Water, dive and ice equipment and rescue needs to be coordinated regionally.

• RW recommends enhancing medical direction and involvement with the medical director.

This would provide exceptional training and interaction with ER physicians and nursing staff, which could include ride alongs and monthly on-site physician based training.

• The Department should also work to improve efficiency of durable supply replacement. This

can be accomplished by facilitating an agreement with a hospital and improved inventory control.

• RW further recommends that the Department facilitate a comprehensive quality assurance

program. This could be done in conjunction with the enhanced medical direction and hospital interaction.

• RW strongly recommends an increase in the emergency management awareness level. There should be improved cooperation with County emergency Management and the City EOP should reflect the Emergency Service Functions found in the national Response Framework.

• RW further recommends that the City establish a written Emergency Management Program,

which includes special event coordination and Incident Action Plans (IAP’s). The City should confirm an emergency management director. The appointed director should review the NIMSCAST document with all department heads to increase awareness level of the NIMS requirements.

• The Emergency Management Director should also facilitate increased emergency

management and major incident management training and exercises for all departments.

• RW recommends that the Department implements annual fire department occupational physicals. SPS 330.15 Wis. Admin. Code (Fire Department Safety and Health Standards):

(1) The employer shall assure that fire fighters who are expected to do structural firefighting are physically capable of performing duties which may be assigned to them during emergency operations. (2) The fire chief may not permit a fire fighter with known heart disease, epilepsy, or emphysema to participate in fire department emergency operations unless a physician’s certificate of the firefighter’s fitness to participate in such operations is provided.

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While this statute does not mandate annual physicals, it is clear that annual physicals would be the predominate method for the Fire Chief to assure that fire fighters who are expected to do structural firefighting are physically capable of doing the job.

• The Department should reorganize the Health and Safety Committee, and begin putting together a risk management and safety program for the Department.

• Complete installation of new radio system and adopt policies that will enhance service.

• RW recommends that the Department transition to one records management system for

accurate data reporting. The computers at station 2 and the T1 connection should be upgraded to provide for more effective internet and server connections. RW further recommends that EMS transition to the utilization of notepads in the ambulances utilizing the internet connection to Imagetrend software and the State program. RW would recommend that Imagetrend becomes the single records management system for EMS and Fire and that the Firehouse records management system be discontinued.

• RW recommends that the office assistant position should transition to a confidential

administrative assistant position. This position should be utilized less for billing and more for administrative support and services including purchasing, invoicing, payroll and budget.

• Develop a long term comprehensive training plan that will include; training needs,

benefits to the department and City, a timeline, mandatory and non-mandatory training needs, and budget. This plan should also identify training needs as they pertain to current and potential future risks.

• Enhance the accountability system to ensure all members are current with their training.

Include daily shift training in the plan.

• Develop performance-based measurements for training.

• Expand training with MABAS partners and technical rescue departments by setting up mock incidents and worse-case scenarios, to better prepare the members for incident types that are low frequency and high risk. Some examples would be; tornado drill, high school shooting, hazmat incident, etc.

• Assign training officer duties to the assistant chief. This will provide the ability to keep

the training uniform across each of the 24 hour shifts.

• RW recommends that the Department improve interaction and planning with the police department. This can be accomplished in several ways, such as holding joint briefings on special events, forming a joint special event committee, attending each other’s briefings occasionally to address questions or concerns or special planning. The

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Departments can also provide subject matter training for each other and work and train together for joint incident responses.

• Facilitate the drafting and adoption of an automatic aid agreement with the Village of

Ashwaubenon. This agreement would cover fire, recue and EMS mutual aid and shared services. The MABAS agreement does not provide liability coverage until the fire is at a box alarm level. Currently De Pere Fire Rescue and Ashwaubenon Public Safety provide assistance at the working still alarm level, which is prior to invoking MABAS. An Auto Aid agreement would also provide written legal coverage for non-emergency situations where the departments cooperate and work together.

• RW also recommends that the City create a committee to explore the potential, to create

a joint Fire-EMS building that would replace De Pere Fire Rescue Station 2 on the West side. This station could provide for better coverage of the West side of De Pere and the contracted area in the Town of Lawrence, along with the Southern half of Ashwaubenon. The potential to joint staff this station should also be reviewed.

• RW recommends that an auto-aid agreement with Bellevue Fire is put into place. This

will provide a legal and liability base for the departments to work towards enhanced working relationships. The enhancements should include creating a joint technical rescue team, increased MABAS utilization and joint training.

• RW recommends that the City signs an auto-aid agreement with the Town of Ledgeview

so that there is a legal basis to respond to each other’s working still alarm calls. This agreement would also provide coverage for joint training and providing technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue should schedule and facilitate joint training with Ledgeview Fire Department at least semi-annually.

• RW recommends that the City signs an auto-aid agreement with the Town of Lawrence

so that there is a legal basis to respond to each other’s working still alarm calls. This agreement would also provide coverage for joint training and providing technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue should schedule and facilitate joint training with the Lawrence Fire Department at least semi-annually. The town of Lawrence contract area and growth potential should be reviewed as part of the station re-location and Ashwaubenon joint station project.

• RW recommends that the City establish an auto aid agreement with GBMFD to allow for

increased shared services. RW also recommends functional consolidation. Functional consolidation is having each department remain legally separate, but working closely together and sharing functions and services, as though they were one department. This recommendation would include putting together a shared services project team to work out shared services in the following areas initially:

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Prevention Operations Technical Rescue Water – Ice rescue Standards of coverage

• RW recommends that the City create a joint Police-Fire-EMS Committee to review ways

of enhancing public safety and emergency management in the City of De Pere. Based on the study of the current police and fire departments, we do not feel that the creation of a consolidated public safety department would enhance public safety in the City of De Pere. The two departments working closer together and coordinating their activities should enhance public safety and provide an improved service to the citizens of De Pere. It is our opinion that the creation of a consolidated public safety department at this time would actually be a degradation of public safety services. It would take several years to complete the cross training that would be needed, there would be extensive overtime costs related to the training and a transition stage of personnel leaving the departments due to lack of interest in performing multiple services.

Fiscal Year 2015 The goals for the second year of implementation are to begin work on a physical resource plan, and planning process and recommendations within the budget and resource constraints. The following areas are to be developed during this year:

• Develop an apparatus replacement plan that makes more sense for the staffing levels of

the department. RW recommends that the City look at moving towards a Rescue Pumper and a unit to fit their current staffing levels. This would allow both stations to adequately cross staff an ambulance and fire vehicle.

• Utilize the information from the recommended risk assessment to design a public

education program for the City. This program should include coordination and involvement with all department personnel.

• The Hazardous Material training level of the Department should be increased to the

operational level. RW would also recommend enhanced cooperation with the GBMFD regional team.

• RW also feels that there should be an increase in EMS related public education

activities. The United States has an aging population and the need for quality medical information and care is paramount.

• RW further recommends that the Department establish a department health and physical

fitness program. This should be designed to keep firefighters healthy enough to perform their duties.

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• RW recommends that a new station be planned for, even though it may not be built for many years to come. A committee should be established to look at the stations, their issues and locations, along with the locations of surrounding departments.

• Update the inventory control system to provide better accountability of current assets.

The City and Department should look at and research a bar-code system to better track inventory items.

• The City capital improvement plan for vehicle replacements seems adequate, but the

City Common Council and Fire Department should update the CIP and consider sharing the cost of future purchases with their neighboring departments, based on the recommendations of this study.

• RW recommends that the Department certifies the Public work mechanics to the EVT level.

Fiscal Years 2016 The goal for the remaining years of implementation is to continue implementing the strategic plan and recommendations within the budget and resource constraints. The following areas are to be developed during these years:

• RW recommends that the Department develop a career development program.

• Establish recruitment, retention, and promotional process committee.

• Update and provide a more structured new member orientation program.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHAPTER 4 – ESTIMATED BUDGET


Project Budget Chapter 4 presents budget estimates and costs associated with future short/long term organizational and administrative recommendations. The budget has been developed considering the recommendations presented throughout this document. As with any project, these estimates were developed anticipating that the City would implement the plan as presented, and in the timeframes specified. Should the project timeframes be lengthened, or the scope or direction of the project be changed, the budget estimates would need to be adjusted accordingly. The costs for these recommendations are approximate estimations, and can be adjusted at any time by the project team. For example, the costs associated with the functional consolidation will vary depending on the direction that the project team takes with joint administration and other areas of functional consolidation. The budget is presented to provide the basis for the continuing project efforts should the City adopt the recommendations and begin implementation of the recommendations. The budget is characterized by the following major components: Capital Expenses - Major Equipment Purchases Cost associated with the replacement of apparatus according to a realistic replacement schedule. The graph below illustrates the estimated major equipment replacements that will need to take place over the next 7 years. The first column is the equipment description. The second column is the estimated low cost for replacement. The third column is the estimated high cost for replacement. The large difference, for ambulances in these two columns, is based on the ability to replace the ambulances with just a chassis, which would be the low cost, or replace the entire ambulance, which would be the high cost. The fourth column is the cost of major equipment if the recommendation for functional consolidation is approved and implemented. The high estimate is used in this column. The fifth column represents the potential savings for the implementation of the Analysis recommendations. The high budget number is utilized to show the potential. MAJOR EQUIPMENT

LOW ESTIMATE

HIGH ESTIMATE

FUNCTIONAL CONSOLIDATION

POTENTIAL SAVINGS

Asst. Chief Car $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $0 $ 60,000 Ambulance $ 50,000 $ 225,000 $ 225,000 $ 0 Chief Truck $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $0 $ 60,000 Engine $ 900,000 $1,100,000 $1,100,000 $ 0 Engine - Quint $ 900,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $ 0 Ladder Truck $ 950,000 $1,500,000 $0 $1,500,000 Utility Truck $ 75,000 $ 175,000 $0 $ 175,000 Spare Engine $ 900,000 $1,110,000 $0 $1,110,000 Spare Ambulance $ 50,000 $ 225,000 $0 $ 225,000 TOTALS $3,905,000 $5,955,000 $2,825,000 $3,130,000

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



Fire Department Functional Consolidation Recommendation Costs associated with project management, the potential joint administration, inspections, training and prevention. The costs are also listed for what it would cost to continue with the current organizational structure including the Fire Chief and Assistant Chief positions. These figures are presented to provide reference when working with the study to set up the potential options for functional consolidation. The cost for intergovernmental services is an estimate of what would have to be paid to GBMFD to provide the City of De Pere with fire administration services and operational coordination. FUNCTIONAL CONSOLIDATION COMPONENT

CURRENT COSTS – LOW ESTIMATE

CURRENT COSTS – HIGH ESTIMATE

FUNCTIONAL CONSOLIDATION

POTENTIAL SAVINGS

Project Management

$ 40,000 $ 60,000 $30,000 $30,000

Intergovernmental Services

$ 0 $ 0 $200,000 - $200,000

Fire Chief Position $120,000 $140,000 $ 0 $140,000 Asst. Chief Position

$100,000 $115,000 $ 0 $115,000

TOTALS $260,000 $315,000 $230,000 $425,000 Benefits As a result of implementing RW’s recommendations, the City, the Department and the citizens living in the City should realize significant tangible benefits, mitigate liabilities, and justify the recommended investment . The following tangible and intangible benefits should be realized as a result of implementation of the study recommendations:

• Improve the confidence and abilities of emergency response personnel to handle emergency incidents, by improving the Fire Department standard operating guidelines, support network, updated operations and administration policies and procedures.

• Provide a long-term approach to operational and capital needs for the City to use as a planning guide for budgetary and operational considerations. This approach improves efficiencies by reducing repetitive processes and provides for a structured management plan, along with cost efficiencies through the sharing of stations and major equipment purchases.

• Mitigate liability in instances where accepted national standards are not being met. These standards are nationally recognized in a court of law and will serve to protect the City.

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CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• Provide a pro-active approach to planning for the future development of the community by detailed evaluation of the fire department services, which is then revisited periodically.

• Provide a well-defined, coordinated plan for the proper implementation of a fully functional Fire Department, supported by department and City goals and objectives.

• Improve the confidence and abilities of emergency response personnel to handle emergency incidents, by providing the appropriate facilities, management, organizational structure and technology.

• Improve coordination of information between the City and department, outside departments, such as adjacent municipalities, police department, health department, public works departments and other organizations.

• Improve coordination and productivity during major incidents and disasters with all involved agencies, including the on scene command posts, Emergency Management and the Emergency Operations Center.

• Increase and improve the level of service to citizens by providing staff with the ability to have quicker access to incident information, through the utilization of laptop databases, allowing for a better prepared response unit, to citizen requests for assistance.

• Provide the City management with timelier accurate information and decision-making tools, which should result in increased efficiency and effectiveness.

• Increase quality improvement through a continuous self-assessment capable of identifying and correcting deficiencies and building on strong points. This will also foster pride within the Department and national recognition by the community and peers. This will also assure that the Department is utilizing best practices and instills community pride.

• Stabilize the Departments rate of spending for the next ten years, which will allow the Department to handle the economic downturn and growth of the community and yet keep in line with the current rate of assessed value growth.

• The improvement and retention of the overall fitness and health of the Department members should be given a higher priority. This should contribute to the mitigation or work accidents, occupational exposure, hazard awareness and the reduction of loss time injuries and legal actions.

• Provide the City of De Pere with potential cost savings of up to $3,500,000 over the next seven years, while at the same time improving public safety to the citizens of De Pere and the contracted areas of coverage.

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CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHAPTER 5 – MANAGEMENT SUMMARY


Project Overview RW Management Group, Inc. was retained by the City of De Pere to conduct a Fire Department Organizational and Consolidation Feasibility Analysis. The Study will provide recommendations and options for the City to use now and in the future, when assessing department needs. Based upon the proposal submitted by RW Management Group, Inc. (RW) in August, 2013, the scope of the project was to perform a Feasibility Analysis to assist the City in developing a long-range plan for administrative and managerial improvements. This study was designed to have an independent third party review current service administration, operations, rules, regulations, personnel procedures, operating procedures and provide recommendations on future departmental needs, both short and long term. Further, an evaluation of the consolidation and public safety feasibilities was completed. This portion of the study was to assist in making recommendations regarding consolidating the fire department with area departments and the potential to create a public safety department with the Cities police and fire departments. The findings and recommendations are related to the operations, administration, and response for services rendered, related human resources, and equipment and program review. The review included the following categories:

• Governance and Administration

• Assessment and Planning

• Goals and Objectives

• Financial Resources

• Programs

• Physical Resources

• Human Resources

• Essential Resources

• Training

• External System Relations

• Consolidation Feasibility

• Public Safety Feasibility

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CITY OF DE PERE, WI



Operational Recommendations There are recommendations relating to the assessment and planning, goals and objectives, financial resources, programs, physical facilities, human resources, essential resources, training, external systems relations, consolidation feasibility and public safety feasibility. These recommendations relate to potential organizational and operational requirements. This review was based on the Center for Public Safety Excellence Categories Program Criterion and the recommendations are in order based on the accreditation categories. The items italicized in the following pages are currently being implemented.

• Continue to improve the communications and working relationship between Fire-Rescue administration and City administration.

• The Police and Fire Commission (PFC) by law should continue to be responsible for hiring, firing, discipline, and promotions.

• The City Common Council is responsible to review, approve, and perform appraisals of

fire department programs to ensure compliance with basic City policies. This can be easily attainable through scheduled meetings with the City Administration and the City Common Council.

• A fire risk assessment and response strategy listing the nature and magnitude of the hazards within the City should be completed. The fire risks in each planning zone, including required fire protection resources and special, routine and isolated hazards need to be identified (pre-plans) so an accurate “standard of cover” strategy can be established. The risk assessment and the recommendations and implementation plan in this report will provide the basis for a comprehensive strategic plan.

• A long range strategic plan should be developed for the Fire Department.

• Develop a program to provide businesses with fire-EMS safety information.

• Develop a long term public safety plan for managing the potential growth of the City to the South East.

• RW Management recommends the Department define and develop a formal written mission statement for the DPFR with corresponding goals and objectives. This can be accomplished by the development of a committee representing the DPFR, Administration, and governing body in the development of the mission statement, goals and objectives. Once completed, everyone on the Department staff needs to be familiar with the mission of their fire department and how the Department is going to achieve its goals.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• Fire department needs to update and re-enforce department goals and objectives with members through a required learning/training program to ensure consistency and compliancy with all Department policies.

• City and department goals and objectives should be reviewed annually by the Chief and

the Administrator, with any changes necessary brought to the attention of the City Common Council. This should be a scheduled meeting so that all City Stakeholders can appraise and address the effectiveness of the goals and objectives.

• The Department should identify and develop an updated management process (chain of command) that will be responsible for implementing the City and department’s goals and objectives. This can be accomplished by developing a committee of City and fire representatives who through a plan will develop, teach, and ensure that all department employees have a very clear understanding of the chain of command.

• Adopt a clear process for the implementation of policies procedures and SOG’s designed to meet the department goals and objectives.

• Expand administrative duties and responsibilities to provide better management and

leadership.

• Write and establish clear standard operating guidelines, policies and procedures.

• Provide for department input and comprehensive training of new SOG’s and policies

• The City should require all emergency medical service bills be submitted to the third party billing agency by the 15th of each month for the preceding month. Instances where this goal is not met should be reported to the Fire Chief and the City Finance Director. This should be the sole responsibility of one department employee.

• The Chief should include officers and line personnel in the budget process, and use it as

an opportunity to develop future Chief Officers. An example would be to ask all department employees to submit their own budget requests (wish lists) for the upcoming year, and then organize a meeting to prioritize the requests.

• All fundraising activities that involve City equipment should be governed by City policies.

• The Fire Department should utilize current financial practices and principals supported

by Generally Accepted Accounting Practices.

• Develop an apparatus replacement plan that makes more sense for the staffing levels of the department. RW recommends that the City look at moving towards a Rescue Pumper and a unit to fit their current staffing levels. This would allow both stations to adequately cross staff an ambulance and fire vehicle.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• Implement ICS SOG’s that provide for consistent utilization of the Incident Command System on a daily basis.

• Enhance POC utilization and training so that they can be better utilized to support fire-

EMS operations throughout the coverage area. The current POC’s are very much underutilized. RW recommends that they are scheduled, trained and allowed to perform fire and EMS duties with career personnel.

• Develop a duty crew call back for staffing empty stations. This would allow for the ability

to staff secondary response vehicles and cover the City and contract areas with immediate response when there are multiple incidents and no personnel left in the stations.

• The Department should continue to train on NIMS, MABAS incidents, and EOC, with

defined role and responsibilities of internal officers and surrounding departments.

• Improve communications and coordination with fire prevention administration and line inspection crews. This would include the development of a written fire prevention program and review of fire inspection follow-ups on a monthly basis.

• Utilize the information from the recommended risk assessment to design a public education program for the City. This program should include coordination and involvement with all department personnel.

• Create a fire investigation, cause and origin standard operating guideline that outlines the process and steps that should be taken for the investigation of all fires.

• Prepare written fire investigation program, which outlines the goals, objectives and

desired outcomes of the fire investigation program.

• Continue to facilitate the individual and Department involvement with the regional B.C. Fire Investigation Task Force.

• A regional technical rescue team needs to be put in place for Brown County.

• Water, dive and ice equipment and rescue needs to be coordinated regionally.

• There are multiple technical rescue teams and boats and ice rescue equipment located throughout the County and there is very limited cooperation or coordination between units.

• The Hazardous Material training level of the Department should be increased to the operational level. RW would also recommend enhanced cooperation with the GBMFD regional team.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• RW recommends enhancing medical direction and involvement with the medical director. This would provide exceptional training and interaction with ER physicians and nursing staff, which could include ride alongs and monthly on-site physician based training.

• The Department should also work to improve efficiency of durable supply replacement.

This can be accomplished by facilitating an agreement with a hospital and improved inventory control.

• RW further recommends that the Department facilitate a comprehensive quality

assurance program. This could be done in conjunction with the enhanced medical direction and hospital interaction.

• RW also feels that there should be an increase in EMS related public education

activities. The United States has an aging population and the need for quality medical information and care is paramount.

• RW strongly recommends an increase in the emergency management awareness level. There should be improved cooperation with County Emergency Management and the City EOP should reflect the Emergency Service Functions found in the national Response Framework.

• RW further recommends that the City establish a written Emergency Management

Program, which includes special event coordination and Incident Action Plans (IAP’s). The City should confirm an emergency management director. The appointed director should review the NIMSCAST document with all department heads to increase awareness level of the NIMS requirements.

• The Emergency Management Director should also facilitate increased emergency

management and major incident management training and exercises for all departments.

• RW recommends that the Department implements annual fire department occupational physicals. State Statute 101.055 SPS 330 Fire Department Safety and Health Standards:

(1) The employer shall assure that fire fighters who are expected to do structural firefighting are physically capable of performing duties which may be assigned to them during emergency operations. (2) The fire chief may not permit a fire fighter with known heart disease, epilepsy, or emphysema to participate in fire department emergency operations unless a physician’s certificate of the firefighter’s fitness to participate in such operations is provided.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• While this statute does not mandate annual physicals, it is clear that annual physicals would be the predominate method for the Fire Chief to assure that fire fighters who are expected to do structural firefighting are physically capable of doing the job.

• RW further recommends that the Department establish a department health and physical fitness program. This should be designed to keep firefighters healthy enough to perform their duties.

• RW recommends that the Department establish a written “standard of cover” for emergency deployment, which accurately reflects the Department’s capabilities. This should be based on the Risk Assessment that was recommended in the Assessment and Planning chapter of this report.

• RW recommends that a new station be planned for, even though it may not be built for

many years to come. A committee should be established to look at the stations, their issues and locations, along with the locations of surrounding departments.

• Update the inventory control system to provide better accountability of current assets.

The City and Department should look at and research a bar-code system to better track inventory items.

• The City capital improvement plan for vehicle replacements seems adequate, but the

City Common Council and Fire Department should update the CIP and consider sharing the cost of future purchases with their neighboring departments, based on the recommendations of this study.

• RW recommends that the Department certifies the Public work mechanics to the EVT level.

• RW recommends that the Department develop a career development program and a written health and fitness program for the Department. Mandatory physicals should be part of the health and fitness program.

• Establish recruitment, retention, and promotional process committee.

• The Department should develop a Health and Safety Committee, and begin putting together a risk management and safety program for the Department.

• Develop a written risk management process that will provide the City of De Pere with an analysis of community risk using real world factors. The risk assessment will include determining and defining the differences in risk between single family, multiple family, and commercial dwellings within the City.

• Update and provide a more structured new member orientation program.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• Establish a committee to review, re-write, implement and train on new SOG’s for the department.

• Complete installation of new radio system and adopt policies that will enhance service.

• RW recommends that the Department transition to one records management system for accurate data reporting. The computers at station 2 and the T1 connection should be upgraded to provide for more effective internet and server connections. RW further recommends that EMS transition to the utilization of notepads in the ambulances utilizing the internet connection to Imagetrend software and the State program. RW would recommend that Imagetrend becomes the single records management system for EMS and Fire and that the Firehouse records management system be discontinued.

• RW recommends that the office assistant position should transition to a confidential

administrative assistant position. This position should be utilized less for billing and more for administrative support and services including purchasing, invoicing, payroll and budget.

• Develop a long term comprehensive training plan that will include; training needs, benefits to the department and City, a timeline, mandatory and non-mandatory training needs, and budget. This plan should also identify training needs as they pertain to current and potential future risks.

• Enhance the accountability system to ensure all members are current with their training.

Include daily shift training in the plan.

• Develop performance-based measurements for training.

• Expand training with MABAS partners and technical rescue departments by setting up mock incidents and worse-case scenarios, to better prepare the members for incident types that are low frequency and high risk. Some examples would be; tornado drill, high school shooting, hazmat incident, etc.

• Assign training officer duties to the assistant chief. This will provide the ability to keep

the training uniform across each of the 24 hour shifts.

• RW recommends that the Department improve interaction and planning with the police department. This can be accomplished in several ways, such as holding joint briefings on special events, forming a joint special event committee, attending each other’s briefings occasionally to address questions or concerns or special planning. The Departments can also provide subject matter training for each other and work and train together for joint incident responses.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• Facilitate the drafting and adoption of an automatic aid agreement with the Village of Ashwaubenon. This agreement would cover fire, recue and EMS mutual aid and shared services. The MABAS agreement does not provide liability coverage until the fire is at a box alarm level. Currently De Pere Fire Rescue and Ashwaubenon Public Safety provide assistance at the working still alarm level, which is prior to invoking MABAS. An Auto Aid agreement would also provide written legal coverage for non-emergency situations where the departments cooperate and work together.

• RW also recommends that the City create a committee to explore the potential, to create

a joint Fire-EMS building that would replace De Pere Fire Rescue Station 2 on the West side. This station could provide for better coverage of the West side of De Pere and the contracted area in the Town of Lawrence, along with the Southern half of Ashwaubenon. The potential to joint staff this station should also be reviewed.

• RW recommends that an auto-aid agreement with Bellevue Fire is put into place. This will provide a legal and liability base for the departments to work towards enhanced working relationships. The enhancements should include creating a joint technical rescue team, increased MABAS utilization and joint training.

• RW recommends that the City signs an auto-aid agreement with the Town so that there is a legal basis to respond to each other’s working still alarm calls. This agreement would also provide coverage for joint training and providing technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue should schedule and facilitate joint training with Ledgeview Fire Department at least semi-annually.

• RW recommends that the City signs an auto-aid agreement with the Town so that there is a legal basis to respond to each other’s working still alarm calls. This agreement would also provide coverage for joint training and providing technical rescue services. De Pere Fire Rescue should schedule and facilitate joint training with the Lawrence Fire Department at least semi-annually. The town of Lawrence contract area and growth potential should be reviewed as part of the station re-location and Ashwaubenon joint station project.

RW recommends that the City establish an auto aid agreement with GBMFD to allow for increased shared services. RW also recommends functional consolidation. Functional consolidation is having each department remain legally separate, but working closely together and sharing functions and services, as though they were one department. This recommendation would include putting together a shared services project team to work out shared services in the following areas initially: Administration Prevention Operations Technical Rescue

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



Water – Ice rescue Standards of coverage

RW recognizes the need to continue pursuing efficiencies in operation of Fire-EMS Departments and encourages the utilization of joint ventures to maintain or improve that acceptable level of service to the communities without an increase in cost. Functional consolidation could take place in many of the areas listed below:

• Informal sharing of personnel or equipment between departments to help with a short-term project or problem.

• Sharing of reserve apparatus. • Combining specialized services or equipment, such as ladder trucks or towers,

apparatus maintenance services, combining technical-rescue teams (personnel, equipment and apparatus) to help ensure an adequate response to an incident.

• Creating a process for hiring or contracting one another's specialized staff for special projects.

• Sharing training, fire prevention and investigation • Administrative sharing and coordination • Standards of cover, apparatus placement

When emergency needs exceed the limits of any one agency, it's common for that agency to reach out for assistance using auto-aid and mutual-aid agreements, like MABAS. It only makes sense that agencies go even further, committing to some form of functional or legal consolidation. A frequent roadblock is misunderstanding the options that functional consolidation offers. In a functional consolidation, separate fire departments are retained and duties normally performed separately are assigned as a combined new organization. Examples would be a joint training center, joint administration or joint fire-prevention bureau. Functional or partial consolidation is where separate fire departments are retained and a special agreement is formulated to handle specific challenges. An example would be shared staffing of a fire station.

The basic mission of Fire/EMS and Police departments is vastly different. Despite a shared goal of public safety, the mission, objectives, tactics and threats remain separate and distinct. The activities of law-enforcement officers and firefighter/paramedics require vastly different training. These critical skills not only require different initial training, but also very different ongoing education. The Fire/EMS service typically enjoys a position of trust in the community that is different than the fear of authority or reprisal. Law enforcement’s mission to prevent crime from different threats creates varied public opinion and reaction, including being perceived as a threat. Firefighter and Law Enforcement personnel often have a predisposition to be better suited for the distinct duties and environment of either fire/emergency or law enforcement service. Personnel who must repeatedly switch between two roles are subject to even higher levels

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of stress that may contribute to inefficiency, morale or health issues. De Pere Firefighters and Police personnel were clear about having a preference for one or the other role. Being placed in a completely different role may also diminish efficiency or lead to higher job dissatisfaction. The public safety concept replaces the functional unit of a fire department (company unit) that can rapidly assess and respond to many hazards with the limited response of an individual or two individuals in a single unit. These small numbers are unacceptable for the fireground, urgent medical care and other situations where citizen and public-safety personnel lives are dependent on rapid intervention. Similarly, public safety exchanges the team concept for individual action. Individual action on a fire or EMS scene leads to unsafe acts, inefficiency and chaos, which too often has fatal consequences. Public safety will not affect the volume of calls for fire, EMS or police assistance, and the City would still need to meet that demand. This may be especially burdensome to De Pere, which like other communities nationwide, have been faced with servicing their population with less revenue. RW recommends that the City create a joint Police-Fire-EMS Committee to review ways of enhancing public safety and emergency management in the City of De Pere. Based on the study of the current police and fire departments, we do not feel that the creation of a consolidated public safety department would enhance public safety in the City of De Pere. The two departments working closer together and coordinating their activities should enhance public safety and provide an improved service to the citizens of De Pere. It is our opinion that the creation of a consolidated public safety department at this time would actually be a degradation of public safety services. It would take several years to complete the cross training that would be needed, there would be extensive overtime costs related to the training and a transition stage of personnel leaving the departments due to lack of interest in performing multiple services. Benefits As a result of implementing RW’s recommendations, the City, the Department and the citizens living in the City should realize significant tangible benefits, mitigate liabilities, and justify the recommended investment. The following tangible and intangible benefits should be realized as a result of implementation of the study recommendations:

• Improve the confidence and abilities of emergency response personnel to handle emergency incidents, by improving the Fire Department standard operating guidelines, support network; updated operations and administration policies and procedures.

• Provide a long-term approach to operational and capital needs for the City to use as a planning guide for budgetary and operational considerations. This approach improves efficiencies by reducing repetitive processes and provides for a structured management plan, along with cost efficiencies through the sharing of stations and major equipment purchases.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI



• Mitigate liability in instances where accepted national standards are not being met. These standards are nationally recognized in a court of law and will serve to protect the City.

• Provide a pro-active approach to planning for the future development of the community by detailed evaluation of the fire department services, which is then revisited periodically.

• Provide a well-defined, coordinated plan for the proper implementation of a fully functional Fire Department, supported by department and City goals and objectives.

• Improve the confidence and abilities of emergency response personnel to handle emergency incidents, by providing the appropriate facilities, management, organizational structure and technology.

• Improve coordination of information between the City and department, outside departments, such as adjacent municipalities, police department, health department, public works departments and other organizations.

• Improve coordination and productivity during major incidents and disasters with all involved agencies, including the on scene command posts, Emergency Management and the Emergency Operations Center.

• Increase and improve the level of service to citizens by providing staff with the ability to have quicker access to incident information, through the utilization of laptop databases, allowing for a better prepared response unit, to citizen requests for assistance.

• Provide the City management with timelier accurate information and decision-making tools, which should result in increased efficiency and effectiveness.

• Increase quality improvement through a continuous self-assessment capable of identifying and correcting deficiencies and building on strong points. This will also foster pride within the Department and national recognition by the community and peers. This will also assure that the Department is utilizing best practices and instills community pride.

• Stabilize the Departments rate of spending for the next ten years, which will allow the Department to handle the economic downturn and growth of the community and yet keep in line with the current rate of assessed value growth.

• The improvement and retention of the overall fitness and health of the Department members should be given a higher priority. This should contribute to the mitigation or work accidents, occupational exposure, hazard awareness and the reduction of loss time injuries and legal actions.

CITY OF DE PERE, WI

FIRE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS CHAPTER 6 – GLOSSARY


AAA American Ambulance Association – An association organized to provide assistance and networking to emergency medical service providers.

AMBULANCE Ambulance – Specially built vehicles to respond to emergency medical

incidents. APPARATUS Apparatus is commonly used to describe multiple types of fire trucks or

emergency response vehicles like ambulances. CAAS Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services – An evaluation

process developed to measure emergency medical service providers to established and accepted national standard criteria.

CALEA Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies.- Created

in 1979 as a credentialing authority through the joint efforts of major law enforcement executive associations throughout the country.

CIP Capital Improvement Plan - A short-range plan, usually four to ten

years, which identifies capital projects and equipment purchases, provides a planning schedule and identifies options for financing the plan.

CFAI Commission of Fire Accreditation International – National Fire

accreditation process, which has become a part of the Center of Public Safety Excellence.

CPR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.- An emergency procedure, performed

in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest.

CPSE Center for Public Safety Excellence - Evaluation process that

measures fire departments to established and accepted national standard criteria. The International City /County Management Association and the International Association of Fire Chiefs were both committed to the development of these standards.

EMS Emergency Medical Service - This term is utilized to cover the multiple

tiers of emergency medical response, from first responder to Paramedic.

EOC Emergency Operations Center.- a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness

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and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level in an emergency situation, and ensuring the continuity of operation of a company, political subdivision or other organization.

EOP Emergency Operation Plan – A plan that describes how a community will respond to and recover from an all hazards incident.

ER Emergency Room - A medical treatment facility specializing in acute

care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance.

EVT Emergency Vehicle Technician – A mechanic or other service person

with Certification indicating they have specialized knowledge pertaining to Emergency Vehicles

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency – A federal government

agency responsible for the regulation of disaster management, planning and training.

GBMFD Green Bay Metro Fire Department.- A joint Fire rescue department

covering the City of Green Bay and the Village of Allouez. IAP Incident Action Plan.- An incident action plan (IAP) formally documents

incident goals (known as control objectives in NIMS), operational period objectives, and the response strategy defined by incident command during response planning.

ICS Incident Command System – Nationally accepted system for the

management of personnel and resources at large Public Safety incidents.

ISO Insurance Services Office Rating Schedule – System used to rate fire

departments for insurance rating purposes. MABAS Mutual Aid Box Alarm System – A Wisconsin statutory system in place

for the coordination of fire and EMS mutual aid throughout the State of Wisconsin.

MUTUAL AID Mutual aid is utilized frequently in fires that exceed the capabilities of a

department’s equipment or available manpower to appropriately fight a large fire. Mutual aid requires a specific request for assistance by the incident commander.

NFA National Fire Academy – A national fire academy located in

Emmitsburg, Maryland.

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NFPA National Fire Protection Association - An association organized to

reduce the burden of fire on the quality of life by advocating scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research and education for fire and related safety issues.

NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – Develops the National

Standards and Training curriculums for EMS. NIMS National Incident Management System – Nationally accepted program

for the management of personnel, resources and equipment at major disaster related incidents.

NIMSCAST National Incident Management System Capability Assessment Support

Tool – A web-based self-assessment instrument for State, territorial, tribal, local governments to evaluate and report their jurisdiction's achievement of all NIMS implementation activities.

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Agency – The main federal agency

charged with the enforcement of safety and health legislation. PFC Police and Fire Commission – Under Wisconsin law, cities with a

population of 4,000 or more must create police and fire commission. This Commission has statutory requirements for police and fire hiring, promotions and discipline.

POC Paid on Call – Firefighters who are on call and receive compensation

when they respond to an incident. RMS Records Management Systems – A computer program utilized to

maintain specific department records. SOG Standard Operating Guidelines - Department developed document that

establishes parameters for firefighting operations and other department functions.

VHF Very High Frequency - The radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300

MHz.

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