July 2024 Staff Report
Photo of EFPD helmets (Photo taken by FirstNet)
Fire Chief's Report
Calls for Service Analysis
As of the report date, we are on call 759 for the year. We are currently averaging 4.07 calls per day with an annual pace of 1485.
Correspondence
Photo of thank you card from the Town of Elizabeth for support with a DOLA grant
Staffing
I am so excited to graduate this 2024 academy. I can say that this may be one of our best academies yet. We should be retaining at least 10 of our 12 members. I can’t wait to watch them progress. Congrats Academy 24-1 on your final live fire.
Facilities
General
- We have executed the purchase agreement for our security and access control project. We are excited that the system will be integrated among all buildings, and we will have many more capabilities in monitoring and securing our buildings.
Administrative Office
- The admin door and windows have been installed and have made a big difference with traffic noise and aesthetics.
- The Fiber internet through Maverix is doing great. We plan to completely separate from Comcast this month after we verify total reliability. Chief G’s efforts in this project will result in a better connectivity with a much less expensive total cost.
Station 271
- Our BC Bay door has been replaced and will be getting painted soon. We plan to replace the remaining doors in the future. The very old openers have also been replaced with upgraded openers. I understand these doors can also be integrated into our security system and phone apps. This should make things easier and help with inadvertent door openings.
- Our sewer line project is in the design phase, and the contractors are working on the permits. This project is part of the DOLA grant we have received, so we will start on this soon after we get the PO from DOLA. The design will change the route from our sewer line and will dump into the sewer manhole on Lionel Lane (behind the fire station). This will eliminate the many hundred feet of sewer line that extends into Elbert Street and fix our tree root issues for good.
Station 273
- Our collaboration with ELCO Public Works on the asphalt project has stalled with an “absolutely not” from ELCO leadership. I suspect this comes from our recent discussions about communication from the county. Regardless, I plan to contact the paving contractor separately and see if they could discount our project since they are already there.
- The septic project is designed and ready for construction. We did receive the DOLA grant and are now just waiting on the PO from DOLA. The contractor is ready and has us penciled in on the schedule.
Apparatus
- All of our apparatus are running well with few problems over the last two months. This has allowed Chief Brown the opportunity to get an early start on maintenance and PMs.
- The new UTV proved to be a good resource for our summer events and will be integrated into our Friday night events throughout the year. It will be going back to Kubota for the plow to be mounted in time for winter operations. Although I hope that it will never snow again, I doubt my wishes will come true.
ELCO Fire Chiefs
The Chiefs cancelled their June meeting due to vacations, but we plan to invite the newly elected Commissioner Candidates to our upcoming meeting to discuss concerns and issues with Elbert County.
There is an interesting effort occurring in ELCO regarding the “no mans land” areas. These are areas that are not currently in a Fire District. The county had a previous resolution that required a property owner to either include into a district or pay a large amount of money into an escrow account for firefighting costs. The county is trying to update this resolution and has assigned the project to the Emergency Manager. We have ben asked to update our costs for billing purposes. We will be cooperating with this request but I have some concerns about the county charging based on rates that otherwise might not be testing in court or by law. I suggested that the county use our current CRRF rates through FED/State Cooperator programs in the interim until we can determine an appropriate process. This shouldn’t affect Elizabeth Fire much as we have very little no mans land that borders us.
Strategic Planning
Chief G and Taylor had the chance to sit down with all three shifts to brainstorm short- and long-term goals for the District. These goals were taken from ideas built off of the SWOC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis of the District. Admin staff were also able to sit down and discuss administrative, financial, and fire and life safety goals based on the same analysis. Taylor summarized the lists and re-submitted them to the shifts in order to make sure the main ideas and goals from the discussions were interpreted correctly. The next step will be to sit down with Chief Staff and finalize one list of short- and long-term goals for the District based upon all staff discussion. This should happen later this month. Taylor will also be forwarding the purchasing matrixes for apparatus, station planning, equipment, etc. to the purchasing committee so that they can start planning for updating these matrixes. This planning process can be slow at times, but staff has done an excellent job coming up with and presenting their ideas to be incorporated into strategic planning. 3 U.S. Presidents - John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe - all died on July 4th.
ADA Compliance/Website Updates
On June 13th, the District scored a 100% accessibility and risk score on the Special District Website Accessibility Report, also known as “Check My District.” Taylor has done an exceptional job working on this project and updating webpages and documents to work towards the conversion to full ADA compliance. Although this report does not yet have the capability to check PDF attachments, this is a remarkable step in the right direction towards overall compliance for the District’s website. We will be scheduling a hootenanny in the near future to celebrate.
Photo of accessibility/risk snapshot on Check My District for EFPD’s accessibility and risk score
Community Leaders and Area Managers (CLAMS)
We cancelled our July CLAMS meeting due to the holiday, but I was able to meet with our Town Administrator over lunch this month. We discussed a few items that we share frustration on but, most importantly, discussed items of collaboration. We have a great working relationship with Town Leadership right now, and it is exciting to have common interests.
Legislative
I was asked to testify in front of the Wildfire Matters Review Committee this week. The Committee is made up of legislators that are focused on problems and funding to combat large fires. It was a successful visit, and the committee definitely valued our testimony regarding the recruitment and retention problems in Colorado. Additionally, we were asked to do a story with the Denver Gazette about the subject. The story was released on July 3rd and was generally a good story. I will provide a link in an email for the board to review.
Grants
- EMTS Grant: APPROVED! We were awarded the 50% match grant for a new ambulance thanks to the hard work of Chief Mackall. This grant will cover $140,000 of a new ambulance, which is technically not 50% due to cost increases, but it will make a huge impact in the cost of the replacement ambulance. Congrats Chief Mackall!
- Google: We are starting on Round 2 of the funding and will be implementing additional training, mitigation, and PPE funding for rural departments.
- DOLA – Energy Impact: APPROVED! We did receive the grant for our septic and sewer projects. The funding will cover 50% ($24,000) of the projects.
- Congressionally Directed Spending: I finally got some correspondence from Senator Hickenlooper’s office. They indicated that we are still in the running for this funding which would purchase a new Type III engine. We were advised that the process could be delayed because, well, Congress.
- Firehouse Subs: All of our equipment that was funded by our grant award has been purchased and the grant has been closed out.
- DFPC Direct Funding Grant: Congrats to Chief Carnesi on his funding for our Peer Support training program. DFPC funded $1000 toward training our support members.
- SIPA Accessibility Grant: This grant was submitted to the Colorado Statewide Internet Portal Authority by Taylor and received on April 4th. She is continuing to work on getting training in the CommonLook suite software, and she has been updating board documents to comply with accessibility standards.
Division Chief
Prevention/Administration
- Ryan is doing a great job managing the annual business inspections. The shifts have completed 40% of these inspections and 46% of our pre-plans. In 2023, we started redrawing all of our buildings in our District and should have them completed by 2025.
- The Stampede Rodeo went smoothly this year. They generated a few medical calls from the concert, which were taken care of by the EMTs, and only a few calls required medical transport. While it was uneventful for command staff, Chief Brown had a great plan together for any major incidents at the site.
- The Rasmussen Gathering inspection went well this year. They had their event over the last few weekends and no calls for service were generated at that event.
- The Jensen/Kaufman and Potter subdivisions are coming along slowly but are still a viable option for a combined Franktown/Elizabeth Fire Station. Elbert County would like 2 access points in Elbert County, so they are working through that process and will go back to Douglas County to see if what they proposed will work. The two developers are still interested in providing land and a cistern.
Fire and Life Safety Education (Erin Loeks)
- We had our first of two babysitting classes. Twelve students ages 11-17 attended our babysitting class, where they learned First Aid, Adult, Child and Infant CPR along with weather safety and cooking safety. Our next class is June 12th and is almost full.
- We hosted a Safety Booth at Elizabash. This year's academy helped spread safety to our community. They did a wonderful job engaging and answering questions. We had community members spin the wheel and answer safety questions, then pick a prize. All age groups enjoyed learning about safety relevant to them.
- We had 3 car seats this month. Word about our program is growing. Friends are letting friends know that we offer this safety education.
- Kids Club invited us back to teach about safety. For three years now, we have been partnering with them to deliver safety messages to 25 students ranging from K-5.
- I have been working with Kim Spuhler, CRR Unit Chief, on the Community Risk Assessment for our district. We have met twice. The next step is sending surveys to our stakeholders, crews, and board members.
Photo of Pre-Application Meetings
Finance & Human Resources
- June is the month for insurance renewal. Our agent was able to renew our policy with an increase, but the increase was due to an increase in the values of our medics and engines to be inline with the increasing cost to replace. We also reviewed and increased our cyber policy to give us better coverage for if or when something happens.
- We did receive the money for the pram grant reimbursement. We also received funds from FEMA for the June 2023 floods.
- The ride-along portion of our interview process for May has been completed. We are able to bring on 2 new reserves. They will be starting in July.
- We did get to use a portion of the state backfill money to purchase a Kubota UTV. This will be used at Elizabeth Stampede, Friday night events, and within the trail system in the town of Elizabeth.
- We also ordered a new security camera system for our stations, which should be installed in July. We used the state backfill money for this as well.
- One of our firefighters did have her baby on the 12th. We are very excited to add the new addition to our family.
EMS collection for June $43,838.75
Development and Impact Fees:
Zone 1 $466,136.96
Zone 2 $17,364.15
Zone 3 $18,416.05
Gift Agreement $232,500.00
Infrastructure Fund $96,330.00
Photo of EFPD jacket taken by FirstNet
Battalion Chief of Operations
- Both the Elizabeth Stampede and the Rasmussen gathering are behind us for 2024. Both events were successful with just a couple of hiccups during the Stampede that were worked out on-scene. Rasmussen was quiet, and I don’t believe we had a single call there for the second year in a row.
- A new Battalion bay garage door was installed at Station 271, and the remaining openers and door hardware for the north facing bay doors were all replaced. The openers and hardware were a budgeted item for 2024, as they were showing serious signs of wear. These repairs should hold us over for a good while at Station 271 unless we have a door spring break.
- I am working on a sign application with the town to install a Fire Danger rating sign in the front landscaping area of Station 271. I don’t foresee any issues with the application process. This was also a budgeted item for 2024.
- Lt. Einarsen and STO Tyler have been working hard on the inventory of the new technical rescue equipment we received in the Firehouse Subs grant. I believe we have received all the equipment now and are working on a press release to fulfill our commitment to Firehouse Subs. Lt Einarsen walked me through some of the new rope rescue equipment and showed me some of the trainings he and Tyler are working on. I am confident that the new equipment and the training the team has been doing will bring a whole new level of service that we will be providing to our customers.
- We have not seen a significant drop in mutual aid calls to Franktown Fire District over the last month. What we have seen, though, is either the response plans not calling for both Stations 272 and 273 on the same call, or Franktown Fire picking up one of those stations and adding one of their units, which is a big help. In our meeting last month, I stressed to Franktown that we are happy to help, but we have to maintain staffing in our district as well. So far, it seems that this is happening, but I will continue to monitor and make other changes if needed.
- CAD-to-CAD is still in the works, and, last I heard, it should be ready to go later this month. I did make some significant changes to response plans last week by adding second alarms to a couple of call types, but mostly by adding mutual aid technical rescue responses to those call types on earlier alarms. This was done after conferring with members of the technical rescue team to see how those resources could be best used.
- The rides with the acting BCs went well, and I think most learned a lot about the job and processes I work with. I still owe a second day of rides with two of the applicants, so I will find a day that either I can ride with them, or they can come ride with me. That second day has a lot of important information to go over, and I think it would be valuable to both of them.
- Rattlesnake Fire finally has space at fleet for our engines to start rotating through for PMs and scheduled repairs. The first one will be heading there on Monday the 8th. Aaron and Evan at fleet do a great job for us over there but they are certainly getting busier.
Photo of Support Services/Water Operations Volunteer Michael Bilbo with an EFPD Tender at Elizabeth Stampede
Battalion Chief of Training
- The cadets have completed their FFI/HM Ops academy. Their FFI written exam is scheduled for July 13th. A few of them still have their HM written to complete, but they have all completed the required practicals. Congratulations to our cadets: I'm excited to watch them progress. A huge thank you to Lt. Einarsen, STO Tyler, and STO Norton for their skills and management of the entire academy. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to instruct this year.
- The FFI/FFII committee continues to meet and work on any changes that may be made to the practical exams. We are close to wrapping it up, and any changes we make should go into place on January 1, 2025.
- The Colorado Training Officers Association met with the CDFPC last month and discussed some changes in fees and certifications. The CDFPC proposed a small increase in our fees, but we are most likely going to a 5-year recertification process instead of the current 3-year process. If approved, these changes will also take place on January 1.
- Our crews continue to take advantage of really good outside training opportunities. STO Tyler, Paramedic Johnson, and Firefighter McClain took an advanced ladder class last month and they are attending a Forcible Entry class this month. Estes Valley is hosting the classes, and our guys are bringing the information back to our staff.
- We have a couple of exterior lighting issues at Station 272. Lt. Neisen is trying to get an electrician to come and get the issues fixed.
- Thanks to Chief Brown for getting our new BC truck off of the ground and giving us some much-needed clearance.
Photo of EFPD Engine in front of Station 271 (Photo taken by FirstNet)
Battalion Chief of EMS
- Another Stampede Rodeo is behind us. There are lessons learned every year, but overall, I believe it went smooth and successful. Thank you to the EMS crews who all did an amazing job during the event, and Chief Brown for organizing the operations plan: job well done.
- We received notification from CDPHE we were awarded $121,000 in grant funding toward our new ambulance project. This ambulance is intended to replace our existing 2009 Dodge reserve. We can’t start the project until we receive the PO from the State, which should be in a month or so, and we’ll have a better idea of the timeline of when we should receive the ambulance.
- Congratulations to Caitlin McGhee, Lucas Vasquez, Corey Bossart, and Connor Ryan for all receiving their EMT-Basic certifications!!
- We’ve been asked to provide first-aid/EMS support for the Elizabeth 5k run again in September. More information will follow, but I will be asking our membership to see if anyone is interested in working this event, providing the Town provides compensation.
- We received our State issued ambulance license to replace the County license. This is awesome because, going forward, we will only have to do inspections every three years vs every year!
- ETO Gamboa started doing EMS case reviews with each shift and has received positive feedback from the crews. These will be periodically performed throughout the year when we get those “interesting” calls. Good job, Tommy!
EMS Calls (excluding "no patient"):
- June 2023 = 64 (42 Transports/66%)
- June 2024 = 70 (56 Transports/80%)
Department Shoutouts
"Lieutenant Holt and 271 crew took it upon themselves to help a stranded motorist remove their flat tire, facilitate its replacement, and reinstall the tire so they could get back on the road. There was no request from the motorist for our help, but they certainly didn’t deny it. Lt. Holt’s initiative for customer service demonstrates our values, culture, and sets the example for others to emulate. Well done!!”