Staff Reports

December 2024 Staff Report

Photo of Snow Cat

Fire Chief's Report

I wanted to make a quick note to once again thank our Board of Directors and our members for your collaboration and guidance in leading this district. This was a very dynamic year with staffing changes and external threats that tested our wits at times. I am proud to confirm that every effort was worth the battle and, together, our organization worked to become closer and more successful than ever. We have harmony now, from our Board Members through the Command and Admin Staff all the way through our newest members. That makes me very happy. Thank you all for working so hard to get where we are.

Calls for Service Analysis

As of the report date, we are on call 1390 for the year. We are currently averaging 4.13 calls per day, which will likely put us over 1500 calls for the year. I’m trying to remember for sure, but I think this is our highest call load ever.

Facilities

General
- The Security and Access system is now complete and working well. We are having a locksmith button up some of the items that will help further secure the locks on the stations, and, after that, we should be solid for years to come.
Admin
- Admin seems to be in good shape for now. We have been updating the marquee sign, and, of course, the Christmas lights went on the tree for the holidays.
Station 271
- The sewer line project is completed, and we have finalized payment for that project. Sarah will be submitting for reimbursement on the grant soon.
- The new concrete in front of the facility is very nice. The larger steps and the ADA ramp worked out great and should offer more accessibility to the building if needed.
- I have not heard any progress from the town on their wishes to run the new water line across our property. We can probably just wait and see what the new year brings with new mayoral leadership and re-address this in 2025.
Station 273
- The new septic system is underway. The contractor immediately hit two electric lines while digging but they both appeared to be abandoned and were not terminated to anything. We suspect those lines may have been a mistake by the contractors. This project is slated to be completely finished by December 15th, and we can close our capital projects out for the year.

ELCO Fire Chiefs

The Chiefs held their November meeting and discussed many items concerning winter operations in the county. We have all decided that the sheltering component of winter storm management belongs under OEM and Mass Care. Since our OEM has confirmed that they will be managing all sheltering efforts, the FPDs have elected to focus on Fire and EMS responses during snowstorms until shelters are open. Once OEM has operating shelters and can receive stranded motorists, the FPDs will begin rescue operations. This position is considered the best option for the county so that we aren’t rescuing people from stranded cars and have no place for them to go.

Elizabeth Fire has an alternative plan in place in case ELCO OEM can’t get shelters opened. We will be using our sorority partners to open a temporary warming shelter if needed, but we are ultimately expecting ELCO OEM to have shelters open and ready before rescue efforts begin. In Canada, Santa Claus has his own postal code: H0H 0H0.

Winter Operations

The large November snowstorm proved costly and inconvenient for us. As you know, we had a serious engine failure in the Snow Cat that is currently being addressed through Tracked Outdoors. They are being great partners and making some big changes to our Snow Cat that will ensure its reliability for the foreseeable future. It was an unanticipated cost of $125,000 but completely necessary in our region. The good news is that they are bringing us a loaner Snow Cat that has the same engine and upgrades that ours will have so we can preview what ours will be like. The funding should not impact on our capital plans too much. It may require us to delay a project or two but thanks to our responsible money management, we were able to absorb the impacts. Chief Mackall has applied for an emergency grant through EMTS funds that could potentially cover the costs of the engine and transmission. It’s still just a chance, but I’m always appreciative of our crews taking the initiative to find solutions.

We also had a freak incident happen during the snowstorm on a medical call. Medic 272 was on scene with the ambulance in park and the E-brake set, when it decided to slide down the driveway and into a tree. Nobody was in the vehicle at the time and there were no injuries. The ambulance suffered minimal damage to a scene light and had to be pulled out with a winch. Since there was minimal damage and the light could be replaced in-house, we chose not to make an insurance claim.

Photo of Medic 272 after the accident

As briefly discussed above, we did have some difficulty working with OEM during some sheltering operations. We expressed our concerns during a recent AAR on the storm and feel like our position is well understood. Essentially, we have decided to stick with our primary missions during snowstorms and let the County handle their job in mass care. We hope they can achieve their objectives in sheltering, and we will start rescue operations as soon as they have a shelter in operation. They clearly understand our position. We have also developed an alternative plan for a warming center just in case they can’t get a shelter open in time. I’m hopeful we won’t have to implement the alternative.

Strategic Planning

Taylor is continuing her quest to complete our updated plan. The Purchasing Committee is now tasked with updating the apparatus and station planning matrix along with capital equipment purchases.

As we work through these updates, we have identified specific needs that will be included in the new plan. Some of the more noteworthy items are a possible joint station with Franktown, and new Type 1 engine, ambulance replacements, Type 3 engine, staffing for Station 272 and creating additional leadership positions. Sarah has determined that our current revenue pace, based on the new laws created in 2024, will not be enough to fund all of our needs. Chief G and Sarah will be updating the Board on some of our research based on last month’s discussions but I believe it will be necessary to look for alternative funding options to stabilize out future outlook.

Community Leaders and Area Managers (CLAMS)

The local leaders had a good meeting this month discussing opportunities for us to collaborate and share resources. The school district reported that they had to make personnel cuts due to downturns in revenue from declining enrollment. They are also trying to sell the parking lot parcel at Frontier High School to help cover the costs of upgrades in that building.

The Town reported that they are waiting to see what the new Board and new Mayor does in January. There are many employees in the town that are concerned they could lose their jobs once the new Mayor gets in. They are just waiting to see how the Board pans out.

All the leaders at the meeting continued to agree that communication and collaboration with County leadership is at an all-time low.

Public Sector Healthcare Group Authority

The group has been taking up more of my time than I would like but it is necessary in the 4th quarter with renewal and new groups. The group has exploded this year due to high renewals with other groups. We now have over 100 member agencies and are above $30 million in annual premiums.

While other agencies endured a premium increase between 11 and 25%, EFPD enjoyed a 4% increase in costs this year and has averaged 4% for the last decade. I never imagined this group would become so successful, but I am reminded why we work so hard at it when we see the savings.

Division Chief

Prevention/Administration

I have been in contact with the County and Craft Companies to identify if there is criteria for when the Delbert Road/Hancock Parkway will be connected to CR 166. The Director of Community Development, Elbert County Road and Bridge, and the Elbert County Lawyer will be meeting to discuss the SIA and the completion of the road. They did report that they would support a temporary access road for emergency response.
The Elbert County Sheriff’s Office called us to complain about a blocked road in the Overland Subdivision. During the inspection, I realized that there was road damage on Prairie Loop, and our apparatus would have problems accessing the entire road. Turns out it is one of two private roads in the subdivision that Elbert County Road and Bridge does not maintain. The homeowners on the road are supposed to maintain the road, and it has turned into a neighbor dispute. In the meantime, until we can get the road fixed, we have put a blocked closure on dispatch for emergency response. There is still access to all residents, but we cannot get our apparatus around the entire road. Our option is to send letters to those residents to try to get the road fixed. We can discuss more at the Board meeting.
Chief and I met during the month to plan out the direction of our Command Staff meetings and professional development. This past year, we have had collaboration meetings on leadership and the future of the department. Command Staff enjoys the direction of these trainings, and we will continue those for 2025.

Fire Prevention (Ryan Seng)

All shifts have completed their inspections and preplans for this year. The crews have only transferred 12 businesses to the Bureau, and I will be following up with them for compliance.
The Elizabeth School District now has a childcare center up and running next to the Aspire program. This is tailored to toddlers and infants of their staff members. They will be doing fire drills once a month much like the schools.

Fire and Life Safety Education (Erin Loeks)

I taught a private CPR/AED and First Aid class for 10 students.
I was invited to Elizabeth Middle School to teach a safety lesson to the Severe Special Needs students. We talked about home escape plans. The kids were great, and the teachers were very supportive and thankful.
I took and passed Youth Firesetting Program Manager. This class will benefit our Youth Firesetter Program by providing program development tools to make sure that we are having an impact in our community.
I continue to work on Elizabeth Fire District’s Community Risk Assessment.

Pre-Application Meetings

Photo of Pre-Application Meetings

Finance and Human Resources

Open enrollment was the name of the game for November. All full-time employees had to participate in this open enrollment process. Everything was completed on the 18th.
We completed the hiring list interviews this month and created a list of 20 individuals to be able to pull from for any available part-time or full-time positions.
The budget for 2025 has been completed and will be presented at the December Board meeting. The Board will also be given an amended budget for 2024 to account for the admin building lease payoff.

EMS collection for November $28,768.31

Development and Impact Fees:

Zone 1 $481,552.96

Zone 2 $17,364.15

Zone 3 $18,416.05

Gift Agreement $244,000.00

Infrastructure Fund $96,330.00

Battalion Chief of Operations

The purchasing committee is still meeting to look at apparatus specifications. I have put together an RFP for a Type 1 Engine, but I am currently researching more affordable solutions by determining if stock engines instead of customs would fit our needs. I will be presenting this to the purchasing committee at our next meeting.
We have had a failure of the engine on the TRV. Chief Steck is updating everyone in his report, but I will be available during this month’s Board meeting to answer any questions on the replacement plan.
We have had a number of small repairs that have kept me very busy on the rest of the apparatus but no other major problems.
I have had dispatch add a road closure to the CAD mapping program for Prairie Loop in the Overland subdivision. There is a section of that road that, when wet, becomes impassable for our apparatus. Fortunately, this does not block access to the addresses on that section of road, but it does prevent us from driving straight through the loop, and we will instead have to back out of the area. Because it is a private road, the homeowners in the area are responsible for the repairs, so we don’t have a reliable timetable for when it will be repaired. The crews have been briefed on the issue.
Dispatch has had some success with the CAD-to-CAD updates but the last I checked we are still multiple months away from integration.
There are no other big changes in response plans currently. However, I am preplanning now for future 24/7 staffing at Station 272 and new roads within the district. Both of these changes will require some modifications to our response plans and station orders. Looking a little further beyond that, I will begin analyzing call data to see if there is a need to balance the call loads between stations. Right now, it seems like Medic 272 is becoming very busy.
The Tech Rescue team has brought back some very good techniques on rope rescue from their recent trainings. They have spec’d and ordered new rope equipment for the district and have built the rope rescue bags that we will be carrying on all of our engines. Those bags have been delivered to all stations and the crews are being provided training on them before being placed into service. The rope rescue aspect of the technical rescue team is an important element because it is used in most of the other rescue disciplines and becomes the foundation for a successful operation. Great job to this team for bringing this information back to us!

Battalion Chief of Training

The FFI and FFII committee met last week to discuss changing the FFI written pass score from 70% to 80%. This proposal has not been a very popular one, but our statistics show that it makes sense. The stats show that 66% of the written tests are passed with at least an 80%. The DFPC presented the score change proposal to the Advisory Board last week; I have not heard if that has been approved. I don't think this change will have a significant impact on Elizabeth Fire. We typically don't struggle with our members passing the FFI written.
The STOs and I will be meeting later this month to get the 2025 Academy schedule rough draft completed. Kiowa Fire is offering their members the opportunity to choose to attend our academy or to attend Rattlesnake Fire’s academy.
Thanks to Chief Brown for getting the e-tool demo set up. We were able to cut some cars and get quite a few members the chance to evaluate the tools.
CORE evaluations are set for January 13th, 15th, and 16th. Thanks to Sarah for always making this happen on the financial side.
Kiowa has completed their propane tank training prop at the training center. I look forward to utilizing it in 2025.

Photo of e-tool demo

Battalion Chief of EMS

ETO Gamboa conducted a cool hands-on respiratory training for all shifts using “spare parts” acquired from the Elizabeth Locker Plant. Crews were able to get as close to human experience with real pig lungs and hearts. This was valuable training to see anatomy in person instead of a book or manikin: thanks Tommy!
Seven department members attended the State EMS conference (EMSAC) this year and participated in some great classes. There was a lot of information on the State’s goal for all EMS agencies to carry whole blood. While I don’t think we’re quite ready as an agency, it may be something we look at in the future to benefit our trauma patients.
The saline shortage from hurricane Helene is expected to continue into the new year. We are still doing “OK” on our supply. Crews have done a great job really prioritizing when saline needs to be administered to keep our stock up until production can get back online.
The new ambulance build has turned into a bigger process.

EMS Calls (exluding "no patient"):

Nov 2023 = 68 (55 Transports/81%)
Nov 2024 = 64 (43 Transports/67%)

Photos of lung and heart training

Department Shoutouts

Nick and Spencer, I wanted to thank you both for working so many hours last month. You both tied at 193 which is awesome. I know everyone is excited to see your names on the roster for the day and it is always much appreciated.