The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting March 20. All seated board members were present with the exception of Greg Heule, who participated via teleconference.Chief Trent Harwig administered the oath of office to Curtis Kauffman, who was promoted to battalion chief.Treasurerís reportWith 17 percent of the fiscal year complete, the district is at 39 percent of anticipated revenue and 29 percent of budgeted expenditures for the year. Harwig noted that some large annual expenditures, such as the station 1 payment, occur early in the year. The operational budget is on track, with 18 percent of expenditures made.The Rural Water Fund is at 109 percent of anticipated revenues with no expenditures year to date.Chief’s reportDirector Kelly Starkman expressed concern over phasing out the training lieutenant position. Harwig said that funds were shifted to cover the full-time fire marshal and training chief positions that become effective April 1. ìWe think that transitioning our lieutenants through both the training and prevention divisions would be beneficial in the future. We just have to get to the point where we can afford it,î Starkman said.Currently, the fire marshal is assigned to a shift and conducts fire prevention activities in addition to his regular duties. Transitioning the fire marshal from shiftwork to a Monday through Friday schedule will benefit the community and provide more continuity and efficiency in the position. Harwig said, ìWe always look at prepare, prevent, protect. Fire departments donít just respond to calls they prevent the calls, too. So having a prevention division is important.î Harwig also noted that ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is changing its criteria for insurance ratings, placing new emphasis on fire prevention efforts such as inspections, fire codes and sprinkler requirements.Starkman asked about lieutenants who havenít yet worked in the training division. Harwig said that Glenn Levy, division chief of training, is developing an officer training curriculum for all lieutenants. ìWe will be offering management level, or officer level, training in addition to the department level training,î he said.Director Henry Allen asked how the changes would affect the line firefighters. ìFour years ago, FFPD didn’t have a real good training program, and that was probably the No. 1 complaint from firefighters,î Starkman said. ìWe’ve come a long way in a short time.î Harwig concurred and said, ì(Training) was our main focus when we got the mill levy in place and hired the training chief.îWhile FFPD has made great advancements in training, Harwig said, ìWeíre still limited on how we can train and where we can train. We have no dedicated training facility. We use props as we get them,î referring to donations like the school bus that firefighters use for various training scenarios. FFPD uses its station on Jones Road for training, but the distance to that facility delays firefighter response. Harwig asked that training facilities be included in strategic plan discussions.Heule talked about the ability to retain personnel. Since FFPD cannot compete with larger markets in terms of compensation, he said the board needs to remember that cultural, operational and environmental factors influence employeesí decisions to stay with the FFPD.Harwig said he is currently working on salary and benefit comparisons with districts similar to FFPD. Preliminary survey results indicate that FFPD compensation is competitive at the firefighter level but lags behind other departments at the officer levels. Harwig said FFPD loses firefighters every year to the Colorado Springs Fire Department and other large departments and this year lost a lieutenant to a neighboring district that offered a higher salary. ìHow do we keep them? That’s the tough part,î he said. ìWe don’t want to get into the position where weíre losing people to like departments.îFFPD firefighters are trained in ice rescue at a pond at Black Forest Reserve. Heule expressed appreciation for the efforts of Lt. Sean Tafoya, who put together a training video to ensure consistency across all shifts.Regarding the strategic plan, Harwig will present a rough draft at the next board meeting.Ambulance serviceHarwig said itís too early to know how FFPD will be affected by the city of Colorado Springsí intent to pursue its own contract for ambulance service. More will be known when the city releases a request for proposal. The RFP will determine the options available to FFPD and other county agencies. FFPDís current contract with AMR expires in April 2014.In response to the cityís announcement, Harwig issued a statement from the FFPD.ìAs plans develop and direction is given, the fire district Board of Directors will make ambulance transport option available to our constituents. Options may include a county only ESA contract working with or standalone from the City transport contract, an ambulance or EMS taxing district, a Falcon Fire based transport service, or a Falcon Fire District standalone transport contract with an outside provider. All options are on the table.ìFrom our perspective and speaking on behalf of the Falcon Fire District only, the current county wide ambulance transport contract has worked very well for us and has certainly helped keep ambulance transport costs and fire district taxes down over the past 15 years or so. Many fire districts have taken on ambulance transport themselves in this county over the past several years; however, those district tax rates (mill levy rates) are significantly higher than ours here in Falcon. We will keep our citizens informed as this plan develops.î2009 International Fire CodeHarwig reported that the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs is ìstanding strongî on not allowing amendments that are stricter than written in the International Fire Code. HBA has agreed to all of FFPDís proposed amendments to the 2009 IFC, with the exception of the section requiring fire sprinklers for commercial buildings 6,000 square feet or larger. This amendment is based on the realistic amount of water FFPD can deliver at a fire scene. Harwig said other options are being considered to meet the intent of this amendment, including installation of firewalls within a larger space. He also said FFPD can work under the 2003 code as long as necessary.
