The Falcon Fire Protection Districtís April 17 regular meeting was cancelled due to weather. A special board meeting was held April 24. Directors Kelly Starkman and Henry Allen were absent.Treasurer’s reportWith 25 percent of the fiscal year complete, 43 percent of budgeted revenues have been collected. Operational expenditures stand at 25 percent, and 18 percent of capital expenditures have been made.A new vehicle was purchased for the fire marshalís use.Rural Water Fund$5,625 has been added to the Rural Water Fund, bringing the balance to $56,646.Chiefís report:Call volumes and response times: Chief Trent Harwig presented an overview of call volumes and response times broken down by the FFPD response district. Average call volumes and response times (which is gauged from the time of initial dispatch to FFPDís arrival on scene) for the first quarter of 2013 are close to 2012 averages. Response times do not include instances where another fire department or AMR ambulance arrives on scene before FFPD units.Colorado Senate Bill 13-025 (Collective Bargaining by Firefighters): Harwig discussed provisions of this bill and the potential consequences for smaller fire departments and districts. He said the Colorado State Fire Chiefs and many special districts oppose this bill, citing the potential financial burden on smaller organizations, the belief that collective bargaining should be a local decision rather than a state mandate and other issues.The full text of SB 13-025 can be accessed on the Colorado General Assembly website (http://leg.state.co.us/). Click on ìBills and Fiscal Notesî under the ìSenate ñ 2013 Regular Sessionî link.Training divisionGlenn Levy, division chief of training, reported that FFPD members are currently participating in a 45-day comprehensive training program focused on wildland firefighting.Fire departments in the North Group are planning joint training that will include incident command system for wildland fires, water supply/tender operations and Rapid Intervention Team operations. This joint training will further common goals and help fire departments to better work together on actual incidents. The North Group of fire departments includes FFPD, Wescott Fire Protection District and fire departments/fire protection districts in Cimarron Hills, Black Forest, Tri-Lakes Monument, Palmer Lake, Air Force Academy and Larkspur.Fire marshalThe 2009 International Fire Code: Vernon Champlin, division chief of fire prevention/fire marshal, reported that FFPD met with the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs April 5. The only issues remaining to be worked out for the adoption of the 2009 IFC are the threshold requirements for fire sprinklers in commercial buildings and the wildland urban interface requirements in FFPDís Appendix K to the code. Champlin said that HBA will support the FFPDís WUI requirements since the Colorado Springs Fire Department adopted similar measures following the Waldo Canyon fire, and HBA was part of that process. Appendix K addresses measures such as vegetation management and ìhardeningî structures through the use of fire-resistant and noncombustible building materials.Strategic plan updateThe board discussed elements of the strategic plan. Harwig will draft information to restart the strategic planning process, which was interrupted by the resignation of Phil Theodore, board director, who had been heading the effort.As part of the strategic planning process, Harwig presented a survey that compares FFPDís salary and benefits packages to 13 Front Range fire departments of similar type and size. Hereís how FFPD compares:
- FFPD firefighters: about 6.9 percent lower than average for entry-level, and 4.5 percent lower for first-class firefighters with five years or more on the job
- FFPD lieutenants: about 13.9 percent below average
- Battalion chiefs: about 23.27 percent lower than average
