HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-2014-03-11CITY OF ITHACA BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES
March 11, 2014
Present:
Chair Gilligan
Commissioners: Hoard, Ellsworth
Others Present:
Administrative Coordinator - Overslaugh
Excused:
Fire Chief — Parsons
Commissioner Sparks
Alderperson and Liaison to Board — Fleming
I. Call To Order:
Chair Gilligan called to meeting to order at 1603 hours.
II. Approval of Minutes:
A. Approval of the February 11, 2014 Board of Fire Commissioner Meeting
Minutes — Resolution
By Commissioner Hoard: Seconded by Commissioner Ellsworth
RESOLVED, That the minutes of the February 11, 2014 Board of Fire Commissioner Meeting
be approved as published.
Carried Unanimously
III. Additions to or Deletions From the Agenda:
There were no additions to or deletions from the agenda.
IV. Persons Wishing to Speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners:
Mr. Lyman Baker addressed the Board to provide the following report:
RE: Ithaca Fire Department Firemen's Cemetery work hours.
Dear Board members,
Raymond B. Wheaton and Lyman E. Baker have patrolled the IFD's Firemen's cemetery area
four hours from February 11, 2014 to March 11, 2014.
The snow is starting to melt, in ground head stones are appearing. No damage so far.
I remain,
Lyman E. Baker, IFD Badge #325B
V. Correspondence: None
VI. Membership Changes: None
VII. Miscellaneous Reports:
A. Town of Ithaca: None
B. City of Ithaca: None
C. Audit: None
VIII. Department Reports:
A. Chief Report: Attached to Minutes
B. Fire Police Report:
Mr. David Cornelius addressed the Board to provide the following report:
Fire Police training was held on February 11, 2014. The topic involved how to properly
talk on portable radios and how the use of "repeaters'; affect the sound quality. The following
members participated: Dave Cornelius, Jack Bordoni, Lyman Baker, Rob Longo, Jack Gould,
Andrew Adams, Scott Tuckerman and Bill Gilligan. Once again the training topic had not been
passed on to the duty chief, however, AC Tier was able to put the presentation on.
Respectfully submitted,
Dave Cornelius
IX. OLD BUSINESS:
A. Volunteer Recruitment Items /Issues:
Chair Gilligan will check with Fire Chief Parsons on the status of the grant application. Mr.
Cornelius asked whether the Town of Ithaca was supportive of recruitment efforts or been
involved in any general conversations about the need for volunteers.
Chair Gilligan further reported that the review and updating of the Volunteer Handbook is a work
in progress. The handbook could be used as is right now; there was a meeting with the City
Attorney on the volunteer processes. A recommendation was made for some modification to
the handbook in the near future.
B. Charter Review:
Chair Gilligan reported that the Board will be reviewing the Charter and updating as needed with
regard to the role and responsibilities of the Board of Fire Commissioners. This will be an
ongoing review and discussion.
C. Request from IVVFA for Department Historical Documents:
Chair Gilligan reported that the request was reviewed by the City Clerk who has some concerns
about loaning or giving items away that belong to the City of Ithaca. A complete inventory of the
records that might be loaned would need to be completed. For now, the documents will remain
in the possession of the City of Ithaca.
D. St. Patrick's Day Parade in Binghamton:
Chair Gilligan reported that the parade went well and the Board discussed it briefly. The Board
recognized the members of the department who participated in the parade for a great job well
done.
X. Adjournment:
On a motion, the meeting adjourned at 1623 hours.
William Gilligan
Chair
CITY OF ITH.ACA
310 West Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 -5497
OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF
Telephone: 6+07,272 -1234 Fax: 607/272.2793
MEMORANDUM
To: Board of Fire Commissioners
From: Tom Parsons, Fire Chief
Date: March 11th, 2014
Re: Fire Chief's Monthly Report to the Board of Fire Commissioners
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Administration
1) Career Personnel Report
PERSONNEL STAFFING LEVELS
1
Chief
1
Deputy Chief (per diem)
5
Assistant Chiefs
9
Lieutenants
44
Fire Fighters
60
Uniform Personnel
1 Administrative Coordinator
Total employees as of February 28th, 2014 — 61
a) Vacancies
• 1 Fire Fighter
b) Hiring /Promotions
• On February 26th, 2014, Common Council approved the creation of a 6th
Assistant Chief for the purpose of serving as the Fire Marshal. Upon filling of
the position, a Fire Lieutenant's position in the Fire Prevention Bureau will be
eliminated. The number of employees will be unchanged, and the cost would
be contained within this year's budget. I expect to make an appointment
within the next two weeks.
Page 2 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report
b) Retirements:
2) Budget Status
March 1 l th, 2014
a) 2013 Budget: The City Controller reported to me that the Fire Department
Budget came in under budget. The surplus was due to the cost of employee
pension payments less than was budgeted despite overtime and salary lines
coming in over budgeted amount. During the budget development in 2012 it was
anticipated that pension costs would increase by 4% in 2013, however the costs
actually came in, as a percentage of payroll, about 1% less than 2012.
C) Capital Budget: We will be submitting for the 2015 Budget, a capital project
request to replace one of our pumpers. Engine 902, a 1995 HME /Saulsbury
Pumper, will reach it's end of service life next year and is due to be replaced. A
committee is being formed to develop specifications for the replacement.
3) County Communications and 911 Programs:
a) No Report
4) Grants and Donations
a) Same as Previous Report - On November 6th, 2013, I submitted an application for
the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). We've applied for funds to provide
hardware and software for incident command training of our officers.
b) Same as Previous Report - On August 30th, 2013, I submitted an application for
the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER). We are
waiting to hear if we are going to receive an award.
5) Resource Recovery Legislation
a) No Report
6) City Charter Update
a) No Report
Operations
1) Mutual Aid Calls: Quarterly Report
Page 3 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report March 1 l th, 2014
LIFE SAFETY DIVISION
Fire Prevention Bureau
1) Code Enforcement Division: The following is a list of February activities -
Complaints Received: 16
Referred to the City Building Division 13
Referred to the Town of Ithaca 2
Inspections: 103
City Fire Safety & Property Maintenance
79
Town Fire Safety & Property Maintenance
8
City - Sprinkler Inspections
10
City - Alternative Fire Protection
1
City - Fire Alarm Inspections
5
City - Standpipe Flow Test
0
City — Fire Pump Flow Test
0
Permits or Certificates: 37
Operating Permit — Assembly Occupancy 24
Operating Permit — Hazardous Occupancy 0
Operating Permit — Lumber Yard
0
Operating Permit — Elevator
4
Operating Permit — Fireworks
0
Certificate of Compliance - Occupancy
9
Certificate of Compliance - Fire Alarm
3
Certificate of Compliance - Fire Sprinkler
0
Certificate of Compliance - Fire Pump
0
Certificate of Compliance — Fire Standpipe
0
Certificate of Compliance - Alternative Suppression
2) Fire Investigation Unit:
There were three fire investigations in February: The first investigation was for a building
fire at the Ithaca High School at 1401 N. Cayuga Street in the City of Ithaca. The cause
was incendiary, and investigation is being followed up by the Ithaca Police Department.
The second investigation was for a student residence hall fire at Cornell University's
North Balch Hall, 600 Thurston Ave in the City of Ithaca. The cause is undetermined
and still under investigation. The third investigation was for a building fire at Cornell
University's Insectary Lab, 169 Helios Circle, in the Town of Ithaca. The cause was
determined to be accidental caused by an equipment failure.
Page 4 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report
3) Public Education and Special Events:
Public Education Events: 2
Fire Drills Witnessed: 0
Child Safety Seat Inspections: 12
4) Town of Ithaca:
No Report
5) City of Ithaca:
No Report
March 1 1 th, 2014
Page 5 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report
OPERATIONS DIVISION
Response
1) February 2014 Responses
City of Ithaca: 252 Incidents (68.66 %)
Fires:
7
Overpressure/Rupture
0
EMS/Rescue:
110
Hazardous Conditions:
10
Service Calls:
23
Good Intent:
34
Alarms/No Fires:
68
Severe Weather:
0
Town of Ithaca: 113 Incidents (30.79 %)
Fires:
3
Overpressure/Rupture
0
EMS /Rescue:
63
Hazardous Conditions:
3
Service Calls:
4
Good Intent:
18
Alarms/No Fires:
22
Severe Weather:
0
Mutual Aid: 2 Incident (0.54 %)
Fires:
0
Overpressure /Rupture
0
EMS /Rescue:
0
Hazardous Conditions:
0
Service Calls:
0
Good Intent:
2
Alarms/No Fires:
0
Severe Weather:
0
2) Emergency Management: No Report
Support
1) Training Center
Quarterly Report
March 1 l th, 2014
Page 6 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report
3) Apparatus and Facilities
No Report
Training
Quarterly Report
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention
1) Summaries of Service Hours: Quarterly Report
March 1 l th, 2014
2) There are currently 14 Active Volunteer Firefighters and Fire Police
3) Requests from Company Members to become active: No Requests Received