edmond fire department strategic plan 2013 - 2018

Introduction

The City of Edmond Fire Department (herein also referred to as “Edmond Fire Department” or “EFD”) provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, fire prevention, public education, and disaster preparedness to the 87.9 square miles of Edmond, Oklahoma. EFD is consistently working to achieve and/or maintain the highest level of professionalism and efficiency on behalf of those it serves, and thus contracted with the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) to facilitate a method to document the agency's path into the future via a “Community-Driven Strategic Plan.” Further, in an effort to work toward self-improvement, the agency is pursuing accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). The following strategic plan was written in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the CFAI Fire & Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual 8th Ed., and is intended to guide the organization within established parameters set forth by the authority having jurisdiction.

The CPSE utilized the Community–Driven Strategic Planning process to go beyond just the development of a document. It challenged the membership of the EFD to critically examine paradigms, values, philosophies, beliefs and desires, and challenged individuals to work in the best interest of the “team.” Furthermore, it provided the membership with an opportunity to participate in the development of their organization’s long-term direction and focus. Members of the agency’s external and internal stakeholders’ groups performed an outstanding job in committing to this important project and remain committed to the document’s completion.

This strategic plan, with its foundation based in community and membership input, revisits the agency’s pillars (Mission, Values, and Vision) and sets forth a continuous improvement plan that offers a road map for justifiable and sustainable future.

EDMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS

Organizational Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1

Definition of a Community-Driven Strategic Plan ............................................................................................... 3

Process and Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 7

Community Group Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 8

Community Priorities ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

Community Expectations .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Areas of Community Concern ...................................................................................................................................12

Positive Community Feedback .................................................................................................................................15

Other Thoughts and Comments .............................................................................................................................. .19

Internal Stakeholder Group Findings ....................................................................................................................21

Mission ...............................................................................................................................................................................22

Values .................................................................................................................................................................................22

Programs and Services ................................................................................................................................................23

S.W.O.T. Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................24

Strengths ...........................................................................................................................................................................24

Weaknesses ......................................................................................................................................................................25

Opportunities ..................................................................................................................................................................26

Threats ...............................................................................................................................................................................27

Critical Issues and Service Gaps ...............................................................................................................................28

Strategic Initiatives .......................................................................................................................................................28

Goals and Objectives .....................................................................................................................................................29

Vision ................................................................................................................................................................................ ..43

Performance Measurement .......................................................................................................................................44

The Success of the Strategic Plan.............................................................................................................................45

Glossary of Terms, Acronyms and Initialisms ....................................................................................................46

Works Cited ......................................................................................................................................................................48

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Organizational Background

The City of Edmond began as a coal and water station at Mile Marker 103 of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Line. In March 1887, this station was officially named Edmond in honor of Santa Fe freight agent Edmond Burdick. Shortly after the great Oklahoma land run of 1889, the first Oklahoma Territory public schoolhouse was opened in Edmond and

still stands on 2nd street between Broadway and Boulevard.

The first fire company in Edmond was established in 1903, utilizing an aerial ladder truck and a traditional bucket brigade. Broadway between 1st and 2nd streets was the location of Edmonds first fire station. The area volunteers were called to the station by the sound of “Diane”, the department’s fire bell. Presently the City of Edmond is comprised of 87.9 square miles with an estimated population of nearly 82,000 with a council-manager type government. The fire department protects that population and land mass from 5 stations with 112 sworn personnel; and responds to approximately 5,900 calls for service annually. The Edmond Fire Department provides non-transport Advanced Life Support, and in addition to traditional fire suppression and prevention programs, delivers Hazardous Materials, and Technical Rescue services.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/OKMap-doton-Edmond.PNG

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Organizational Structure

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Definition of a Community-Driven Strategic Plan

The fire service has entered into a very competitive evolutionary period. Public demands continue to increase. These trends place increased pressure on the modern fire service manager, policymakers, and staff to develop ways to be more effective in the delivery of traditional services such as fire suppression, code enforcement, and fire investigation but also specialized services such as EMS, hazardous materials, technical rescue, and public education. To work more efficiently with available resources, organizations must establish their direction based on constructive efforts while eliminating programs that do not serve the community.

To ensure that community needs were incorporated, the Community–Driven Strategic Planning process was used to develop this Strategic Plan. Businesses employ this type of process to identify market trends, allowing the service provider to focus resources while reducing risk and wasted effort.

What is a Strategic Plan?

It is a living management tool that:

Provides short-term direction Builds a shared vision Sets goals and objectives Optimizes use of resources

Effective strategic planning benefits from a consistent and cohesively structured process employed across all levels of the organization. Planning is a continuous process, one with no clear beginning and no clear end. While plans can be developed on a regular basis, it is the process of planning that is important, not the publication of the plan itself. The planning process should be flexible and dynamic, with new information from community members, like-providers, and life changes factored in appropriately.

Community-Driven Strategic Planning creates a platform for a wide range of beginnings. The approach comes to life by being shared, debated, and implemented in the context of organizational realities.

Successful organizations, from government agencies to Fortune 500 companies, have recognized that attaining community focus is essential. Aware of this necessity, public safety agencies must strategically plan how they will deliver high-quality products and services to the public.

“What we have to do today is to be ready for an uncertain tomorrow.”

Peter F. Drucker, Professor of Social Science and Management

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Once their strategic goals are established, agency leaders must establish performance measures, for which they are fully accountable, to assess and ensure that their departments and agencies are, indeed, delivering on the promises made in their strategic plans. Goodstein, Nolan, & Pfeiffer define Strategic Planning as

a continuous and systematic process

where the guiding members of an organization make decisions about its future,

develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future, and

determine how success is to be measured.1

The U.S. Federal Consortium Benchmarking Study Team goes on to explain that to fully understand strategic planning, it is necessary to look at a few key words in the strategic planning definition:

continuous refers to the view that strategic planning must be an ongoing process, not merely an event to produce a plan;

systematic recognizes that strategic planning must be a structured and deliberate effort, not something that happens on its own;

process recognizes that one of the benefits of strategic planning is to undertake thinking strategically about the future and how to get there, which is much more than production of a document (e.g., a strategic plan);

guiding members identifies not only senior unit executives, but also employees. (It also considers stakeholders and customers who may not make these decisions, but who affect the decisions being made.);

procedures and operations means the full spectrum of actions and activities from aligning the organization behind clear long-term goals to putting in place organizational and personal incentives, allocating resources, and developing the workforce to achieve the desired outcomes; and

how success is to be measured recognizes that strategic planning must use appropriate measures to determine if the organization has achieved success.

Most importantly, strategic planning can be an opportunity to unify the management, employees, and stakeholders through a common understanding of where the organization is going, how everyone involved can work to that common purpose, and how progress and levels will measure success.

1 Federal Benchmarking Consortium. (1997, February). Serving the American Public: Best Practices in Customer-Driven Strategic Planning

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Where Does the Community Fit into the Strategic Planning Process?

For many successful organizations, the voice of the community drives their operations and charts the course for their future. A "community-driven organization" is defined as one that

maintains a focus on the needs and expectations, both spoken and unspoken,

of customers, both present and future,

in the creation and/or improvement of the product or service provided.2

Again, it will be useful to use the U.S. Federal Consortium Benchmarking Study Team’s definitions of the specific terms used in the above definition:

focus means that the organization actively seeks to examine its products, services, and processes through the eyes of the customer;

needs and expectations means that customers' preferences and requirements, as well as their standards for performance, timeliness, and cost, are all input to the planning for the products and services of the organization;

spoken and unspoken means that not only must the expressed needs and expectations of the customers be listened to, but also that information developed independently "about" customers and their preferences, standards, and industry will be used as input to the organizational planning; and

present and future recognizes that customers drive planning and operations, both to serve current customers and those who will be customers in the future.

Performance Assessment

Implied within every stage of the planning process is the ability to determine progress made toward the goals or targets set. This assessment ability is a monitoring function that simply tracks activities. It may be as simple as a “To Do List,” or as complicated as a plan of action with milestones and performance measures. Also implied within the planning process is the ability to measure effectiveness of the actions taken in the conduct of the organization's business.

2 Federal Benchmarking Consortium. (1997, February). Serving the American Public: Best Practices in Customer-Driven Strategic Planning

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The Community–Driven Strategic Planning Process Outline

The specific steps of the process are as follows:

1. Define the programs provided to the community.

2. Establish the community’s service program priorities.

3. Establish the community’s expectations of the organization.

4. Identify any concerns the community may have about the organization.

5. Identify the aspects of the organization that the community views positively.

6. Revise the Mission Statement, giving careful attention to the services and programs currently provided, and which logically can be provided in the future.

7. Identify the Values of the organization’s membership.

8. Identify the Strengths of the organization.

9. Identify any Weaknesses of the organization.

10. Identify areas of Opportunity for the organization.

11. Identify potential Threats to the organization.

12. Identify the organization’s critical issues.

13. Identify the organization’s service gaps.

14. Determine strategic initiatives for organizational improvement.

15. Establish realistic goals and objectives for each initiative.

16. Identify implementation tasks for the accomplishment of each objective.

17. Determine the Vision of the future.

18. Develop organizational and community commitment to accomplishing the plan.

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Process and Acknowledgements

The Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) acknowledges Edmond Fire Department’s (EFD) External and Internal Stakeholders for their participation and input into the Community–Driven Strategic Planning Process. The CPSE also recognizes Fire Chief Jake Rhoades for his leadership and commitment to this process.

Development of the EFD’s Strategic Plan took place in January 2013, during which time representatives from the CPSE and the EFD held an open meeting where members of the public, or external stakeholders, were invited. Input received from the meeting revolved around community expectations, concerns, and other comments about the agency. The agency and the CPSE expresses a special ‘thank you’ to community members who contributed to the creation of this strategic plan, as it was truly a team effort. Those present at this meeting were as follows:

Table 1: Edmond Fire Department External Stakeholders

Bobby Anderson Diane Baldwin David K. Barnes Janienne Bella Kayla Blount

Troy Branstetter Anita Breen Teressa Brown Victoria Caldwell Kevin Carr

Ashleigh Clark Becky Crow Steve Commons Gail Deaton Craig Dishman

Bruce Dobey Cathy Donald Troy Downing Bob Edwards Dana Elkins

Glenn Fisher David Goin Lisa Goodpasture John Graham Ray Hillard

Leah Kessler Steve Kreidler Charles Lamb Austin Manning Nick Massey

Bob Masterson Jena Mottola Julie Muller Steve Murdock Mark Neighbours

Phil Parduhn Mike Pierre Don Powers Shannon Price Drake Rice

Bob Ricks Mike Roark Michelle Schaefer Mark Schlachtenhaufen

Janelle Shallem Chrislyn Sperry Larry Stevens Matt Stillwell Ken Stoops

Bob Turner Ross Vanderhann Bryanne Wallace Joe Wallace Phil Wallace

Elizabeth Warner Matt Wilson Elizabeth Zamorana

External stakeholders conducting a work session

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Community Group Findings

A key element of the EFD’s organizational philosophy is having a high level of commitment to the community, as well as recognizing the importance of community satisfaction. Therefore, the agency asked representatives from their community to participate in a meeting which would focus on their needs and expectations of the agency. Discussion centered not only on the present service programs provided, but also on priorities for the future.

Community Priorities

In order to dedicate time, energy, and resources on services most desired by its community, the EFD needs to understand what the customers consider to be their priorities. The External Stakeholders were asked to prioritize the programs offered by the agency through a process of direct comparison.

Table 2: Community Service Program Priorities of the Edmond Fire Department

PROGRAM RANKING SCORE

Fire Suppression 1 298

Emergency Medical Services 2 251

Technical Rescue 3 208

Hazardous Materials 4 178

Fire Prevention 5 157

Domestic Preparedness Planning Response 6 129

Public Fire / EMS Safety Education 7 96

Fire Investigation 8 83


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Community Expectations

Understanding what the community expects of its fire and emergency services organization is critically important to developing a long-range perspective. With this knowledge, internal emphasis may need to be changed or bolstered to fulfill the community needs. In certain areas, education on the level of service that is already available may be all that is needed. Following are the expectations of the community’s External Stakeholders:

Table 3: Community Expectations of the Edmond Fire Department (verbatim, in priority order)

1. Quick response and response time. Coordination with Oklahoma City Fire Department for calls on Edmond/Oklahoma City borders.

2. The department will be trained and ready for whatever comes up. Up-to-date training, procedures and knowledge.

3. Prepared with the latest gear and technology to complete their services. State of the art equipment.

4. Community minded – visibility. More public presence. Open to public access. Assist with community functions and organizations.

5. Professionalism. 6. Community outreach, especially with children to teach fire safety (i.e. stop, drop and roll). 7. Fiscally responsible. Financially responsible. 8. To work and cooperate with all city departments. 9. Prepared with equipment, manpower and knowledge. Expertise in services. 10. Sound fire codes and consistent enforcement. 11. Community education. 12. Public awareness - young and adult. 13. Participation with major employers to train for emergency response, from fire to

tornado/weather to shooters/bomb threats. 14. Adequate staffing and support (programs) to personnel (i.e. counseling, medical needs.) 15. Extinguish fire while reducing property and loss of life. 16. Employ professionals and provide training to provide stellar service to the community. 17. Prevention services. 18. Prompt fire suppression. 19. Adequate number of stations to cover Edmond and overlap to other communities. 20. Fire and emergency expertise–the smartest folks in our community on these issues. 21. Use extra time to fulfill other needs of the community such as: beautification projects,

daily maintenance of public works items, light bulbs for streets. 22. To do more with less funds. With the number of fires in Edmond at an all time low, due to

the increase of stations in the next 10-12 years, due to the rise in fire suppression required in new construction. A new fire station looks to be an unneeded expense.

23. Provide and promote image for the City of Edmond. 24. Evacuation plans (such as meeting places and routes in major disasters) 25. Strong community partners, not “just” city employees.

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26. Respect individual liberty. 27. Assist in preparing other departments and agencies if necessary on emergency response

practices in regards to fire service. 28. Primary focus on customer (citizen) service. 29. Communicate progress against plan regularly. 30. Operate efficiently. 31. Dealing of emergencies with family victims. 32. Keep updated on new techniques and products to assist with fire suppression. 33. To not be spread too thin as our city grows geographically and with population. 34. Responsible treatment / suppression. 35. Proper response (not sending unnecessary equipment to scenes). 36. Responsive paramedic support. 37. A process to improve the above trends referencing rapid response time. 38. Always available. 39. Transparency – as a city-supported entity. Actions and expenditures are open, available to

public.

40. Continuing to improve on processes and programs.

41. To be responsive to their customers. 42. Work efficiently. 43. Evaluate risks in the community and work to mitigate those risks. 44. Utilize resources to help with community events when time allows. 45. Finding ways to do more with fewer personnel. With technology helping most businesses

to do the same or more work with less people. The fire department keeps growing. Future funds by votes will probably fail.

46. Put out fires. 47. Communication with local businesses on new things and or new processes in fire

prevention. The ability to handle medical emergencies on site. 48. Empathy. 49. Thoroughness in investigation and/or operations. 50. Share resources with Oklahoma City and surrounding areas. Not every city needs the

latest and greatest toy. 51. To be accessible by cell phone or landline without glitches in cell number origin (i.e. out of

state cell number affecting location of 911 facility routing). 52. Community service. 53. Qualified and trained on HazMat incident responses. 54. Department staff is trained to handle technical rescue and emergency response situations. 55. Able to find the location. 56. Maximize opportunities as well as equipment. 57. Explore better ways to utilize resources. 58. Worry totally about Edmond, not helping area, etc. 59. Development of standards and ordinances, which can prevent catastrophic loss of life and

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property due to wildfires and fires in the downtown business district (i.e. party walls).

60. Save lives. 61. Firefighters are happy with their work environment. 62. Planning for growth. 63. Involving building/facilities personnel in new advances in processes. 64. Recognize we are still a small city with our own unique needs. 65. Long range planning (20+) years – specifically with future stations. 66. Maintain confidentiality. 67. Friendly / courteous. 68. To maintain their equipment. 69. To put the community before the union! 70. Facilitate passage of an ordinance requiring conversions at homes and small businesses to

require fire suppression. 71. Train community. 72. Firefighters are happy with the pay they receive for the risks they take. 73. Staying up with the latest trends. 74. The department is continuously reviewing services and programs to determine where

improvements are appropriate. 75. Good 911 system. 76. Vision of future needs and procedures. 77. To plan for the future.

78. Humbleness in working with public. 79. Serve the community / represent positively. 80. That the Edmond Fire Department will be one of the top departments in the region. 81. Training program to use canines to sniff out meth houses before entering structures.


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Areas of Community Concern

The Community–Driven Strategic Planning Process would be incomplete without an expression from the community regarding concerns about the agency. Some areas of concern may in fact be a weakness within the delivery system, while some weaknesses may also be misperceptions based upon a lack of information or incorrect information.

Table 4: Areas of Community Concern about the Edmond Fire Department (verbatim, in no particular order)

The amount they are paid, yet they have business on the side, I believe it is unreasonable compared to other public servants.

The need to roll out multiple trucks on accidents that has a truck involved already.

Overall usage of time, instead of hanging out at a station, can be doing something else.

Within declining numbers of fire emergencies, how do we reallocate resources not to waste them on a changing environment?

Don’t get hung up on old traditions when applied to a new environment and demands for service.

Elementary age children or even older children need to see you in your full gear so as to not be frightened of you when you come to rescue them.

Number of first response calls.

Fire prevention, mitigation concerning wildfires.

Egress through crowded thoroughfares.

Lack of firefighter’s capability on the east side of I-35 with no or few hydrants.

Lack of real time communication during wildfires or other situations involving the public, need to know what’s going on right now.

Too many non-emergency runs to nursing homes, reduces readiness.

Lack of large capacity water carriers.

Silo

Not involving your internal customers when needed.

Overworked, long shifts.

Lack of equipment and training

Safety of firefighters.

The involvement with builders and developers has been problematic to say the least. Particularly changing requirements after previously okaying plans.

Limited resources in fire prevention department.

Staffing, although an expectation it is also a concern, worried budget cuts could affect response capabilities.

Equipment, again, an expectation, and concern.

Water availability, ensuring water needs are met for all areas.

School education, increasing (if needed) number of visits to schools, kids need more than once a year to understand.

Phone response, burn permit phone number often not answered promptly on weekend’s

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window for burning can close while waiting. Is the fire budget being used as effectively as possible?

Accountability.

Need more stations.

More firefighters.

Leaning too much on arrogant, overreaching, public safety with no outward care of budgets. Rubbing businesses noses in safety.

Need balance between safety and costs. Does not seem to be any thought of future cost increases with concern, maintaining, buying new future sales tax to come.

That not everyone has clearly posted addresses or roads are not always marked as people don’t know where they are. Are there resources for making the public aware?

Whether there are enough fire stations to handle Edmonds population over 90 square miles.

Serviceability of vehicles for fire suppression.

Response times due to traffic issues.

Larger equipment than necessary.

Safety of fireman (best equipment) possible.

Facility age.

Growth in Edmond, do they have what they need in resources.

Not enough for our growing city.

Too much money spent sitting around. Be more productive.

East of I-35, critical growth area.

Work closer with police department. Us vs. them.

Possible emergency evacuation routes for various emergencies, roads going one way etc., for certain times!

Staffing, are there enough firefighters.

Will continued expansion in Edmond stretch the fire department resources too thin?

Budget concerns.

Lack of diversity in the fire department.

Affordability.

Work hours.

Response times increasing with population and traffic.

Sustainable salary structure.

Careful explaining to community (not power override).

Planned growth.

Location of new facility.

Understanding needs of others (community growth).

Not much communication with the public (general).

Service at Arcadia Lake, including water safety.

Service provided east of I-35.

Continued funding to the level needed.

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Very professional.

Are they adequately funded to accomplish their mission?

Is there a continual focus on how to improve services?

Is the fire department seriously willing to consider changes as needed (or too comfortable in doing things the same way)?

Do we seriously consider all relevant partnership opportunities with other departments?

With structure fires decreasing significantly nationwide, how is the Edmond department looking at providing other services to fill the gap.

Wise stewardship of funds and equipment.

Too much loose time on their shifts, doing nothing.

Lack of communication.

Time for local businesses.

Interaction with local businesses.

Are we able to effectively control a major wooded fire?

Is staff properly trained?

Do we have the proper equipment?

Is there enough equipment?

Does budget support needs?

Keeping up with growth.

Is the current shift schedule the most efficient? I understand the culture of the fire department shifts, but is it the best utilization of resources?

Continued battle with EMS systems, should it be taken over by the fire department, and what impact that would have on the quality of both services in Edmond.

That the locations of the fire departments keep up with the areas of population in Edmond.

We need more coordination between shifts and units.

Some systems are burdensome (burn permit).

Freedom to do what you want on your property is restricted (can’t burn leaves or grass).

Sprinkler systems in homes should always be voluntary.

Restoration of the Edmond Fire Department to the previously held position of leadership within the region and state. EFD is still extremely strong and has tremendous resources (personnel, equipment, facilities, etc) but they have been absent from their previously held position of leadership and that of a “fire department role model” for other departments in the region and state for several years.

Re-commitment to serve as a team player regionally. This ties directly to the statement above, but EFD needs to have greater involvement in regional issues – exert their know leadership capabilities.

None, they proved how capable they are in the wild fires last year.

Seems that a lot of equipment responds to minor events which create an image of waste and inefficiency.

Have had friends that saw a minor fire not be addressed for 45 minutes which resulted in total destruction of structure.

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Have seen rescue efforts slowed but inability to respond promptly because needing others to give direction or are planning while the emergency gets worse.

Bad reputation fire department has with every business community hurts growth.

Spend too much on word of mouth public relations to community where actions speak louder than public relations.

Enough manpower – equipment to serve the growing community.

Money for proper pay for firefighters.

911 system.

Evacuation routes.

Are we equipped, manpower and equipment to cover the Edmond area.

Do we need to educate public more?

I had an early morning knock on my door last year; they had the wrong street address or location for a medical emergency call.

City of Edmond firefighting capability east of I-35 (with essentially no fire hydrants).

Real time public communication during wildfires. We live at Coffee Creek and Air Depot and barely escaped the big fires last year. Knowing what the heck was going on was a problem.

Non-fire runs to nursing homes. I can’t drive by Bradford Village on Boulevard without seeing a fire truck there.

Positive Community Feedback

The CPSE promotes the belief that, for a strategic plan to be valid, the community’s view on the agency’s strengths must be established. Needless efforts are often put forth in over-developing areas that are already successful. However, proper utilization and promotion of the strengths may often help the organization overcome or offset some of the identified weaknesses.

Table 5: Positive Community Comments about the Edmond Fire Department (verbatim, in no particular order)

Very fast response times.

Excellent education program, visiting schools and the Fire Safety Village, great!

Willing, open to engagement with the community.

They are very positive!

They are friendly and well trained.

They have a good leader to make needed changes.

We are well equipped, well staffed with strong professional skilled people.

Dedicated staff to their service to the community.

I love the safety village! Thank you for including bike safety.

Overall public relations.

Kids programs.

Hardworking.

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Professional.

Friendly.

Great training facility.

Excellent service (experienced the paramedic side of the service).

Kind, generous and supportive fire department.

We in Edmond are lucky to have professional and well trained fire personnel. Thank you!

We can’t say enough about the good work, we are huge fans.

Fire prevention/ code enforcement has done a good job of working with design professionals to provide the best product for the City of Edmond.

Each time we as a family have seen officers at a restaurant they have always come over to our table and given my kids a sticker, kids love it and further the relationship and respect – thank you and keep it up.

Facility here on Covell makes me proud to be from Edmond.

Very respectful.

Outstanding citizens of the community.

Upkeep of facilities always well done!

Appear to manage budget well!

City leaders support leadership, are not at odds.

I believe that this process is a great step forward in the department.

Very pleased with the level of professionalism.

First hand family experience with EMS responders to my dad’s multiple heart attacks.

Responsive to community needs.

Always positive and reassuring.

Good presence in the community.

Vehicles are always shiny!

Excellent job involving community in strategic planning process.

Strategic planning process a great step for making department improvements.

Fire staffs are always very responsive to Edmond’s needs.

Professional and courteous.

Great public image.

Very friendly in public.

Willing to answer questions.

All interactions have been positive.

Great response time. Great customer service.

Great educational component.

Accessibility of staff.

Knowledgeable.

I feel we have a great fire department. Every dealings I have had, has been quite positive. Fortunately I have not had many true emergencies.

I trust our leaders to provide the training for firefighters.

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I feel the education provided to the community such as children’s area, fire academies for citizens are great programs!

The department has always been readily acceptable to meeting the needs of the community.

All members seem to be experts in their assignments.

Fire department supplies information and materials in response to questions

Great public relation skills and attention to community needs.

Great attention to their jobs.

Good working with the community (keep it up).

Care of facility and community.

This meeting.

Professional and knowledgeable.

Caring and helpful.

Providing great service for the money invested in the department.

Professional.

Well trained.

Kind.

Calm.

I have been impressed and pleased to see how the department participates in the community, not just “officially” but as individuals.

I’m pleased to see the department’s new chief begin with a strategic development plan.

Involvement in the community.

My exposure to the Edmond Fire Department is limited. This coordinated effort to establish strategic goals is certainly a strength.

Well trained.

Helpful attitude.

Good dedication of department members.

Fire department has good financial resources.

Good relationship with community.

Well trained and equipped.

Properly staffed.

Responded quickly and competent every time I needed them to.

Very responsive when called upon.

Professional.

Courteous.

Responsive.

Good communications with community.

Involved with community.

Highly professional.

Well trained.

Top notch facilities and provision of training for others.

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High level of professionalism. Staff is approachable.

Our fire service personnel have a strong sense of commitment to all customers from internal stakeholders to residents / business owners.

A vision of change has begun a positive move in the right direction.

They always seem to arrive quickly.

They always seem to be driving safely.

Best trained agency in the region.

Willingness to participate in this process.

Excellent training facility.

Well trained personnel.

Good equipment, good facilities.

Good response times.

Good service.

Excellent personnel and leadership, advanced facilities and equipment.

The true strength of any organization is in its people, EFD has tremendous capabilities in this area.

First class facilities and equipment.

Well funded.

Friendly people.

Very professional and easy to work with (code enforcement and plan review).

Highly trained.

Well equipped.

Passionate.

Good image.

Professional.

Up to date.

Innovative.

They do a great job at all their prioritization of services.


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Other Thoughts and Comments

The Community was asked to share any other comments they had about EFD or its services. The following written comments were received:

Table 6: Other Community Comments about the Edmond Fire Department (verbatim, in no particular order)

Possible emergency evacuation routes for various emergencies – roads going 1 way etc. for certain times.

Edmond Fire Department does a great job.

In my few interactions with members of the Edmond Fire Department I have never found them to be anything but 100% professional, courteous and friendly. Everything you want in “small-town” fire department.

We can be an even better community by better utilizing the resources that this department has.

Thank you for caring enough about our community to conduct a new and probably personal reflection of your service.

Need to take into consideration the changing weather pattern causing more drought and wildfires.

Thank you for inviting us (community) to be part of strategic planning. Good for us to work together for good!

I believe the recent changes in management of the department will a have a positive effect on the department.

As a representative of the American Red Cross, I want to make sure the Edmond Fire Department understands the services we can provide the department as well as the community. We currently work with the Edmond Fire Department; however, I want to ensure ongoing relationships so the Edmond Fire Department needs are met.

Very happy with all of my interactions with Edmond Fire Department both in my home and in my Edmond office. Only worry is that city growth not dilute that superior service but instead expand as needed.

Thanks for letting me be involved in the process.

I feel Edmond has one of the premier departments in Oklahoma. I think this is a great step in continuing that tradition.

I am very familiar with the EFD and am proud to have the opportunity to assist with this process. I look for and welcome the day when the department is again a regional leader.

Thank you for everything you do for our community.

The process will validate the areas in which the department is excelling and should expose areas that need attention. Thank you for including me.

Great relationship with Integris Health Edmond. Always responsive and involved with facilities needs.

Feel we have a great fire department, just would like to see more involvement from them with local businesses.

Appreciate their willingness to examine how they are doing things however must not change too quickly.

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Thank you for inviting us along to take part.

Partner with other agencies – police, insurance companies. HOA’s and complete (help complete/advise) on new programs, training, emergency plans for fires, natural disasters, etc.

We have always had a positive experience when fire department is called out to assist in a situation.

They have a history of great leadership and capable fire personnel.

The Edmond Fire Department is an excellent department. They only need to work w/ people to allow them to do what they want and need to their (undetermined) property, which protects liberty.

Slow traffic down across town by 10 mph.

For my part, I could not ask for better than I have witnessed from the Edmond Fire Department. They know exactly what they are going to accomplish every time they respond. Many times I have had them wait for me to get on the scene to investigate the fire. This is great, or if they cannot our police secures the scene until I arrive. They assist us when available for our housing fire drills and are actively involved with the fire service in general since 1974 and the Edmond Fire Department is a credit to the profession.

This is in addition to what I wrote yesterday. The fire department is also very cooperative with the campus surveys they conduct. They always call me and we set up a time to go through the particular building in question. This is a good process for pre-fire planning. The only thing I would like them to be better with is when they come on campus for training. This usually occurs in the basement of Murdaugh. I need to be notified so I know what is going on, I will have campus personnel call me and it is embarrassing to not know.

The only area I’m working on which will involve these folks is closing off more campus. Stephens always takes them our plans for approval, but you may wish to let them of our plan…we hope to have it finalized and in place by the summer. We have ensured that the EFD will still have access to all the existing fire lanes.

I think the folks at HOH need to work closely with the EFD and EHS to maintain a current inventory of all of the chemicals in use in the building.

These guys take very good care of our campus.


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Internal Stakeholder Group Findings

The internal stakeholder work sessions were conducted over the course of three days. These sessions served to discuss the agency’s approach to Community-Driven Strategic Planning, with focus on the EFD’s Mission, Values, Core Programs and Support Services, as well as the agency's perceived Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The work sessions generated a high level of interest and participation by the broad agency representation in attendance, as named and pictured below.

Table 7: Edmond Fire Department Internal Stakeholders

Mike Barnes Chief of Prevention

Doug Benne Captain

John Block Firefighter

Bill Brown Prevention Major

Cory Charmasson Firefighter

Brian Davis EMS Major

Euel Davis Lieutenant

Chris Denton Lieutenant

Gary Dill Prevention Major

Joe Elam Training Major

Mike Fitzgerald Training Major

Todd Gabbert Driver

Luke Gregory Driver

Nick Hamer Firefighter

Doug Hall Battalion Chief

Terry Hill Captain

Josh Hillis Firefighter

Jeromy Hudson Driver

Shawn Horn Battalion Chief

Ryan Lenz Deputy Fire Chief

Luke Martin Driver

PT McMurtry Firefighter

Billy Meeks Firefighter

Jon Neely Chief of Training

Keith Randolph Battalion Chief

Jake Rhoades Fire Chief

Jeff Ryan Lieutenant

Kyle Shelton Firefighter

Wes Skelly Lieutenant

Brandon Thornbrue Firefighter

Greg Westermier Captain

Joe Weeks Firefighter

Lindall Wood Firefighter

Kevin Woodard Captain

Internal Stakeholder Group

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Mission The purpose of the Mission is to answer the questions:

Who are we? Why do we exist? What do we do? Why do we do it? For whom?

A work group of the EFD’s Internal Stakeholders met to review the existing Mission and collectively agreed to the following.

Table 8: Edmond Fire Department Mission

To faithfully provide trustworthy service necessary to safeguard life, health, property, and the welfare of our community through preparedness, emergency response,

prevention, education, and training.

Values Establishing values and associated statements embraced by all members of an organization is extremely important. They recognize those features and considerations that make up the personality of the organization. EFD Internal Stakeholders agreed to the following values terms and supporting statements.

Table 9: Edmond Fire Department Values Statements

The Edmond Fire Department is dedicated to a unified set of values that define who we are and how we operate. We value...

Integrity: by upholding a compassionate, ethical service to our community.

Professionalism: through continuous improvement in our level of service by pursuing excellence in emergency response, education, prevention, preparedness and training.

Trustworthiness: by providing trustworthy service and responsible stewardship of our organization and resources.

Dedication: through faithful servants providing an excellent level of service to our community and organization.

Ethics: through unbiased care, service, leadership, and support while ensuring high moral standards.

The Mission and Values are the foundation of this agency. Thus, every effort will be made to keep these current and meaningful so that the individuals who make up the EFD are well guided by them in the accomplishment of the goals, objectives, and day-to-day tasks.

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Programs and Services

The EFD Internal Stakeholders identified the following core programs provided to the community, as well as the services that enable the agency to deliver those programs:

Table 10: Core Programs

Table 11: Support Services

Training Vehicle Maintenance

Information Technology Dispatch

State, County, City Emergency Management

Red Cross IAFF Local 2359

Law Enforcement Police Department

Community organizations Vendors

Media University of Central Oklahoma

National Guard State Fire Marshal’s Office

Safe Kids Building Department

Administration City Attorney

Human Resources Finance

Utility services Medical Director

Ground transport EMS services Facility Maintenance

Mutual Aid Departments Retired Firefighters Association

Air transport EMS services Local hospitals

Medical support Oklahoma State University

National Fire Academy Local, State, and Federal agencies

Fire Suppression Fire Prevention/Life Safety

Emergency Medical Services Domestic Preparedness Planning and Response

Technical Rescue Fire Investigation

Hazardous Materials Public Education

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S.W.O.T. Analysis

The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is designed to have an agency candidly identify its positive and less-than-desirable attributes. The EFD participated in this activity to record their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the possible opportunities and potential threats.

Strengths

It is important for any organization to identify its strengths in order to assure that it is capable of providing the services requested by the community and to ensure that strengths are consistent with the issues facing the organization. Often, identification of organizational strengths leads to the channeling of efforts toward primary community needs that match those strengths. Programs that do not match organizational strengths, or the primary function of the organization, should be seriously reviewed to evaluate the rate of return on staff time. Through a consensus process, the Internal Stakeholders identified the strengths of the EFD as follows:

Table 12: Strengths of the Edmond Fire Department

Equipment Personnel

Facilities Budget - dedicated funding

Apparatus Training

Scope of service Diverse skill set

Knowledge base Desire / Commitment

Dedication to community Vision to future

Resilience Adaptability

Internal support services Strong division leadership

Organizational structure Station locations

C.I.S.D. Team Compassion

Family oriented Labor/management relationship

Resourceful Fortitude and tenacity - get things done!

Reputation Mutual aid / automatic aid - enhancement

Customer service / care Youthful membership / experienced membership

Flexible, well trained recruits (trained by department skilled professionals)

Attitude Response

Partnerships within the City of Edmond structure - intercity relationships

Informal Leadership Internal S.C.B.A. program

ALS medical response Special operations and regional response

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Weaknesses

Performance or lack of performance within an organization depends greatly on the identification of weaknesses and how they are confronted. While it is not unusual for these issues to be at the heart of the organization’s overall concerns, it is unusual for organizations to be able to identify and deal with these issues effectively on their own.

For any organization to either begin or to continue to move progressively forward, it must not only be able to identify its strengths, but also those areas where it functions poorly or not at all. These areas of needed enhancements are not the same as threats to be identified later in this document, but rather those day-to-day issues and concerns that may slow or inhibit progress. The following items were identified by the Internal Stakeholders as weaknesses:

Table 13: Weaknesses of the Edmond Fire Department

EMS / Training / Protocols EMS/ equipment

Communications (day to day, non-emergency calendar) Retirement preparation

Special operations training ( EMS, HazMat, TRT and Dive team)

Challenges in performing building inspections Officer development

Dispatch (old technology) Personal development

Leadership not listening to ideas from all ranks Lack of practical experience

Lack of direction (too many directions at one time) Policies and procedures

Call prioritization -non emergency vs. emergency Recognition for job well done

Inconsistency in discipline Challenging personnel utilization

Lack of Public Information Program Low manpower

Vision for promotion (road map) Low job satisfaction

Depth - special services and succession Consistent level of service

Personnel evaluations Data collection and dissemination

Job descriptions - not current Company level training

Lessons learned from emergencies and Post Incident Analysis (PIA)

Lack of mutual and automatic aids Inter-agency training

Standardized call alarms Run cards

Communication of maintenance issues Use of information technology

Burn Permits (process) Use of training grounds

Agency transparency Shift inconsistencies

Post incident documentation Lack of accountability

Uniformity in pay scale Labor management relations

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Consistent expectations of personnel Motivational incentives

Lack of minimum physical fitness standard Pre-fire planning program

Vision and the communication of the vision Station locations

Lack of fitness program, personnel accountability

Opportunities

The opportunities for an organization depend on the identification of strengths and weaknesses and how they can be enhanced. The focus of opportunities is not solely on existing service, but on expanding and developing new possibilities both inside and beyond the traditional service area. The Internal Stakeholders identified the following potential opportunities:

Table 14: Opportunities for the Edmond Fire Department

Training - external Education - external opportunities

Mutual and automatic aid Funding

Networking EMS community paramedicine

Public relations Ensure mutual aid response

Service feedback Citizens Fire Academy

Technology Equipment - utilization of external resources

Technical expertise - external resources such as training, mobile assets

Additional services - based on needs and ability to supply to the department.

Community involvement Department growth ( sharing ideas)

Alliances Personal growth (external opportunities)

Political relationships Provide consistent regional training

Public service announcements Continuity with external stakeholders

Transparency Communications - external outreach

Social media Patient outcome - feedback - report on quality of life

Accreditation Plan future station placement

CPR Edmond Improve ISO Rating

Mentorship Impacts of code development

Credentialing Ambulance service - EFD providing patient transport

Regional Teams (HazMat, TRT) Improve image with other city departments

Fire Wise Utilization of city resources (mapping)

Child passenger seat technicians Improve interaction with outside agencies

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Faster response times - improve alarm handling issues

Make the agency more family oriented, events that include family

Railroad response - training and response opportunities

Threats

To draw strength and gain full benefit of any opportunity, the threats to the organization, with their new risks and challenges, must also be identified in the strategic planning process. By recognizing possible threats, an organization can greatly reduce the potential for loss. Fundamental to the success of any strategic plan is the understanding that threats are not completely and/or directly controlled by the organization. Some of the current and potential threats identified by the Internal Stakeholders were as follows:

Table 15: Threats to the Edmond Fire Department

Economy Budget

Population growth Traffic

Technologies Evolution of HazMat

Public image and opinions Weather of all types

Terrorism Politics

Language barriers Social media

Litigation Resource needs for future development

Privatization Seasonal impacts to lake response

Water supply Loss of voter support

Diversity (lack of understanding of the diverse culture within the community)

Drought plus red cedars - vegetation growth that impacts wild land fires

Communication / cooperation within the City of Edmond

Changes in building materials and construction processes

Resource shortages for Mass Casualty Incidents

External environment affecting service delivery

Changes in leadership / ICMA Patient transport

Change in community needs Unfunded State and federal mandates

Forced consolidation External traditions

Poorly informed public Lack of automatic aid

Lack of federal funding / grants Lack of city department communication

Aging infrastructure Control of arson investigation

Response safety

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Critical Issues and Service Gaps

After reviewing the EFD’s core programs and support services, and identifying the internal strengths and weaknesses along with external opportunities and threats, the Internal Stakeholders identified their primary critical issues and service gaps. These provide the foundation for the establishment of goals and objectives in order to meet the future vision of the EFD.

Table 16: Critical Issues

Training Policies and Processes Emergency Communications

Work Force Planning External Systems Relationships

Table 17: Service Gaps

Training External Relationships

Technology External and Internal Communications

Strategic Initiatives

Having reviewed the agency’s critical issues and service gaps, the following strategic initiatives were identified to guide the agency in establishing the goals and objectives.

Table 18: Strategic Initiatives

Training External Systems Relationships

Emergency Communications External and Internal Communications

Workforce Planning Policies and Processes

Technology Accreditation

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“If you don’t keep score, you’re only practicing.”

Vince Lombardi, American Football Coach and Motivator

Goals and Objectives

The Community-Driven Strategic Planning Process, to this point, has dealt with establishing the Mission, Values, S.W.O.T., Critical Issues and Service Gaps of the EFD. In order to achieve the mission of the EFD, realistic goals and objectives must be established to enhance strengths, address identified weaknesses, provide individual members with clear direction, and address the concerns of the community. The internal stakeholders met for several hours to complete this critical phase of the planning process.

The internal stakeholders set timelines for completion of objectives supporting the goals. Leadership of the EFD should establish work groups to meet periodically to review progress toward these goals and objectives and adjust timelines as needs and the environment change. Once the work groups are established and have had the opportunity to meet and review the goals and objectives, they should report back to EFD leadership with a plan on how the goals are to be achieved.

As goals and objectives are management tools, they should be updated on an on-going basis to identify what has been accomplished and to note changes within the organization and the community. The attainment of a performance target should be recognized and celebrated to provide a sense of organizational accomplishment.

The goals and objectives should now become the focus of the efforts of the agency. By following these goals and objectives carefully, the agency can be directed into its desired future while having reduced the obstacles and distractions along the way.

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Goal 1 To ensure the quality and consistency of standardized training within the agency and as applicable to external agencies.

Objective 1A Identify, analyze, evaluate, current internal training.

Timeframe Begin January 2014 - 9 months

Critical Tasks

Review training records for the previous 2-3 years. Research and identify required training needed. Identify and inventory current personnel certifications. Research training standards for ranks and disciplines (officer, driver, firefighter, and

technical rescue, hazardous materials dive team, EMS, fire prevention, domestic preparedness/terrorism development). Standards should be applicable to the level of service delivery provided by the department.

Establish training standards ensuring compliance with current job descriptions and current promotion policies.

Compare standards to historical training records information and identify gaps. Identify capabilities of current training facility relative to overcoming identified gaps. Report all information to administration for further action or recommendation.

Funding Estimate

Capital Costs: Personnel Costs:

Consumable Costs: Contract Services Costs:

Objective 1B Identify, analyze, and evaluate current external, training and opportunities. Timeframe Begin January 2014 - 12 months

Critical Tasks

Identify external training partners and other external training opportunities that would enhance training and service delivery.

Evaluate needs of partner agencies and compare to current departmental needs of EFD. Identify capabilities of partners and facilities and compare to delivery potential by EFD. Report all findings to administration for further action or recommendation.

Funding Estimate



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Objective 1C Research and develop training options to meet needs of present and future. Timeframe Begin October 2014 - 3 months

Critical Tasks

Identify alternative funding mechanisms for internal and external training. Ensure current facilities, props, and equipment, meet training needs; or revise and

procure based on established research and analysis. Develop training programs to meet required and extra, desired training for internal

personnel and with an understanding of the external partnerships. Evaluate current internal personnel for the credentialing and certification to provide

the developed programs. Investigate external instruction sources to cover those programs where internal

personnel cannot meet requirements. Set a plan to ensure instructors certifications and credentials will meet requirements in

the future. Conduct annual analysis for the developed training programs and revise as needed.

This includes future funding requests. Funding Estimate



Objective 1D Implement or launch the identified new training programs. Timeframe Begin January 2015 - 1 Year

Critical Tasks

Prioritize all training programs to ensure all required training is conducted during the proposed timeframe.

Further review, revise and develop curriculum. Establish a monthly, quarterly and annual calendar for training and ensure it is the only

calendar that exists. Ensure all personnel have access and understanding of all calendars. Launch all training programs as scheduled. Utilize feedback tools after each training program to understand strengths and

weaknesses of the delivery. Report findings and information based on the feedback tools. Revise programs as recommended or prescribed.

Funding Estimate



Objective 1E Annually review and revise training programs based on requirements and future needs.

Timeframe Begin January 1, 2014 - Ongoing

Critical Tasks

Conduct an annual review of all training programs delivered as well as the established cache of instructors.

Identify and examine future training needs. Report all information to administration for overall review or recommendation. Make all revisions as directed.

Funding Estimate



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Goal 2 To identify and enhance the external systems and relationships in order to better meet the departments’ mission.

Objective 2A Identify and analyze external system relationships impacting the organization. Timeframe Begin July 2014 - 6 Months

Critical Tasks

Identify all external agencies that impact the department’s mission and review any contracts for appropriateness of terms.

Analyze external systems to identify service gaps that negatively impact the department.

Determine and implement any changes needed in procedures and operations to close identified service gaps.

Report all findings to administration for further action or recommendation. Funding Estimate



Objective 2B Create a plan of shared visions and expectations among external agencies. Timeframe Begin January 2014 - 12 Months

Critical Tasks

Develop a committee to establish shared values and expectations Identify the needs of the department’s external agency partners. Analyze system service changes to determine if external agency needs and expectations

are met. Report all findings to administration for further action or recommendation.

Funding Estimate



Objective 2C Develop a plan to maintain control of our emergency response mechanism in order to provide continuous improvement to the department’s consistent high level of service.


Critical Tasks

Develop a task force to analyze and evaluate external agency response systems. Review and analyze response data. Develop a plan to address any shortfalls identified during the review process. Implement the operational and procedures plan for emergency response improvement.

Set regularly scheduled task force meetings for ongoing review of operational efficiency.

Funding Estimate



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Objective 2D Develop a contingency plan for EMS transport.

Timeframe Begin July 2013 - 18 months

Critical Tasks

Develop a task force to define – operational, staffing, training, vehicle, and equipment needs for any developed contingency plan.

Identify any potential future partnerships. Identify any additional outside agencies that need contingency plan development Create a detailed cost analysis for contingency plan implementation. Review and update the operational and procedural aspects of the contingency plan

annually. Funding Estimate



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Goal 3 To improve our emergency communications to better serve the community

Objective 3A Identify the system’s components and conduct a needs analysis to determine the current value to the department and community.

Timeframe Begin March 2013 - 18 Months

Critical Tasks

Identify the principal stakeholders in the current communications system. Schedule an introductory meeting with the stakeholders. Inventory all system components and analyze performance in relation to current

mission(s). Classify components by use and type. Identify service gaps in the system. Prioritize service gaps by level of importance to affected agencies. Create and receive approval on a funding proposal to replace or add equipment to fill

needs. Dispose of unnecessary components.

Funding Estimate



Objective 3B Evaluate call types and appropriate response. Timeframe Begin March 2013 - 18 Months

Critical Tasks

Form a multi agency task force to evaluate response types. Collect and analyze all response time elements data. Develop an implementation plan to test recommended changes to ensure compatibility

with department’s mission and vision. Present findings and recommendations for improvement to the department’s

administration. Funding Estimate



Objective 3C Identify maintenance program for all communication system equipment. Timeframe Begin March 2013 - 18 Months

Critical Tasks

Form a committee to complete the following tasks: Complete a system wide inventory of all communications equipment. Identify agencies capable of evaluating the current status of the system’s equipment. Research options for equipment replacements, and maintenance. Develop and deliver proper training programs for new system components.

Funding Estimate



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Goal 4 To expand and enhance communications systems with both internal and external stakeholders.

Objective 4A Identify areas for improvement in the department’s internal communication system.


Critical Tasks

Develop and conduct a communications survey of department personnel. Review and analyze survey results. Create a list of recommendations, budget considerations, implementation timeframes,

and expected outcomes. Report all findings to administration for action or recommendation.

Funding Estimate



Objective 4B Identify areas for improvement in the inter-departmental communication system. Timeframe Begin July 2013 - 6 months

Critical Tasks

Identify city departments that regularly communicate with the fire department. Form a city, multi-department communications committee to evaluate current systems. Define current methods of inter-departmental communications. Identify methods of inter-departmental communication that have common system

improvement or enhancements. Review communication options that best serve all department stakeholders. Create a report of finding, including budget considerations, implementation process

and training program(s) to department administrations for consideration. Funding Estimate



Objective 4C Identify areas for improvement in external communications processes. Timeframe Begin July 2013 - 12 months

Critical Tasks

Create an education and communication task force. Identify and review current external communication processes Analyze feedback from community during external stakeholder meeting for strategic

planning. Create and disseminate a report of findings to target customers and department

administration for direction. Implement any improvement plans. Continually review and revise all external communication processes.

Funding Estimate



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Objective 4D Identify information technology options and processes to improve communication with internal and external customers.


Critical Tasks

Identify the current communication methods used by the department including any in the following;

o Print media o Television o Social media

Review and analyze current and available methods for departmental compatibility. Determine the best use method for each communication issue identified. Develop an implementation plan for selected processes. Develop and deliver any required training. Annually review the system and revise as determined.

Funding Estimate



Objective 4E Develop and deliver training programs for internal, interdepartmental, and external communications systems.


Critical Tasks

Identify training priorities for internal communication systems. Identify training priorities for interdepartmental communication systems. Develop and deliver training to the appropriate members of the internal and

interdepartmental groups. Develop and offer training and information to the public. Review systems and processes and revise as needed.

Funding Estimate



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Goal 5 Manage highly qualified personnel to effectively maximize and maintain productivity, strengths and overall services to our community.

Objective 5A Evaluate community and regional risks and needs relative to the impact of the community and regional risks on the current and future workforce.

Timeframe Begin July2013 - 24 Months

Critical Tasks

Identify taskforce members Determine community and regional risks and needs Analyze data Develop a plan to meet community needs Implement Evaluate Review and revise

Funding Estimate



Objective 5B Develop a plan to enhance labor – management relations. Timeframe Begin March 2013 - Ongoing

Critical Tasks

Identify shared values, develop a communications plan for areas of concerns to both parties

Create a labor and management committee and define scope of activity. Focus on mutual gains, bargaining (welfare of the public), and relations by objectives. Evaluate ongoing process

Funding Estimate



Objective 5C Complete a comprehensive workforce audit.

Timeframe Begin July 2013 - 24 Months

Critical Tasks

Define the scope of the audit. Identify workforce qualifications. Assess organizational needs. Identify resources and needs. Develop a plan to maximize organizational effectiveness Implement Evaluate plan Review and revise

Funding Estimate



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Objective 5D Provide a plan for an appropriate workforce to safely accomplish potential responses determined from our all hazards risk and needs analysis.


Critical Tasks

Determine if current staffing levels match needs to accomplish EFD strategies and tasks Ensure proper training to meet the needs of strategies and tasks Educate and inform workforce to the hazards and risk safety policies, procedures, and

changes Implement workforce plan Review and revise

Funding Estimate



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Goal 6 To enhance and standardize departmental operations to ensure efficiency, direction, safety, and welfare of the Edmond Fire Department personnel.

Objective 6A Identify, evaluate, and analyze current policies and processes.

Timeframe Begin March 2013 - Ongoing

Critical Tasks

Establish committee (command staff, subject matter experts) to review policies and processes.

Evaluate effectiveness and relevance of current policies and processes. Identify and research applicable national standards. Identify deficiencies in current policies and processes.

Funding Estimate



Objective 6B Research and develop needed policies and processes. Timeframe Begin March 2013 - Ongoing

Critical Tasks

Compare to applicable national standards and best practices Develop policies and processes Identify budget needs to fund policies and processes Approve policies and processes ( staff, labor, city) Implementation and training

Funding Estimate



Objective 6C Evaluate, review and revise policies and processes. Timeframe Begin March 2013 - Ongoing

Critical Tasks

Develop annual review process for all existing policies Ensure current processes are reviewed and upgraded periodically Document revision cycles Update as needed

Funding Estimate



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Goal 7 To improve technology in order to meet the demands of the department and community.

Objective 7A Evaluate and prioritize service gaps.


Critical Tasks

Form a committee to identify gaps (internal and external). Prioritize according to safety of personnel and public and core programs. Identify funding availability. Review and evaluate progress, and report to administration.

Funding Estimate



Objective 7B Evaluate current technology for system improvement. Timeframe Begin March 2013 - 9 Months

Critical Tasks

Evaluate current internal technology systems for potential improvement. Evaluate current external technology systems for potential improvement. Research emerging technology for future integration into operational and enhanced

systems. Determine impact on safety and service. Make recommendations on findings for future plan development.

Funding Estimate



Objective 7C Design plan to improve technology for the department and community. Timeframe Begin July 2013 - 12 Months

Critical Tasks

Prioritize need versus greatest benefit to the department and community. Research funding opportunities for needed improvements. Make revisions and recommendations for implementation. Make recommendations for purchase.

Funding Estimate



Objective 7D Implement the designed plan to improve technology. Timeframe Begin July 2014 - 6 Months

Critical Tasks

Disseminate information to internal and external stakeholders. Train personnel of all changes affecting operations and systems. Evaluate performance of plan implementation and all impacts. Make revisions and recommendations as needed and authorized.

Funding Estimate



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Goal 8 Prepare for, pursue, achieve and maintain international accreditation.

Objective 8A Prepare a community-driven strategic plan.

Timeframe Begin January 2013 - 3 months and ongoing

Critical Tasks

Hold an external stakeholder meeting where community members provide feedback on program priorities, service expectations, departmental concerns and strengths perceived about the fire department.

Provide internal stakeholder work sessions to evaluate and update if necessary the mission, vision and values, to determine internal strengths and weaknesses, external opportunities and threats, establish critical issues and service gaps, determine goals and objectives to achieve over five years.

Determine a work plan for the accomplishment of each goal and implement the plan. Annually evaluate objectives accomplished with the plan. Report annual plan progress to internal and external stakeholders.

Funding Estimate



Objective 8B Conduct a community hazards and risk assessment, and publish a Community Risk and Standards of Cover document.

Timeframe Begin July 2013 - 6 – 12 months

Critical Tasks

Receive customized instruction on hazard and risk assessment, and standards of cover document preparation.

Perform community hazards and risk assessment. Evaluate historical community emergency response performance and coverage. Establish benchmark and baseline emergency response performance objectives. Establish and publish Standards of Cover. Maintain, and annually update the Standards of Cover document.

Funding Estimate



Objective 8C Conduct and document a self-assessment appraisal of the department utilizing the CPSE/CFAI Fire and Emergency Services Self Assessment Manual criteria.


Critical Tasks

Receive customized instruction on writing a CFAI self-assessment manual. Post self-assessment manual category and criterion writing to the CPSE Technical

Advisor SharePoint site for review and comment. Upon document review completion, host a self-assessment site study for CPSE

Technical Advisor review and report. Upon receipt of CPSE Self-Assessment Site Study Report, evaluate observations and

recommendations to determine readiness for “Candidate Agency” status. Implement necessary adjustments as required for CFAI Candidate Agency status.

Funding Estimate



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Objective 8D Achieve agency accreditation by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.


Critical Tasks

Apply for “Candidate Agency” status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

Prepare for CFAI Peer Assessor Team visit. Upload Strategic Plan, Standards of Cover and Self-Assessment Categories and Criterion

for review and comment by CFAI Peer Team. Host CFAI Peer Team site visit for accreditation review. Receive CFAI Peer Team recommendation to CFAI for Accredited status. Receive an Accredited status vote in the CFAI hearings, achieving International

Accreditation. Funding Estimate



Objective 8E Maintain agency accreditation with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

Timeframe Ongoing

Critical Tasks

Submit required Annual Compliance Reports. Attend regularly scheduled CFAI “Dayroom Discussion” web-meetings to ensure

continued education on the CFAI model. Participate in the accreditation process by providing “peer assessors” for external

agency review and identification of possible best practices. Participate in the annual CPSE Excellence Conference for continued education and

networking with other accreditation teams and accredited agencies. Submit Annual Compliance Reports as required by CFAI policies. Establish succession development of internal accreditation team in preparation for next

accreditation cycle. Funding Estimate



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Vision On the final day of the process, the CPSE presented EFD a revised vision of where the agency will be in the future. This vision provides a target of excellence that the organization will strive toward and provide a basis for its goals and objectives.

Table 19: Edmond Fire Department Vision

The vision of the Edmond Fire Department is that, by the year 2018, the department will be recognized as an agency that reflects best practices in the delivery of services to our customers. In honoring our community’s trust, we are setting the standards of excellence; guided by our values of integrity, professionalism, trustworthiness, dedication, and ethical behavior.

We will demonstrate continuous improvement in all duties and responsibilities as well as by enhancing the services that our community trusts us to provide. Through enhanced communications initiatives, our community will be served with the best, expeditious response. We will do this by maintaining a high level of readiness and by focusing on the professional development and training of all our personnel.

We recognize the importance of and will foster improvement in our external systems relationships to further support our delivery to the community. With a comprehensive workforce planning initiative, we will invest in our greatest organizational assets, and ensure that our workforce is appropriately staffed and professionally developed to best accomplish our mission.

Our strengthened systems of internal and external communication will prove our unified intent to meet or exceed the expectations of our community and to hold one another accountable for carrying out our mission, living our values, and ensuring that this vision becomes reality.

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Performance Measurement

“Managing for Results”

As output measurement can be challenging, the organization must focus on the assessment of progress toward achieving improved output. Collins states, “What matters is not finding the perfect indicator, but settling upon a consistent and intelligent method of assessing your output results, and then tracking your trajectory with rigor.”3 They must further be prepared to revisit and revise their goals, objectives, and performance measures to keep up with accomplishments and environmental changes. It has been stated that:

…successful strategic planning requires continuing review of actual accomplishments in comparison with the plan…periodic or continuous environmental scanning to assure that unforeseen developments do not sabotage the adopted plan or that emerging opportunities are not overlooked. 4

Why Measure Performance?

It has been said that:

In order to establish that the EFD’s Strategic Plan is achieving results, performance measurement data will be implemented and integrated as part of the plan. An integrated process, known as “Managing for Results,” will be utilized, which is based upon the following:

The identification of strategic goals and objectives; The determination of resources necessary to achieve them; The analyzing and evaluation of performance data; and The use of that data to drive continuous improvement in the organization.

3 Collins Good to Great and the Social Sectors. Boulder, 2009 4 Sorkin, Ferris and Hudak. Strategies for Cities and Counties. Public Technology, 1984.

If you don’t measure the results of your plan, you can’t tell success from failure.

If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it.

If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding failure.

If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it.

If you can’t recognize failure, you can’t correct it.

If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support.

Reinventing Government David Osborn and Ted Gaebler

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A “family of measures” that is typically utilized to indicate and measure performance includes the following:

Inputs: Value of resource used to produce an output.

Outputs: Quantity or number of units produced which are activity- oriented and measurable.

Efficiency: Inputs used per output (or outputs per input).

Service Quality: The degree to which customers are satisfied with a program, or how accurately or timely a service is provided.

Outcome: Qualitative consequences associated with a program/service; i.e., the ultimate benefit to the customer. Outcome focuses on the ultimate “why” of providing a service.

The Success of the Strategic Plan

The EFD has approached its desire to develop and implement a Strategic Plan by asking for and receiving input from the community and members of the agency during the development stage of the planning process. The agency utilized professional guidance and the Community-Driven Strategic Planning Process to compile this document. The success of the EFD’s Strategic Plan will not depend upon implementation of the goals and their related objectives, but from support received from the authority having jurisdiction, membership of the agency, and the community at-large.

Provided the community-driven strategic planning process is kept dynamic and supported by effective leadership and active participation, it will be a considerable opportunity to unify internal and external stakeholders through a jointly developed understanding of organizational direction; how all vested parties will work to achieve the mission, goals, and vision; and how the organization will measure and be accountable for its progress and successes.5

5 Matthews (2005). Strategic Planning and Management for Library Managers

“No matter how much you have achieved, you will always be merely good relative to what you can become. Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point.”

Good to Great and the Social Sectors Jim Collins

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Glossary of Terms, Acronyms, Initialisms

For the purposes of the Community-Driven Strategic Planning, the following terms and acronyms have the meanings set forth below:

Accreditation A process by which an association or agency evaluates and recognizes a program of study or an institution as meeting certain predetermined standards or qualifications. It applies only to institutions or agencies and their programs of study or their services. Accreditation ensures a basic level of quality in the services received from an agency.

CAD Computer Aided Dispatch

CISD Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

CPR Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation

Customer(s) The person or group who establishes the requirement of a process and receives or uses the outputs of that process; or the person or entity directly served by the department or agency.

Efficiency A performance indication where inputs are measured per unit of output (or vice versa).

EMSA Emergency Medical Services Authority

Environment Circumstances and conditions that interact with and affect an organization. These can include economic, political, cultural, and physical conditions inside or outside the boundaries of the organization.

H.O.A. Home Owners Association(s)

Input A performance indication where the value of resources are used to produce an output.

IAFF International Association of Firefighters

ISO Insurance Services Office

Mission An enduring statement of purpose; the organization's reason for existence. Describes what the organization does, for whom it does it, and how it does it.

NFPA National Fire Protection Association

Outcome A performance indication where qualitative consequences are associated with a program/service; i.e., the ultimate benefit to the customer.

Output A performance indication where a quality or number of units produced is identified.

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Performance Measure A specific measurable result for each goal and/or program that indicates achievement.

PIO Public Information Officer

SCBA Self-contained breathing apparatus

Stakeholder Any person, group, or organization that can place a claim on, or influence the organization's resources or outputs, is affected by those outputs, or has an interest in or expectation of the organization.

Strategic Goal A broad target that defines how the agency will carry out its mission over a specific period of time. An aim; the final result of action. Something to accomplish in assisting the agency to move forward.

Strategic Management An integrated systems approach for leading and managing in a changing world by building consensus of the leadership group, both in shared vision of the desired future and a clarified mission for the organization, and by gaining support and participation of the people in the organization to identify specific changes that must be made, implementing them, and assessing organizational performance.

Strategic Objective A specific, measurable accomplishment required to realize the successful completion of a strategic goal.

Strategic Plan A long-range planning document that defines the mission of the agency and broadly identifies how it will be accomplished, and that provides the framework for more detailed annual and operational plans.

Strategic Planning The continuous and systematic process whereby guiding members of an organization make decisions about its future, develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future, and determine how success is to be measured.

Strategy A description of how a strategic objective will be achieved. A possibility. A plan or methodology for achieving a goal.

TRT Technical Rescue Team

Vision An idealized view of a desirable and potentially achievable future state - where or what an organization would like to be in the future.

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Works Cited Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (3rd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Collins, J. (2009). Good to Great and the Social Sectors. Boulder: Jim Collins.

Commission on Fire Accreditation International. (2009). Fire & Emergency Service Self-Assessment Manual. (8th Ed.)

Federal Benchmarking Consortium. (1997, February). Serving the American Public: Best Practices in Customer-Driven Strategic Planning. Retrieved April 25, 2009, from GovInfo: http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/papers/benchmark/customer.html

Griffin, R. W. (2008). Fundamentals of Management (Fifth Ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Sorkin, Ferris, & Hudak. (1984). Strategies for Cities and Counties. Public Technology.

Wheeland, C. M. (2004). Empowering the Vision – Community-Wide Strategic Planning in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

edmond fire department strategic plan 2013 - 2018

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