norfolk fire division annual report 2008

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NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008 OPERATIONS BUREAU It was a challenging year for the Operations Bureau. Fire personnel responded to 2,150 emergency calls. This call load along with maintaining the operational readiness of our staff, equipment, and facilities made for a very busy year. SPECIALIZED TRAINING IN 2008 All paid and reserve staff participated in the annual Multiple Company Night Drill. Mutual aid towns Madison, Battle Creek, and Hadar also participated. The 2008 drill was a hostage situation at a school with multiple causalities. Other participants in the drill were LifeNet, American Red Cross, Region 11 Emergency Management, Elkhorn/Logan Valley Health Department and Faith Regional Health Services. Faith Regional Medical Explorers also participated as patients. We continued with our training program of bringing in off-duty staff to cover first line calls while the on-duty shift trains. This program allows paid staff to receive three hours of uninterrupted training each month. This monthly training is centered on drills taking several hours to complete and/or drills requiring the shift to train as a unit. Paramedic refresher training was conducted through Northeast Community College. All paramedics received 24 hours of annual refresher training. This training is mandatory for maintaining a paramedic license. Two staff officers attended a two day class on preparing our department for a line of duty death. Two staff members attended a 12 hour course on the Art of Reading Smoke and one staff member took a two day course on Technical Rope Rescue.

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Page 1: NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008

NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL

REPORT

2008

OPERATIONS BUREAU

It was a challenging year for the Operations

Bureau. Fire personnel responded to 2,150

emergency calls. This call load along with

maintaining the operational readiness of our

staff, equipment, and facilities made for a very

busy year.

SPECIALIZED TRAINING IN 2008

All paid and reserve staff participated in the

annual Multiple Company Night Drill. Mutual

aid towns Madison, Battle Creek, and Hadar

also participated. The 2008 drill was a hostage

situation at a school with multiple causalities.

Other participants in the drill were LifeNet,

American Red Cross, Region 11 Emergency

Management, Elkhorn/Logan Valley Health

Department and Faith Regional Health Services.

Faith Regional Medical Explorers also

participated as patients.

We continued with our training program of

bringing in off-duty staff to cover first line calls

while the on-duty shift trains. This program

allows paid staff to receive three hours of

uninterrupted training each month. This

monthly training is centered on drills taking

several hours to complete and/or drills

requiring the shift to train as a unit.

Paramedic refresher training was conducted

through Northeast Community College. All

paramedics received 24 hours of annual

refresher training. This training is mandatory

for maintaining a paramedic license.

Two staff officers attended a two day class on

preparing our department for a line of duty

death. Two staff members attended a 12 hour

course on the Art of Reading Smoke and one

staff member took a two day course on

Technical Rope Rescue.

Page 2: NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008

NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL

REPORT

2008

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TRAINING

Monthly training was conducted on hazardous

materials. Staff members attended an 8 hour

course on HazMat standards NFPA 472, an 80

hour HazMat Technician course, a 24 hour

HazMat refresher course and a 3 hour course

on gas pipe line awareness.

In 2008 members of our Hazardous Materials

Team were asked to present decontamination

classes to regional hospitals. The classes were

presented to six different hospitals, focusing on

mass casualty and emergency decontamination

of self reporting victims.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

Emergency medical services continued to be the

most demanding level of service for the

Operations Bureau in 2008. We responded to

1,810 rescue calls, encountering 2,061 patients.

The division was staffed with 26 paramedics, 7

EMTs and 27 Reserve fire fighters in 2008.

The types of run responses made by the rescue

units are reflected on graph.

In 2008 all paramedics were taught how to use

a new piece of equipment called the EZ-IO. The

EZ-IO is a life-saving device used to establish a

fluid or medication line directly into a patient’s

bone marrow in critical situations where the

patient’s veins have either collapsed or

otherwise not accessible by a typical

intravenous needle. Essentially, a battery-

powered drill is affixed with a needle which is

drilled through the bone and introduced into

the bone marrow which contains a network of

venous sinusoids. This allows access to a

patient’s central circulatory system in critical

cases where fluid replacement and/or

medication administration are paramount.

Page 3: NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008

NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL

REPORT

2008

SINGLE POINT ENTRY FOR FIRE AND EMS

REPORTS

The Norfolk Fire Division is utilizing Image

Trend software for Fire and Emergency

Medical Service (EMS) incident reporting.

The program is Internet based and links two

report types, resulting in single data entry.

The process has been successful from field

entry of incident data by the responders, to

storage of the data on our host server, to

electronic reporting of the respective data

to the State of Nebraska Health and Human

Services and Fire Marshal’s office, as

statutorily required.

On April 15, the Norfolk Fire Division began

using Image Trend’s Fire Bridge (Norfolk

Bridge trial software) to collect data for the

National Fire Incident Reporting System

(NFIRS). Startup was smooth and no

redundancy on our prior program was

necessary. We successfully downloaded the

first data from Image Trend software to the

Nebraska Fire Marshal’s office and have

continued without complications.

In order to utilize the Field Bridge for EMS

reporting, our Information Management

staff made the necessary secure wireless

connections available in both stations and

while in the field.

On May 12, the Norfolk Fire Division began

EMS reporting on Image Trend’s Norfolk

Bridge trial software. We continue to utilize

the Field Bridge for data entry and post

each run to the Norfolk Bridge. After the

EMS run is posted to the Norfolk Bridge it is

then associated to a NFIRS report and

completed. The data elements common to

the EMS report are transferred into the

NFIRS report, achieving true single point

entry of data.

Currently we are posting ENARSIS

(ambulance reports) in weekly batches.

Once runs are posted our ambulance billing

can be done off the ENARSIS site.

Image Trend’s software accomplished the

combined emergency medical services and

fire incident reporting the Nebraska fire

service has long sought. Norfolk took the

lead in this endeavor becoming the first in

the state to reach the goal of single point

data entry. They continue to add features

to this software as part of the ongoing

expansion process. Among other things a

fire inspection module is currently being

developed and will be implemented when

available. We look forward to working with

the Department of Health and Human

Services and the State Fire Marshal’s Office

in developing new cutting edge software for

the fire service.

NEW EQUIPMENT PLACED IN

SERVICE IN 2008

Two new pieces of equipment were added to

the fleet in 2008. They were a Zodiac Boat and

a 4x4 ATV.

Page 4: NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008

NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL

REPORT

2008

The ATV is the property of the Nebraska State

Fire Marshal’s Office; however, it is stored at

our main station. In exchange, it is available for

our use when needed. In 2008 we were able to

respond to five different calls along the cowboy

trail using the ATV. It is also used as a quick

response unit during parades and the Big Bang

Boom celebration at Skyview Lake.

The Zodiac is a 15’ 5” inflatable boat which has

a payload of 2800 lbs, and is powered by a 25

HP four stroke Suzuki motor. The boat’s

primary use is for dive and swift water rescue

operations. In 2008 it was used for two rescue

responses. One was a successful rescue of a

boater at Skyview Lake who had capsized his

sailboat in the middle of the lake and was

clinging to his boat. The second was in

response to a possible rescue of several people

who had canoed the flood waters of the Elkhorn

River. Zodiacs are proven to be very stable for

swift water rescue operations and would have

been a valuable asset if this rescue would have

necessitated it. The Zodiac was purchased with

money from an Emergency Management

Program Grant.

On July 18 the Norfolk Fire Division received

grant approval from the Department of

Homeland Security for the Assistance to

Firefighters Grant. We were approved for a

90/10 share of $78,340 for the purchase of 36

sets of personal protective equipment.

The Operations Bureau is looking forward to

2009 and the challenges it will bring. Through

continual learning and vigilant preparation, we

feel confident we can meet those challenges.

FIRE/RESCUE STATISTICS

The above graph reveals the dollar fire loss

for the past five years. The loss for 2008

was lower than the prior three years but

higher than 2004. The largest fire loss in

2008 was a rural farm residence which was

a complete loss. A fire at Don’s Auto

Repair, 1215 S. Logan also incurred over

$100,000 damage.

Page 5: NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008

NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL

REPORT

2008

There were 108 actual fires during 2008.

Damage was also caused by lightning and

defective electrical ballasts during the year.

The following graph breaks down the type

of fire responses that occurred in 2008.

REGION 11

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Region 11 continued strengthening

relationships with the twelve county Northeast

Region of emergency management during 2008.

The State of Nebraska encourages statewide

regionalization for communication, response

and training purposes. In February, Region 11

participated in a northeast region two-day

exercise involving an agricultural disaster. This

exercise not only brought together the 12

counties, but also members of law

enforcement, elected and appointed officials

and livestock officials.

The Homeland Security grant program

continued its goal of interoperable

communications statewide, as well as fully

equipped and trained hazardous materials

teams. Region 11 has been fortunate with the

amount grant dollars that have been available

for extensive equipment purchases, training

and exercises.

Region 11 also continues its agreement with the

Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District to

work with JEO Consulting to create a hazard

mitigation plan for the district. The plan

includes demographics, history, hazard

assessments and mitigation strategies for 49

communities and 13 counties. The plan will be

reviewed and finalized by all entities during

2009.

NORFOLK PLANNING

COMMISSION

The Norfolk Planning Commission held

twenty nine public hearings, approving

eleven zoning district changes, seven

conditional use permits, five amendments

to the comprehensive plan and a variety of

other actions. Seven of the zone changes

were to commercial designation and four

were to residential.

The commission approved five final plats

comprised of 19 lots. This is an unusually

low number of plat approvals which may be

a reflection of the general slowdown in the

economy.

The commission also recommended

approval of the one and six year street plan,

the wellhead protection study, the capital

improvement program and the blighted and

substandard study of the Roman’s

Development Area.

With the election of the former chair of the

Planning Commission, Sue Fuchtman, to

Page 6: NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL REPORT 2008

NORFOLK FIRE DIVISION ANNUAL

REPORT

2008

Mayor of Norfolk, a new commissioner was

appointed. Mechele Grimes fulfilled

Fuchtman’s term which expired in February

of 2009 and agreed to serve a full three

year term. The other members of the

commission are Suzanne Davis, Scott

Adams, Brian Lundy, Maynard Ohl, Ken

Boyer, Merlin Milander and Garry Murren.

J.J. Snodgrass serves as chair.

PREVENTION BUREAU

A total 405 building permits were issued in

2008, compared with 426 in 2007. The majority

of those permits were issued for alterations and

additions to one and two family dwellings. The

number of single family dwelling permits

increased from 33 to 54. The following reflects

permits issued by type of structure for 2007 and

2008 (not including permits for alterations and

additions).

The Fire Marshal’s office completed 616 fire

inspections and 88 fire investigations. The

Prevention Office conducted 46 programs to

3,371 people. Twenty three school programs

were conducted encountering 2,536 students.

The valuation of buildings permits issued

increased from $52,187,785.00 in 2007 to

$87,329,439.00 in 2008 although the number of

building permits fees decreased. The highest

permit valuations issued were $54,000,000 for

the bed tower addition at Faith Regional Health

Service, $7,777,500 for the new welcome

center at Northeast College and $1,400,000 for

the new Peterbuilt structure at 13th and

Monroe Avenue. The valuation of single family

dwellings was $8,470,659 for the year

compared to $7,019,160 for 2007. The

following is the average cost for a single family

dwelling for the past 10 years.