service to others a history of the department a proud tradition
TRANSCRIPT
SERVICE TO OTHERS
A HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT
A PROUD TRADITION
A NEED ARISES
• July 10, 1888– the Volunteer Fire Company Of Ellicott City
No.1 was formed • only organized fire protection for Howard County
until the 1930's
• August 7, 1937 – Savage Volunteer Fire Company
A NEED ARISES
• February 25, 1943 – Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department
• September 4, 1944 – West Friendship Volunteer Firemen’s Association
• October 26, 1944 – Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company
• October 16, 1947– Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department,
Clarksville
A NEED ARISES
• 1955 Legislative Session – Senate Bill 391 was passed by the Maryland
General Assembly • allowed for a special district fire tax for Howard
County.
• developed the funding for the six volunteer fire departments in the County.
A NEED ARISES
• 1959 – The all volunteer fire department was changed
to one supplemented with paid personnel – Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's Association
hired its first paid firefighter on May 4, 1959.– Another firefighter was hired on a part time
basis during that same year.
A NEED ARISES
• 1968 – The Howard County Fire Department was
established through legislative action– B. Harrison Shipley, Jr. was the first Fire
Coordinator for the fire department appointed by the County Commissioners.
– He served in that position until July 1971.
A NEED ARISES
• May 17,1969– Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department
dedicated the Banneker Station• the first fire department in the new town of
Columbia
• became the seventh station in the County
CHARTER GOVERNMENT ARRIVES
• 1969 – Howard County adopted Charter Form of
Government – The three County Commissioners were
replaced by a County Executive – Omar J. Jones was elected as the first
Executive for Howard County
CHARTER GOVERNMENT ARRIVES
• June 8, 1969 – County Executive Omar Jones, continued the
position of Fire Coordinator for the Howard County Fire Department
• 1971 – the Fire Coordinator’s title was
changed to Fire Administrator– B. Harrison Shipley, Jr. continued
to serve in this position
• Fire Service Study Committee of the Howard County Fire Advisory Board recommended to the County Executive that– a full time Fire Administrator be appointed– all employees of the volunteer departments
be transferred into the Howard County Classified Service as public safety employees
– Fire– Administrator operate a Volunteer Fire
Service supplemented by full‑ time paid career trained personnel
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR & CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR & CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE • County Executive accepted the
findings of this study and implemented these measures
• May 3, 1971– Paul F.J. LePore was appointed to this
position.– He was charged with the overall
administration, direction and control of the Fire Department
• 1971 the department's seven fire stations responded to 4,487 emergency incidents
• There were 46 pieces of fire equipment in the County
• fire service budget of $333,755 • The population of Howard County was approximately 62,000
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR & CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
• July 1, 1971– 29 career employees were assigned to four
of the six volunteer fire departments – These firefighters were transferred into
the Howard County Classified Service as public safety employees
– Today only one of these individuals is still in the system
• Deputy Chief Richard Freas
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR & CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
CHARTER GOVERNMENT ARRIVES
• July 1, 1974– Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's
Association placed in service the Bethany Fire Station. Station 8
• became the 8th fire station in the County
• October 5, 1974– Savage Volunteer Fire Company
dedicated the Long Reach Fire Station #9
• became the second fire department to be located in Columbia
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• 1975 – the Fire Administrator, Paul F.J LePore, by
administrative directive, divided the Department into three bureaus
• Operations
• Services
• Fire Prevention
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• Bureau of Operations– responsible for managing emergency
services • including the career and volunteer fire
fighters and emergency medical technicians
– provides guidance and direction for day to day operational activities of the department
– coordinates the capital budget for facilities and equipment
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• Bureau of Services – responsible for training, testing and
certification • both career and volunteer personnel
– responsible for information systems, records management and duties of the quartermaster
– operate from headquarters– provide training for career and volunteer
personnel at headquarters, fire stations and other locations
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• Bureau of Fire Prevention– administers county‑wide
• fire prevention programs
• code enforcement
• fire lane designation
• public safety education
• plans review
• departmental statistical analysis
– assist the State Fire Marshall in fire investigations
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• The Office of Emergency Management and Civil Defense– also the responsibility of the
Department of Fire and Rescue – emphasizes disaster preparedness and
coordination of the Federal Government Super‑Fund Amendments and Re‑Authorization Act(SARA)
THE BEGINNING OF ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT SERVICE
• June of 1975– The Department began advanced life
support service– Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's
Association placed the first Cardiac Rescue Unit in service at Station 2
– the department appointed a qualified physician to serve as an EMS consultant
– Savage Volunteer Fire Company placed an ALS unit in service in the fall of 1975
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1979– Paul F. J. Lepore retires
• January 15, 1979– B. Harrison Shipley, Jr.
returned as the full time Fire Administrator
– served in that position thru March 31, 1981
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1979– Banneker Station, Fire Station
# 7, was transferred from the Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department to the Howard County Fire Department
• first career operated fire station in the County
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1981– the Department was serving a
population of 125,187– responded to 10,781 emergency
incidents that year– Combination department of 90 career
and 376 volunteers
THE GROWING YEARS
• April 1, 1981– Robert Moore was appointed the
third Fire Administrator– administering a budget of
$3,427,845– he served until April1, 1983– May 9, 1981, Medic 1 placed in
service– Captain Donald
Howell(augmented Lisbon and other units to ALS)
THE GROWING YEARS
• August 11, 1983– William H. Austin became the fourth Fire
Administrator– Served until August 2,1985
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1985– Richard W. Shaw became the fifth
Fire Administrator– served until March 31, 1991 – the first Fire Administrator to have
served as both a career and volunteer firefighter in Howard County
THE GROWING YEARS
• May 18, 1987– SOP was issued for all departments
to discontinue riding on the rear step
• October 31, 1987– Rivers Park Station was dedicated– It was the tenth fire station in the
County– Station is located in the Village of
Kings Contrivance.
THE GROWING YEARS
• Spring of 1987 – a position of Emergency Medical
Services Coordinator was established by the Fire Administrator.
• Fall of 1987– position was retitled as EMS
Officer and became a Division under the Bureau of Operations
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1988– a change to the Charter resulted in a title
change from Fire Administrator toDirector.
– The name of the Department was also changed to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
– The operational concept for the Department shifted to one of career firefighters supplemented by volunteers
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1989 – Communications, which had previously been under
the operation of the Fire Administrator, was moved to the Department of General Services
THE GROWING YEARS
• April of 1991 – Darl R. McBride became the sixth
Director of Fire and Rescue Services – formerly of the Washington D.C. Fire
Department – brought the team building and
effective delivery system concepts to the Department
THE GROWING YEARS
• July 1,1991– the Long Reach and Rivers Park
Fire Stations were transferred to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services from the Savage Volunteer Fire Company.
– Three fire stations are now managed and operated by the career fire service
THE GROWING YEARS
• December 14, 1993– James E. Heller became the seventh
Director of Fire & Rescue Services– started his career with DFRS in
March of 1974 as a Lieutenant in charge of Training
THE GROWING YEARS
• April 19, 1994– Scaggsville Fire Station was dedicated– becoming our eleventh station– is located in the Public Safety Complex at Md.
Rt. 29 and Rt. 216
THE GROWING YEARS
• December 4, 2000– County Executive James N. Robey
appointed Joseph A. Herr– became the eighth Chief of Fire &
Rescue. Chief Herr– had served previously for 26 years as a
member of the District of Columbia Fire Department
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• July 1, 1991– The Department initiated a Customer
Service Program– organizational approach to creating
service excellence within the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
PROGRESS CONTINUES • November 1, 1991
– the Department implemented a team of personnel dedicated to provide operational support during special emergency incidents.
• This team is referred to as the Special Incident Response Team (SIRT).
• made up of both career and volunteer participants• The team is activated for special emergency
incidents such as – hazardous materials– mass casualty,– water rescue,– and other special incidents
PROGRESS CONTINUES • January 1, 1992
– the department placed in‑service a Mobile Command Van
• operated by the Special Incident Response Team
• the van is called "'Mobile One"
• features an on board Apple Macintosh Computer
– allows team members to implement the CAMEO Program, Computer Assisted Management of Emergency Operations
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• features a weather pack– allows for remote weather condition monitoring in
conjunction with the CAMEO program.
• Building pre‑plans and drawings are also stored on the unit
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• May 1996– approval was given for a compensated Medical
Director • Kevin Seaman presently serves in this position
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services is divided into six bureaus– Operations– Life Safety– Support Services(Emergency
Management)– CIT– Training– Administration
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• There are eleven fire stations
• House over 175 fully equipped pieces of emergency apparatus.
• There are – 287 career uniformed employees
working – approximately 175 operational and 225
administrative volunteer members
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY • Serve an area of 256 square miles.
• Provide emergency medical, fire and rescue services
• Career personnel are trained at the minimum level of EMT
• Eleven stations provide 24 hour dedicated ALS Units.
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• The department's career personnel use a A, B, C shift platoon system to provide 24 hour staffing
• Career personnel are assigned to a shift and work 24 hours on and 48 hours off
• Each company is managed by a Captain. • Field supervision is overseen by nine
Battalion Chiefs.
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• Our department is one of 21 original internationally accredited fire departments in the world. – was achieved in 1999 – we were re-accredited in 2004. – This effort will increase the level of
professionalism within the fire and rescue services
THE COST OF SERVICE • 2001
– The Department of Fire and Rescue Service responded to 26,154 emergency incidents
– generated over 50,000 emergency responses – provided fire and emergency medical protection
to a rapidly growing population of over 253,076
THE COST OF SERVICE
– The cost of services has increased by 40% over the last six years.
– The operating budget for fiscal year 2002 was in excess of 35 million dollars
THE ROAD AHEAD
• Several new fire station sites are currently under consideration– Mayfield and Cooksville
• plans to expand the number of department personnel are underway
• The department is preparing itself for the future challenges of a growing population and the urbanization of the County.
Significant Incidents
• June 21, 1972 – Tropical Storm Agnes
• 1974– Royston Auto, 10 Alarm, New
Car Preparation Facility
• September 25, 1975– Tropical Storm Eliose
Significant Incidents
• November 8, 1976– Normandy Bowling Lanes, Ellicott City
• December 10, 1976– Howard County Bureau of Highways Garage,
Rt. 97
• December 29, 1976– 5565 Harpers Farm Road
• January 16, 1977– 4931 Hale Orchis Court
Significant Incidents
• January 17, 1977– 5174 Brookway
• September 17, 1977– C. R. Daniels Mill, Daniels Md.
• 1982– Vantage Point Rd. Townhouse
• 2 Firefighters seriously injured
Significant Incidents
• November 14, 1984– Ellicott City Main Street - 6 Alarm
• October 30, 1988– 10338 Lombardi Road, Ellicott City -
2 fatal (5yr, 8yr)
• 1989– Turf Valley Overlook - Trench Rescue
- 1 fatal
• 1992– Tornado
Significant Incidents
• May 13, 1993– 9623 Basket Ring Rd. Apartment fire
• December 26, 1993– 10540 Gorman Road, $500,000.00
Loss
• July 16, 1994– 10320, 10322 Hickory Ridge - Chase
Glen Apts. $ 1.9 Million loss
• April 2, 1995– 5134 Thunder Hill Rd. - $ 150,000.00
Significant Incidents
• May 8, 1995– 12130 Fulton Estates Court - $
550,000.00 loss
• January 2, 1998– 10665 Gramercy Place - $1 Million loss
• November 9, 1999– Ellicott City Main Street - $ 2 Million
loss - 6 Alarm
“EDUCATE
PROTECT
SERVE”
Elkridge Station # 1
Ellicott City Station #2
West Friendship Station #3
Lisbon Station # 4
Clarksville Station # 5
Savage Station # 6
Station 7
Bethany Station #8
Long Reach Station # 9
Rivers Park Station # 10
Scagsville Station #11