Community2012 Year in Review

Report to the West Metro Fire Rescue

The year 2012 was a year during which West Metro FireRescue was challenged by the process of becoming an accredited fire department;hiring a new fire chief; financial challenges; as well as adding two new boardmembers. The summer of2012 proved to be challengingto firefighters battling wildfires throughout theUnited States. West MetroFirefighters responded to 55 wildfires including thedevastating Waldo CanyonFire in Colorado Springs. West Metro Fire Rescue was excited to showcase its Training Center by hosting the 18th Annual Family FireMuster. The event had over3,000 attendees enjoying a day of live saving fun. Be sureto mark your calendar andjoin us on September 28.

westmetrofire.org

Community2012 Year in Review

Report to the

Letter to the CommunityThe men and women of West Metro Fire Rescue take great pride in providing the publicwith the most professional fire, emergency medical response and injury prevention serv-ices possible. In 2012, West Metro Fire Rescue’s role as a leader in the fire service affectedthe lives of thousands of citizens within the District and beyond. As we reflect on this year,the following highlights deserve special attention:

One of the most exciting events of 2012 was receiving Accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Accreditation allows us to provide continuous quality

improvement and enhancement of service delivery to our community. We are proud to achieve this level ofprofessionalism and recognition by our peers throughout the United States. West Metro Fire Rescue is nowone of 161 fire departments who achieved the honor of being accredited.

West Metro Fire Rescue swore in two new Board Members and one incumbent in May. Kristina Moeder replaced Manny Chavez in District VI and Wendy Volmer replaced Ted Waller in District VII. Both Mr. Chavez and Mr. Waller were long time board members with West Metro Fire Rescue. Pam Feely, theBoard President, was re-elected to four additional years in District IV.

West Metro Fire Rescue received its 12th Consecutive Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded WestMetro Fire Rescue the award for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate ofAchievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

In September 2012 the 18th Annual Family Fire Muster was held at its new home of West Metro Fire RescueTraining Center and Station 10. This event focuses on preparedness and safety education for families andproves safety education can be fun. Over 3,000 people attended this year’s event.

As the new fire chief, I look forward to serving you and your fellow citizens into the future. The honor of serving our District and our citizens is a privilege my fellow firefighters and I appreciate.

2012 has not been without challenges. The continued economic conditions that we face have made us acutelyaware of where we allocate our resources to ensure that we provide the best service to our citizens at all times.We have been prudent in our spending and have maintained our reserves at a level that should allow us toweather the economic storm.

West Metro Fire Rescue has officially existed as a fire protection district for 16-years, but we have found thetraditions from both Bancroft and Lakewood Fire Protection Districts have melted into a rich history of service that we continue today.

Thank you for allowing us to serve you and your continued support. We look forward to 2013 and its manyopportunities for West Metro Fire Rescue to positively impact the lives of our citizens.

Fire Chief Don Lombardi

WESTMETRO FIRE RESCUE

2012 CALLS

Medical Calls16,443

66% of West Metro’s responses are for medical emergencies: w 68% Medical/Illness w 32% Trauma/Injury

Total Calls

25,188

Fire Related Calls8,086

West Metro Firefighters responded to 432 fire calls in 2012. Topthree causes of fire: w Euipment Failure/Heat Sourc (furnace, dryer, appliance) w Smoking materials (matches, lighters, cigarettes, etc.) w Electrical

Additional Calls659

Special Team Calls including w Hazardous Materials w Wildfire w Dive w High and low angle rescue calls

In 2012, West Metro Fire Rescue responded to 25,188 emergencies. The majority (66%) of our 911 emergenciescontinue to be for medical illness and injury. Several unusualincidents in 2012 left lasting impressions.

During the dry, summer months, West MetroFirefighters responded to wildfires in our districtand throughout the State of Colorado and UnitedStates. Firefighters were challenged by two-alarmfires in single family homes, townhomes and condominium complexes. Fortunately, there wereno significant injuries to citizens or firefighters.

The national media was captivated by a dog res-cue from a partially frozen Smith Reservoir in our district. Fortunately there was a positive outcomefor everyone . Our firefighters were called to numerous calls for help for dogs on the ice andinto the water in 2012.

Living along the foothills of the Rocky Mountainsrequires specialized technical skills to help rescuefallen or stranded hikers and mountain bikers.West Metro Firefighters train for rescues inrugged terrain like Red Rocks Park in high angleand low angle rescues. In 2012, West Metro Fire-fighters responded to 280 rescue calls for help.

Fire, Medical & Rescue Response

West Metro operates an internal apparatus replacement fund that enables us to replace very expensive apparatus when they have runtheir course without asking the taxpayers tofund new equipment.

West Metro replaced two medic units and onefire engine in 2012. Fire engines are generallyreplaced every 20 years and ambulances replaced every ten because of the high mileagethey accrue.

This chart illustrates the number of calls the crews assigned to each station respondedto in 2012. The total number is different from the total number of incidents (25,188)because multiple resources respond to individual incidents. Some stations housemore than one response vehicle, while others operate as a single resource.

Call Response by Station

Apparatus

Call Breakdown

EMS

Fires within the District

What is "Accreditation" and why is it important to the community?

Fire Department Accreditation is a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables organizationsto examine past, current, and future servicelevels and internal performance and comparethem to industry best practices. This processleads to improved service delivery.

Center for Public Safety Excellence’s (CPSE) Accreditation Program, administered bythe Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) reflects a comprehensiveself-assessment and evaluation model that enables fire and emergency service organizations to examine their service levels and performance in a way that allows themto compare to industry best practices.

Accreditation

2012 Calls vs. 2011 Calls

This process leads to improved service delivery by helping fire departments to:

* Determine community risk and safety needs.* Evaluate the performance of the department.* Establish a method for achieving continuous organizational improvement.

Local government executives face increasing pressure to "do more with less" and justify their expenditures by demonstrating a direct link to improved or expanded services. Particularly foremergency services, local officials need criteria toassess professional performance and efficiency. The CFAI accreditation process provides a well-defined, internationally-recognized benchmark system to measure thequality of fire and emergency services.

In August, 2012, West Metro Fire Rescue successfully achieved accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. The process of accreditation is quite comprehensive and provides for many community benefits. The primary benefit is having a broadly-based review of how we do business conducted by other accreditedagencies. The purpose of the review is to evaluate how effectively West Metro Fire Rescue provides emergency services and examines quality improvements. The accreditation process has validated how West Metro Fire Rescue is meeting or exceeding industry standards and compares us to other best practice organizations.

It also has aligned our operations with ourstrategic planning goals, objectives and reinforces the collaborative relationships wehave with other public and private agencies. The bottom line is by becoming an accreditedorganization, we will have to continually raisethe bar on meeting our community’s needs and expectation.

The Life Safety Division is committed to the preservation of life and property through the application of codes and standards, from the planning phase through the entire life ofthe structures in our District. We work closely with engineersand architects to ensure that fire safe buildings are designedand constructed. 2012 was a year of growth in the District. Alarge variety of businesses have been built and improvedthroughout the area. The Life Safety Division processed numerous permits for construction along the new light rail corridor. This included new parking structures and passengerstations as well as new apartment buildings. This year also brought several projects to buildhousing for the elderly.

Over 800 plans were reviewed in 2012 to ensure fire codes were met at the design phase. Theaverage time for reviewing plans was less than eight days. More than 3700 inspections wereconducted to confirm that buildings were constructed and kept in accordance with the approved plans and the fire code. Almost 1000 violations were discovered and corrected during the inspection process.

The Life Safety Division also has special permitting processes for temporary events, uniquerisks, and hazardous materials handling.

When fires do occur, the Life Safety Division is responsible for conducting an investigation todiscover the cause. West Metro Investigators are certified peace officers and are highly trainedin the science of fire cause determination. Hundreds of hours can be spent on processing thefire scene, collecting evidence, documenting witness statements, and following leads. In someinstances this leads to the discovery of a crime and the filing of a court case with the District At-torney. Information gained by the investigation of fire causes helps West Metro deliver effec-tive fire safety programs.

Every effort is made to account for and mitigate fire and life safety dangers through inspection,code enforcement, investigation and prevention.

Life Safety Division

West Metro Fire Rescue aims to promote financial sustainability with each budget. Additionally, the District is committed to resiliency by adjusting expenditures to current projected revenue to minimize the impact on general fund reserves.

RevenuesThe District is projected to finish the 2012 year end with revenues of $48.4 million.Property tax levies account for 74% of projected revenues with approximately 12% ofrevenues derived from EMS ambulance transports.

ExpendituresThe District expenditures are projectedto total $48.9 million. District fire-fighter/personnel costs account for mostof the spending with costs to maintainthe fire engines and ambulances in good condition included in the total expenditures.

Unrestricted Fund BalanceTotal fund balance including amounts restricted by law total $13 million. Unrestricted fund balance includes $4.4 million the board has specificallycommitted and approximately $7.2 million available for cash flow and adjustments to current economic conditions.

Financials

In 2012, West Metro Fire Rescue respondedto 16,458 emergency medical calls and transported 13,298 patients to the hospital. Inaddition, West Metro provided EMS standbyfor 119 events at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre,the Motocross Nationals at Thunder Valley,NHRA Mile High Nationals at Bandimere,and several other large events in the community. The increased attention on Colorado in the national election caused an increase in political activities, with a corresponding rise in EMS standby servicesfor politician visits and rallies.

Five West Metro Apprentice Fire-Medicscompleted the Swedish/HealthOne Paramedic Program in June of 2012, an additional two members successfully completed the program in December. West Metro Paramedics and EmergencyMedical Technicians received 9,230 hours ofcontinuing medical education.

Through a grant awarded by the ColoradoDepartment of Health, West Metro was ableto purchase a new ambulance in 2012, as wellas 20 new cardiac monitors for our engines, ladder trucks, and rescue unit.

Emergency Medical Services

In 2012, West Metro Fire Rescue responded to 25,188 emergencies.The majority (65%) of our 911 emergencies continue to be for medicalillness and injury.

The West Metro Fire Rescue Training Division is dedicated toproviding West Metro Firefighters training, professional and career development. To achieve this, the Training Division supplied each West Metro Firefighter with 150 hours of trainingwhich equates to over 51,000 total hours of training in 2012.

Numerous national trainings occurred at the Training Center,located near Highway 285 and Kipling Street in Lakewood.Some of the internal trainings included: light rail emergency response training; “Blue Card” Incident Command System(ICS) training for WMFR officers, and assorted emergency response scenarios including hazardous materials response,night drills, Rapid Intervention Training (RIT) as well as Special Team Training as shownbelow with WMFR’s Dive Team.

As with many organizations during these tough economic times, the Training Division is acutely awareof the significant budget challenges facing West MetroFire Rescue over the foreseeable future, however, theTraining Division continuously prepares firefighters tobe consistently competent in all areas we expect themto perform.

WMFR Training Division

West Metro Firefighters delivered educational programs to more than 71,000 people,30,873 adults and 39,432 children, in our community in 2012. These efforts are intended to help lower the incidence of fire and injuries in our community. Throughclassroom and community presentations, we aim to pre-vent losses resulting from fires and injuries.

West Metro Firefighters are in the community with a variety of programs. Here are a few:• Family Fire Muster in September• Car Seat Checks• Kids Club• Apparatus visits• Senior Citizen Programs & File of Life• Victim assistance/backpack distribution

For more information, visit westmetrofire.org

West Metro Fire Rescue Training Center launched a newwebsite in August 2012. The new site features many advances to help West Metro communicate withfirefighters, the community, and more including:

• RSS Feeds: receive updates and information on upcoming courses• Course announcements• Online course registration with payment options including credit/debit cards, purchase orders and checks

• New forms to make it easy for people to register for classes• Information on what’s happening and how to rent facilities at the Training Center

We invite you to visit westmetrofiretrainingcenter.org to get the latest on upcomingcourses and events at the Training Center.

westmetrofiretraining center.org

Programs In Our Community

Education and Information

Volunteers

Volunteers make things happen. At West Metro Fire Rescue, our volunteers are vitalto our success in reaching our community. Our volunteers worked over 3,600 hoursthat are valued at more than $79,200. Their dedicated efforts helped West Metro Fire-fighters provide fire and injury prevention education to more than 156,000 in 2012.West Metro’s outreach volunteers assist with preparing educational materials; check-ing child safety seats; working events; and teaching classes.

They are integral partners in helping us keep our community safe.

West Metro Fire Rescue held several community events in 2012. Some were to encourage the fight against breast cancer, a perennial favorite, the Family Fire Muster as

well as the Swearing in of our new fire chief, Don Lombardi.

In May, the fourth fire chief for West Metro Fire Protection District was sworn into service. Fire Chief DonLombardi replaced Doug McBee to become the future of theorganization. Over 400 people attended the celebration atStation 10.

West Metro Fire Rescue’s Family Fire Muster is always a family favorite. This year, our focus was on prepared-ness. The theme, “Are You Ready? We Are!” Was a re-sounding success. Over 3,000 people attended the eventat the location and new date. The Training Center was an excellent location for the event and one of the highlightswas the Family Escape Drill. Families learned out to get out safely and what really happenswhen there is a home fire including the West Metro Firefighters who extinguished the fire!

Events

Volunteers

Education and Information

Administration ........................................................................................................................ 303-989-4307 ext. 510Public information, events, media information...................................................... 720-963-6344 School/educational presentations, and car seat information ........................ 720-963-6330Station tours .............................................................................................................................. 720-963-6310Fire Prevention/Inspection .............................................................................................. 303-989-4307 ext. 510Fire Investigations .................................................................................................................. 303-989-4307 ext. 531Juvenile Firesetter Information .............................................................................................. 303-989-4307 ext. 531Ambulance Billing .................................................................................................................. 303-989-4307 ext. 546 Human Resources .................................................................................................................. 303-989-4307 ext. 550Board of Directors .................................................................................................................. 303-989-4307 ext. 522EMS Division ............................................................................................................................ 303-989-4307 ext. 557Training Center ...................................................................................................................... 720-963-6300Human Resources Job Line .............................................................................................. 303-989-3968Non-Emergency Dispatch ................................................................................................ 303-969-0245 Non-Fire Fighter Volunteer Opportunities ............................................................ 303-989-4307 ext. 537

West Metro Fire RescueAdministrative Offices-303-989-4307

It’s easy to get involved with West Metro Fire Rescue and ensure your voice is heard. Contact your publicly elected Board of Directors to share your thoughts and opinions by calling 303-989-4307 or visiting westmetrofire.org. Board meetings areopen to the public and held the first and third Tuesdays of each month, 7 p.m., at West Metro Fire Rescue’s Administration Building, 433 South Allison Parkway in Lakewood.

For Emergencies-Dial 911

James KullhemDistrict I

Randy McConnellDistrict II

Joseph MargotteDistrict III

Pam FeelyDistrict IV

Mike MundenDistrict V

Kristina MoederDistrict VI

Wendy VolmerDistrict VII

Be involved & have a voice