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brought flooding to our city. The department responded to Rock Creek and rescued citizens who were trapped in cars and rescued over 40 peo- ple in the Centaur Village area from flood waters. This could not have been accomplished with- out the assistance of the Lafayette Police and Public Works Departments. The Bob Burger Recrea- tion Center provided shelter for those residents who had no place else to go. This report provides infor- mation on the types of ser- vices our department offers and data on the types of inci- dents that we respond to. The Lafayette Fire Depart- ment is pleased to present its annual report for 2013. The safety of our citi- zens and firefight- ers is our top pri- ority and we take great pride in pro- viding fire, emer- gency medical and rescue services to our community. This past year brought quite a few challenges to our department. We responded to a record breaking 1955 calls for ser- vice. After many years of planning, on July 6th the department opened a second fire station next to Exempla Hospital that will serve the southern portion of our city. This year the department’s overall average response time for “emergency” runs was 4:00 minutes. That time re- flects the time the depart- ment receives the call from 911 and the first fire appara- tus has arrived. This is down 30 seconds from previous years time and can be attrib- uted to the opening of Station 2. The majority of our re- sponses, 72% were for emer- gency medical treatment. In September, the front range of Colorado received record breaking rains that THE YEAR IN REVIEW I N S I D E T H I S R E P O R T Training 2 EMS 2 Haz-Mat 2 Wildland 3 Reserve Fire Fighters 4 Fire Statistics 5 Response Statistics 5 CITY OF LAFAYETTE FIRE DEPARTMENT 2013 Annual Report ---PAGE BREAK--- P A G E 2 The Fire Department offers a wide variety of services that protect the lives and property of our citizens. Emergency Medical Services Haz-Mat Training Division The Lafayette Fire Department provides its firefighters with all the necessary training and education to provide the high- est level of service delivery to the citizens of Lafayette, as well as the surrounding areas. Our personnel are required to maintain a minimum level of certifications which consist of: Firefighter II, Hazardous Mate- rials Operations, and Emer- gency Medical Technician or Paramedic. Most all of our personnel are certified well beyond the required minimum. Our Firefighting Workforce is extremely motivated and dedi- cated to continue improving their Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities through continued training and education. This training comes in many forms, from the drill ground to the classroom, conferences and seminars, our personnel are constantly learning better ways to provide the highest level of service to the citizens of Lafay- ette. In 2013 Lafayette firefighters logged over 4,500 training hours; this equates to approxi- mately 190 hours per em- ployee. In comparison, the Colorado Division of Fire Pre- vention and Control requires 36 hours per year to maintain certification at the Firefighter II level. This is testament to the level of dedication and com- mitment our personnel exude on a daily basis. ments. Each department re- ceives training and equipment from the team and responds to Hazardous Materials incidents in and around the county. In 2013, Lafayette, along with the rest of the team, re- sponded to two tanker trucks that rolled over and leaked chemicals. One was in Boulder Canyon and the other was on I -25. We also responded on 2 In 2010, The Lafayette Fire Department be- came part of the Boul- der County Hazardous Materials Team. The team is comprised of equipment and mem- bers from Lafayette, Longmont and Moun- tain View Fire Depart- meth lab calls. One was in Longmont and the other was in Lafayette. On all 4 of these calls, the team came together and operated as one cohesive unit. By being part of a regional team, it saves the citizens a large amount of money while still providing a high level of Hazardous Materials response and mitigation. vanced Life Support. Both the ambulance and fire engine are staffed with paramedics and the full array of ALS equipment and medications. There were many responses in 2013 where our staff positively touched the lives of our citizens resulting in favorable outcomes in their medical or traumatic incident. In particular, with the patients that were found in cardiac arrest and were treated and transported, 20% were dis- charged from the hospital without lasting effects. This is a remarkable statistic com- pared to the national average, which is 5.6%. The City of Lafayette as an entity is very progressive in that it equips city buildings with Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs), equips police vehicles with AEDs, and provides CPR train- ing for employees. Emergency medical requests accounted for 72% of the de- partment’s responses in 2013. Of those responses 73% were medical in nature and 27% were traumatic in nature. Lafayette Fire Department continues to boast an excep- tional level of care to the citi- zens of Lafayette. Our para- medics provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) with certifica- tion in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Ad- Haz-Mat training with the County Haz-Mat Team. 2 0 1 3 A N N U A L R E P O R T ---PAGE BREAK--- Wildland P A G E 3 2013 was one of the most destructive fire years in Colo- rado history. All of our ca- reer and reserve firefighters are trained at a minimum NWCG firefighter level 2 which allow them to fight and manage local grass and wild- land fires. Some of our career firefighters also hold advanced wildland certifications which allow them to be an asset to the City of Lafayette, Boulder County and the State of Colorado. This helps them in the management of local incidents as well as those of extended duration throughout the United States at no cost to the city due to federal reimbursement. Lafayette firefighters were in- volved in numerous wildland fires this year including the Black Forest Fire, the most destructive fire in Colorado history. Our firefighters held positions with the incident management team, which made direct tactical decisions contribut- ing to the control of the fire. Crews were dispatched to the West Fork Complex, the largest fire in Colorado this year, where they were instrumental in saving homes and preserving natural re- sources by utilizing specialized fire suppression tactics in the Weminuche Wilderness. The wildland team mem- bers’ specialization was highlighted during the Boulder County flooding, in critical positions within the incident management team who oversaw rescue, recovery, and logistics planning throughout the county, including here within the city. Our team’s familiar- ity with large scale operations al- lowed Lafayette Fire to seamlessly transition into the regional re- sponse plan, which helped secure the resources necessary to provide safe rescue and protection of Lafay- ette citizens. works closely with the city’s building department. The divi- sion’s goal is to provide cus- tomer service to the citizens and local business owners by providing education and coop- eration as opposed to hardcore enforcement. The division pro- vides a quick turn around for plan review and provides before and after hour inspections for system testing so as to not in- terfere with normal business. The division provides state in- spections for schools, hospitals, elder care facilities, day care, and other businesses requiring state licensing. The division performs fire investigation and provides service to Boulder County’s Fire Investigation Team. The department is proud to provide a safe community that last year had a very low fire loss and a business commu- nity where 58% of all businesses are protected by fire sprinklers. The Fire Prevention Division provides many services to our community including business and technical inspections, plan review, fire and life safety public education to all ages as well as fire investigation services. The Lafayette Fire Department op- erates from the latest Interna- tional Fire and Building codes. Many of the career staff hold state and national certifications as fire inspectors and plan re- viewers. Career staff provides education and tours for school age children, instructs CPR classes and conducts local busi- ness inspection. The Fire Mar- shal reviews plans and conducts technical inspection for new construction and remodels and Fire Prevention Fire Prevention Week tour for school children. “2013 was one of the most destruc- tive for fire and natural disasters in Colorado’s history” 2 0 1 3 A N N U A L R E P O R T ---PAGE BREAK--- P A G E 4 “Reserve Firefighter’s are also relied on to come in at times of crisis, i.e. wildland fires and floods.” Reserve firefighters training at the re- gional training center in Longmont. Vital Statistics Reserve Firefighters Lafayette Fire Department currently operates as a combi- nation department. This means that the department is mostly staffed by 24/7 paid members. In order for the fire department to maintain staffing standards that allow for the safest mandates, the Lafayette Fire Department supplements the remainder of staffing with reserve firefighters. Reserve firefighters do not work a full time schedule and are paid a small stipend for their hours of service rather than a salary. The Lafayette Fire Department was able to successfully staff a reserve firefighter approxi- mately 93% of the time during 2013. Reserve firefighters are also relied on during times of crisis, i.e. wildland fires and floods. In order to apply to be a reserve firefighter, the appli- cant must possess at a mini- mum FF1, HazMat Operations, and EMT-Basic. This means that prior to even applying, the reserve has spent hundreds of hours at several college level courses learning the skills of a firefighter. The application process for the reserve pro- gram at Lafayette Fire Depart- ment includes an inclusive written test, an interview of peers, including chief officers, and a timed physical agility test. Once offered a position as a reserve firefighter, the appli- cant must complete a 6 month probation period which in- cludes a 3 week orientation, and 3 other skills evaluations conducted every month. Dur- ing the orientation the reserve will spend about 45 hours learning the minimum duties necessary to be successful at Lafayette Fire Department. Furthermore, all reserve firefighters must meet a stan- dard that allows for them to maintain and apply their skills. All reserves must train at a minimum of two hours a month as well as attend three out of five live fire trainings a year, lasting around 10 hours each. This means we can ex- pect our reserve firefighters to train over 50 hours a year, well above the standard set by the State of Colorado. Every reserve well exceeds this num- ber per year. The reserve program has proven to also provide the City of Lafayette an opportu- nity to work with potential future employees. Many of the reserves apply for full time firefighter jobs with the city. Two of the last three hires came from the reserve pro- gram and furthermore, six out of the last seven current em- ployees started out as re- serves. Not all reserves be- come employed with the City of Lafayette. We also do our best to groom reserves for possible employment else- where. In the past we have had reserves represent Lafay- ette and become successful employees at Littleton Fire Department, Colorado Springs Fire Department, Arvada Fire Department, and Johnstown Fire Department. The following graphs shows the types of emergency calls, response locations and response times. 2 0 1 3 A N N U A L R E P O R T ---PAGE BREAK--- P A G E 5 MINUTES 1 MIN 2 MIN 3 MIN 4 MIN 5 MIN 6 MIN 7 MIN 7+ MIN 11+ MIN NUMBER OF CALLS 60 143 293 354 268 120 41 21 2 Average Response Time 4.0 Minutes ---PAGE BREAK--- Make a plan how your family will stay in contact if separated by disaster. Choose a minimum of 2 meeting places A location a safe distance from your home in case of fire A place outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home. Other Considerations Stock supplies to last up to a week . Be prepared to relocate to a shelter during prolonged power outage. Discuss with your family the steps to take during a disaster. Meet with Neighbors Plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster. Consider how to help neighbors with special needs, We live and work in one of the most beautiful settings in Colorado, and much of that natural beauty also makes us highly prone to potentially catastrophic events such as wildfire, blizzards, and flash flooding. These are not just possibili- ties, they have occurred in the past and will oc- cur here in the future. The City of Lafayette has worked to plan for these events and a coordi- nated response. However, despite all of our best efforts, there is only so much local government can do on its own. Events such as a wind-driven wildfire or a flash flood are all rapidly developing, swiftly mov- ing, and highly devastating. First responders likely will not be able to reach everyone for rescue or evacuation, and moving people in some instances may be more dangerous than sheltering in place. For these reasons we need to depend on a part- nership with an informed and prepared public to survive and recover from a major disaster. We need you to be able to react properly to assure the protection of lives during a disaster. such as elderly or disabled persons. Make plans for children whose parents can’t get home. Evacuation Routes—When community evacuations are deemed necessary local offi- cials may notify you using one or more of the following: The Emergency Notification System The National Weather Radio network The Emergency Alert System Outdoor Warning Sirens Headquarters Station 401 N. 111th Street Lafayette, CO 80026 Chief Gerry Morrell Phone: [PHONE REDACTED] Fax: [PHONE REDACTED] E-mail: [EMAIL REDACTED] Mission Statement The Lafayette Fire Department protects our community by providing, Fire Rescue and Emergency Medical Services through educa- tion, prevention, and mitigation, with dedica- tion, commitment and compassion for those we serve Values Statement The members of the Lafayette Fire Depart- ment value a strong work ethic that em- braces teamwork, loyalty, and dedication while providing safe, rapid and professional Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services for those we serve. Emergency Preparedness 2 0 1 3 A N N U A L R E P O R T