CSD-17-017 - Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan, 2017-2022

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an opportunity for stakeholders and community partners to participate in the development of the plan REPORT: Throughout 2016 a project team comprised of staff from the fire department, other city departments and members of the community participated in numerous project committee meetings to develop a new Fire Master Plan. Members of the project team and other personnel from the fire department participated in a workshop on September 8, 2016, facilitated by retired Fire Chiefs Jim Hancock and Terry Allen. The purpose of the workshop was to explore the challenges facing the department and identify opportunities for efficiencies as the master plan was developed. Using the OFMEM’s framework for fire master plans, the project team completed additional research and data collection/analysis to help develop the Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan (KFDMP) (Appendix A) including: response data and analysis report community input and engagement (Engage Kitchener survey) financial review (operating and capital) considering opportunities for cost recovery and revenue generation review of community emergency management initiatives analysis of opportunities and gaps with existing communications and technology requirements The response study completed as a part of the master plan (Appendix B) included a review of call data 2011 – 2015, apparatus/station update, future planned city development, project city growth and inventories of property stock, high-rise stock and vulnerable occupancy sites. This information was used to create a community risk profile that included analysis of eight key risk factors: property stock, building height and area, building age and construction, building exposure, demographic profile, geography/topography/road network, past fire loss statistics and fuel load profile. In developing the KFDMP various risk factors were considered. Specifically, the following municipal growth risk factors influenced the development of the plan: increase in the number of residential buildings increase in the number of commercial, industrial and institutional buildings increased traffic volumes increase in population density Within the fire service at a provincial and local level, there are operational related factors which are also significantly important to address over the period of this fire master plan. They include: OFMEM transition from the Ontario Fire Service standards to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards 6 - 2