HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-17-017 - Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan, 2017-2022 (Report only)
REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: March 6, 2017
SUBMITTED BY: Jon Rehill, Fire Chief, 519-741-2200 extension 5500
PREPARED BY: Jon Rehill, Fire Chief, 519-741-2200 extension 5500
Kathleen Woodcock, Manager, Service Improvement &
Coordination, CSD 519-741-2200 extension 7597
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: February 16, 2017
REPORT NO.: CSD-17-017
SUBJECT: Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan, 2017-2022
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RECOMMENDATION: That the Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan (KFDMP)
attached as Appendix A to CSD-17-017 be approved as the guiding document for
the Kitchener Fire Department; and that staff be directed to refer implementation
of the strategic and operational actions to the departmental business planning
process as applicable.
BACKGROUND:
Fire Master Plans are common in most fire departments across North America. The
Office of the Fire Marshal Emergency Management (OFMEM) recommends the use of
afire master plan as part of their Public Fire Safety Guidelines for Municipalities. The
OFMEM also has a suggested framework for the development of a fire master plan.
Engaging in the development of a fire master plan allows for a thorough review of
critical areas within the fire department and identifies opportunities to maintain or
improve the level of effectiveness and efficiencies. The focus of the master plan is to
balance the needs and expectations of the community with legislated requirements for
compliance all within the current resources.
The master plan for the fire department provides:
a comprehensive evaluation of current service delivery
assessment of current services in relation to legislated standards and industry
best practices
alignment with the City of Kitchener People Plan, Employee Culture Survey and
Fire Technology Strategy
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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anopportunity for stakeholders and community partners to participate in the
development of the plan
REPORT:
Throughout 2016 aproject team comprised of stafffrom the fire department, other city
departments and members of the community participated in numerous project
committee meetingsto 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 themaster plan was developed.
Using the OFMEMthe 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
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insufficient fire technology solutions causing operational inefficiencies
training gaps to achieve NFPA standards, education, enforcement, and building
and fire codes
provincial legislation demands on the department (e.g., vulnerable occupancies,
PTSD, carbon monoxide alarms)
increasing costs of municipal fire service
increased requirements for emergency planning and business continuity
KFDMP Framework
The KFDMP has been developed following the framework of assessing the delivery of
municipal fire protection services included within the Public Fire Safety Guidelines
(PFSB) authored by the OFMEM. Additionally, the delivery of fire protection services is
guided by the strategic optimization of the three lines of defence which are:
1. Public Fire Safety Education (prevention and public education)
2. Fire Safety Standards and Enforcement (inspections and compliance)
3. Emergency Response (suppression activities)
By implementing the recommended actions in the first two lines of defence, the KFD will
be able to effectively reduce the impacts of fire and fire related injuries in the city. This
optimization of programs specifically related to the first two lines of defence is
anticipated to assist the third line of defence, emergency response, in their role of
managing the overall fire risk within the community.
The KFDMP contains a total of 35 strategic and operational actions. There are 11
actions in three strategic areas:
1. public fire safety education
2. fire safety standards and
3. enforcement and emergency response
There are an additional 24 recommended actions in three operational areas:
1. efficient and effective operations
2. staff development and
3. strengthening partnerships
All of the recommended strategic and operational actions can be found in the KFDMP
(Appendix A, page 82).
The following highlights some of the strategic and operational actions that will guide
decision-making of the Kitchener Fire Department over the next five years (2017-2022).
For the duration of this master plan, the department is committed to finding ways to
address gaps in fire service delivery, to create cost efficiencies and effectiveness, to
continue staff development and strengthen partnerships in the community.
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Upon implementation, these actions will allow the department to remain committed to
customer service and neighbourhood engagement while complying with legislation,
regulations and standards.
Strategic Actions
First Line of Defence - Public Fire Safety Education
Through the first line of defence of the OFMEM framework, the department will continue
to educate our community in fire and life safety and fire prevention strategies.
Throughout the next five years our department is committed to exploring and expanding
new techniques and platforms to better inform and engage the neighbourhoods within
the city. Examples include:
develop an annual communication plan that b
print communication tools to educate residents on issues of fire safety (Action
#24)
create fire and life safety programs to better educate the diverse population of
the city e.g., new Canadians (Action #25)
implement
enhance fire and life safety messaging in the community following a fire incident
(Action #28)
create a public education team from existing staff who can provide enhanced fire
and life safety training in specific areas related to fire risk (i.e., geographic,
demographic) to better serve the neighbourhoods (Action #26)
Second Line of Defence - Fire Safety Standards and Enforcement
Through the second line of defence of the OFMEM framework, the department will
continue to conduct fire inspections and when necessary enforce compliance through
the Ontario fire code. Identified within the fire master plan review (2016) was a service
gap in relation to fire prevention inspection cycles of buildings within the municipality.
Currently, the department does not have a routine inspection cycle in place.
Throughout the five years, the goal is to:
develop and implement a routine inspection cycle based on industry best practice
(Action #21)
educate and train suppression personnel to be able to conduct inspections in low
and moderate risk occupancies e.g., day care facilities (Action #34)
educate and train suppression personnel to assist with legislated requirements
for high risk / vulnerable occupancies e.g., long term care facilities (Action #35)
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Third Line of Defence - Emergency Response
The third line of defence of the OFMEM framework occurs when suppression personnel
are required to respond to an emergency. In 2014, the OFMEM transition from the
Ontario fire service standards to the NFPA standards created a significant change in
how suppression staff are trained and how they respond to specialty rescues. The
department will:
update the cit-Law, Fire Department to reflect
changes in NFPA standards related to the KFD specialized rescue response
(e.g., confined space, trench rescue and light rail transit) (Action #1)
create exercise based training scenarios for suppression staff in high risk
occupancies (e.g., vulnerable occupancies, heavy industry) to develop and
educate crews in firefighter tactics and strategies to strengthen our emergency
response capabilities (Action #30)
after technological solutions are in place, conduct a comprehensive review of the
Operational Actions
Efficient and Effective Operations
From the research and data collection/analysis for the master plan, the project team
determined there are opportunities within the fire department to generate revenue, find
internal departmental efficiencies and utilize technology solutions all with the goal of
being more efficient. This includes:
implement recommendations from the Fire Technology Strategy (Action #23)
w
management program focused on station maintenance (Action #4)
conduct a workload analysis for all divisions (Administration, Apparatus and
Equipment, Direct Detect, Emergency Communications, Emergency
Management and Business Continuity, Fire Prevention, Fire Systems and
Projects, Public Education, Emergency Response, Training and Development)
(Action #3)
explore business opportunities to offer a variety of services (e.g. Direct Detect) to
other municipalities as a way of generating revenue for the municipality (Action
#5)
Staff Development
Using information from the review of the fire divisions and from the 2016 Employee
Culture Survey results, the project team identified opportunities to strengthen internal
staff development, well-being and career growth. The following actions will assist the
department in moving forward with initiatives related to staff development:
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develop a department wide officer development program and succession plan
(Action #32)
provide cross divisional training and job mentoring to enhance service delivery
and improve operational effectiveness (Action #33)
continue to enhance our wellness/fitness initiatives to ensure mental and physical
resiliency and well-being of staff (Action #6)
Strengthening Partnerships
During the analysis of demographic information of the various fire divisions, the project
team felt that the fire department staff should strengthen its relationships with external
partners and the community. To achieve this objective, the department will:
work with all levels of government to educate the community and external public
safety partners e.g., school, hospitals, in emergency preparedness (Action #20)
provide training to corporate departments to ensure the proper management of
their continuity of operations during a significant event or emergency (Action #19)
increase the awareness of existing, and encourage the development of new
programs, aiming to educate persons not typically attracted to working in the fire
service e.g., the Young Female Firefighting program (Action #9)
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Strategic Priority:Effective and Efficient City Services
Strategy: 5.1 Enhance and roll out plans for managing emergencies and business
disruptions to protect lives and continue to deliver critical services to the community.
Strategic Action: CS6 - Develop a five year road map for the Fire Department to meet
the needs and circumstances of the community, Council and staff.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Funding for implementation of the KFDMP is available through reprioritization of existing
budget allocations, additional development charges funding already included in the
, optimizing revenue generation opportunities, and
leveraging cost recovery initiatives where appropriate.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM Citizens were informed and encouraged to participate in the survey through
various methods:
a social media campaign using Facebook and Twitter combined
a button on the front page of the City of Kitchener website
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distribution to city facilities of bookmark handouts reflecting the URL and
timelinesfor survey completion
paper versions of the survey made available at City of Kitchener facilities such as
pools, community centres, arenas and golf courses
CONSULT Using the Engage Kitchenerplatform, a survey for citizens was posted
from July 18, 2016 to August 28, 2016 to get a full picture of the expectations of our
community with respect to fire safety education and prevention, emergency response
and fire suppression. 212 responses were received. Details of the results are provided
inAppendix B.
The project team included four members of the community, each representing a
community perspective and/or high risk facilities, e.g., schools and long term care
facilities. These representatives provided valuable objective feedback on the
development of theKFDMP.
input via paper surveys administered at a regular meeting of the group.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Michael May, Deputy CAO, Community Services
Appendix A Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan 2017-2022 Volume 1
Appendix B Kitchener Fire Department Master Plan Volume 2 - Appendices
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