A Message From The Chief
The Annual Report is an important publication of the Independence Fire Department to demonstrate our ongoing efforts to serve the citizens of Independence. Throughout the report you will find a small amount of the statistical information we collect and examples of the hard work completed by the employees of the Fire Department. As you will see, we continue to break records in incident responses and unit responses, that we continue to work towards improvement of our service to the public.
Into my second year as the Fire Chief, I am proud to say that one of our best achievements is the continued Labor – Management relationship that we hold as an organization. Through strong deliberations, we have been able to look at and institute new response models, revise and create stronger policies and standard operation procedures and strengthen the overall organizational attitude and values. Strong partnerships and relations have created a better environment for protection of the citizens of Independence. Our future continues to evolve and efforts are underway to continue improvement and quality of service.
If this report raises questions and you would like further details or if you would like to see previous reports, please feel free to contact us at 816-325-7123 or email fireonline@indepmo.org
Fire Chief Douglas Short
Fire Calls ........................ 403 COMMERCIAL 23 Public Assembly 11 Schools and Colleges 0 Health Care/Penal 0 Stores and Offices 7 Industry\Utility 0 Storage in Structures 4 Other Structures 1 RESIDENTIAL 125 Private Dwellings 89 Apartments 23 Hotels/Motels 4 All Other Residential...........................................9 OTHER FIRES & INCIDENTS ........................ 255 Highway Vehicle 55 Other Vehicles 29 Non Structure/Non Vehicle 19 Brush/Grass/Wildland........................................41 Rubbish/Dumpsters 93 All Other Fires.....................................................18 Medical ..................... 13,785 Includes Medical, Vehicular With Injuries, Vehicular Unknown Injuries, Extrications and Medical Search and Rescue. All Other Responses/ Service Calls .............. 3,866 Includes Explosive Devices, Carbon Monoxide, Explosion In Area, Gas Leak, Good Intent Calls, Lock Out, Odor Investigation In Area, Service Calls, Smoke In Area, Smoke/Odor Removal, Weather-Related Incidents and Miscellaneous. Dispatched & Cancelled En Route ....................... 2,998 HazMat Responses ....... 234 Other Hazardous Responses ...................... 206 Power Lines Down, Electrical Wiring Problems, Shortage and Arcing. False Alarms .................. 234 Automatic Alarms ......... 725 Mutual Aid Given ............ 36 TOTAL: 22,487
INCIDENT
2019
CATEGORIES
Professional Development
Training and education to be ready for today and the future.
H 1,308 personnel attended a total of 3,207 hours of specialized training, including ACLS and CPR recertification, skills assessment, pit crew concept for cardiac resuscitation, response reporting, summer/winter fire school and hands-on-training.
H 39 personnel attended specialized hands on firefighter training. We utilize a variety of resources outside the department to expose our personnel to new ideas and to other organizations in order to advance the professional development of our personnel.
H 378 personnel attended classes to enhance personal safety and wellness.
H 786 personnel attended classes to renew certifications, enhance knowledge, increase skills and learn new concepts to improve quality of service to the citizens of Independence.
H 105 personnel participated in skills assessment to identify and focus on specific training areas.
Emergency Medical Services
Quality medical care to the community.
The Emergency Medical Services Division is dedicated to providing quality medical care to the citizens of Independence. This year we responded to 13,785 rescue and medical calls.
H Provided over 6,000 hours of emergency medical training and on-line CEUs to further enhance our EMTs and paramedic’s knowledge and skills.
H Upgraded all heart monitoring equipment and standardized medical inventory equipment to ensure all fire apparatus are kept up-to-date with the latest life-saving technology for quicker initiation of patient care to our citizens.
H Restructured the EMS Division’s standard operating procedures to secure a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness within the department.
H Provided voluntary, wellness physicals/blood work (specializing in on-site, NFPA 1582 firefighter medical exams) for all fire department personnel.
2019 individual company responses Pumper 1 2,203 Pumper 2 2,156 Pumper 3 3,268 Quint 4................................2,393 Pumper 5 3,007 Pumper 6 2,107 Pumper 7 ........................... 2,533 Squad 8.................................684 Pumper 9 .............................. 297 Pumper 10 ......................... 1,846 HazMat 5 9 Rescue 1............................2,530 Rescue 2............................2,663 Special Rescue 11 Truck 1 2,163, Truck 2 2,059 2019 department response times Average time in minutes from dispatch to arrival • 2019 — 5.20 • 2018 — 5.22 • 2017 — 5.15 Percentage of structure fire calls responded to in under 6 minutes • 2019 — 85.00% • 2018 — 85.00% • 2017 — 87.00% Percentage of emergency EMS calls responded to in under 6 minutes • 2019 — 76.00% • 2018 — 74.00% • 2017 — 77.00%
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Emergency Operations
Preparing and responding to all hazards.
The Emergency Operations Division response load continued its upward trend with an approximate 4% increase in the number of calls.
The Department continues to address the increase in responses, through data analytics and proximity (closest unit) dispatching.
With the retirement of five tenured employees in 2019, the Independence Fire Department lost over 130 years of institutional knowledge. Ten new firefighters were hired and assigned to the Emergency Operations Division to begin their careers.
The Department continued to make workplace safety and readiness a priority in 2019. The Operations Division put into service new state of the art Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus. Each firefighter was issued a new generation of protective particulate hoods to increase their safety while working in dangerous and hot firefighting atmospheres.
Emergency Preparedness
Strengthening the whole community to build resiliency toward disasters.
Emergency Preparedness Division strengthens the whole community by planning, resourcing plans, training and exercising all aspects of the Independence community. This also includes education and training in resiliency toward disasters for individuals and households, faith-based organizations, community based organizations, businesses and many others. We collaborate on a community, regional, state and national level to plan, prepare, mitigate, respond and recover for natural and man-made hazards.
H Upgraded radio communications.
H Purchased a mobile command vehicle and modified it with communications, command and control equipment and systems.
Emergency Preparedness Activation of the Emergency Operations Center For Severe Weather 46 For Exercises 12 For Large Gathering and Events.................................................................4 Total Number 0f Activations 62 Volunteer Hours Emergency Preparedness Programs Hours 5,357 Leadership Staff Hours 1,187 Command Staff Hours 1,857 Total Volunteer Hours 8,401 Seminars, Symposiums, Workshops and Presentations For Local Community 21 For City Council 2 For Regional, State and Federal Partners 34 Number of Participants 1221 Trainings, Drills, Coordination and Planning Meetings Internally conducted coordination and planning meetings 55 Externally conducted coordination and planning meetings 15 Training sessions, drills and meetings conducted....................................24 Total Number of Activities 94 Grants EPG ...............................................................................................$108,503.00 Mid-America Regional Council .................................................. $42,000.00 * EP upgraded radio communications. * Purchased a mobile command vehicle has modified with communications, command and control equipment and systems.
Services
The best tools for the job.
Services Division is staffed with one Assistant Chief overseeing the operations and maintenance of 10 fire stations, 17 front-line emergency response apparatus/vehicles, and all other fleet vehicles. Services devotes meticulous due diligence before making purchases of equipment and supplies or maintenance of equipment. Major projects and equipment purchases in 2019:
H Driveway replacements at 3 fire station, 2, 6, and 10
H Replaced 38 sets of personal protective gear (coats and pants), 24 helmets, 36 pairs of gloves, and 58 pair of boots due to age and condition.
H Purchased 80 self contained breathing apparatus used to protect firefighter respiratory systems during suppression operations.
H Purchased a full set of extrication/rescue tools to increase our response capability converting a pumper to a squad increasing its capabilities for multiple uses.
Prevention
Comprehensive services to reduce risk.
The Fire Prevention Division provides valuable life safety services to the community through free smoke detector programs, educational programs and comprehensive business inspections.
H Implemented the use of Brycer Compliance Engine and Streamline Automation Systems software for fire inspections.
H Expanded community safety outreach with our weekly Fire Friday video series.
FIRE PREVENTION
* totals not available
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 COMMERCIAL INSPECTIONS 5,285 4,491 4,697 4,502 5,300 Occupation License Received 557 600 518 608 630 Occupation License Inspections & Re-Inspections 722 756 667 739 726 Company Inspections ......................................................................................... 2,300 .................. 1,673 ................. 2,279 ................. 1,933 ................ 2,419 Company Re-Inspections 1,302 1,122 836 896 1,197 Santa-Cali-Gon Inspections 404 340 397 326 330 OTHER ACTIVITIES 857 776 917 764 676 Citizen Requests & Special Inspections .............................................................. 345 ..................... 322 .................... 298 .................... 277 ................... 191 Burning Permits 63 77 103 54 48 Underground Tanks Removed 1 3 2 3 0 Fire Investigations ...................................................................................................... * ......................... * ........................ * ...................... 61 ..................... 45 Smoke Detectors Distributed 186 98 140 114 71 Environmental Research Projects 17 30 43 32 16 Juvenile Fire Setter Interventions 1 2 1 4 7 Fire Drills Conducted ................................................................................................10 10 9 13 12 Fireworks Inspections 234 234 321 206 286 PLAN REVIEW/CONSTRUCTION Plans/Zoning Projects Reviewed 304 397 265 320 343 Inspections - Reinspections 195 176 158 175 149 COMMUNITY EDUCATION Fire Safety Talks & Job Fairs ................................................................................. 191 ..................... 113 .................... 110 .................... 129 ................... 125 Audience 10,423 6,307 7,475 8,280 6,265 Website Visitors 28,723 22,596 27,293 24,413 23,872
Fire Calls & Auto Alarms Service Calls 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 1,234 1,161 1,231 1,184 1,128 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2,979 3,225 3,473 3,404 3,866 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 12,409 12,640 13,004 13,459 13,785 structure fire loss 2019 $6,613,534 2018 $5,211,569 2017 $5,362,304 2016 $4,157,573 2015 $4,457,185 10 YEAR INCIDENT TREND 2019 training hours 2019 response breakdown Fire Calls 403 1.79% Medical Calls 13,785 61.31% Ser vice Calls 3,866 17.19% Cancelled En Route 2,998 13.33% False Alarms 234 1.04% Automatic Alarms 725 3.22% Other 476 2.12% smoke alarms distributed 2019 71 2018 114 2017 142 2016 98 2015 186 Auto-Aid Training 1 hr. Company Training 13,803 hrs. Driver Training 1,214 hrs. HazMat Training 91 hrs. Multi Company Drills 811 hrs. New Driver Training 58 hrs. Officer Training 1,524 hrs. Recruit Training 1,574 hrs. Single-Company Drills 305 hrs. TOTAL TRAINING 19,381 hrs. 2010 16,718 2011 16,659 2012 17,095 2013 16,956 2014 17,517 2015 20,173 2016 20,167 2017 20,928 2018 21,556 2019 22,487
Mission Statement
The Independence Fire Department will meet the challenges of present and future community needs through pro-active leadership, dedication to our core values, provision of quality All-Hazard emergency services and community risk-reduction strategies in an efficient and effective manner.
Vision Statement
To consistently provide high quality services in the most efficient manner for our growing community and be recognized as a leader in providing quality Fire, EMS and Emergency Preparedness services.
IMPORTANT FIRE DEPARTMENT PHONE NUMBERS Emergency 911 Fire Administration 816-325-7123
Emergency Preparedness 816-325-7133 Web
|
Address www.indepmo.org/fire