HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 - NB-4 - Fire Station No.6 and Related Staffing - 1/3/2017CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: JANUARY 3, 2017 ITEM NUMBER: NB -4
SUBJECT: FIRE STATION #6 AND RELATED STAFFING
DATE: DECEMBER 21, 2016
FROM: THOMAS R. HATCH, CITY MANAGER
DANIEL A. STEFANO, FIRE CHIEF
PRESENTATION BY: DANIEL A. STEFANO, FIRE CHIEF
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: DANIEL A. STEFANO, FIRE CHIEF
714-754-5106
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Several members of the City Council have requested that this item be brought forward for
consideration. As such, the Fire Chief and City Manager recommend that the City Council:
1. Formally authorize and approve the recommendation to keep Fire Station #6 open.
2. Formally authorize and approve a total of six sworn positions for the Fire & Rescue
Department which are currently being filled with overtime personnel, including:
a. Three Fire Captain positions
b. Three Firefighter positions
BACKGROUND:
The City of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department provides a critical public safety function that
protects life, property, and the environment through its mitigation, prevention, preparedness,
response, recovery and community risk reduction services. As part of this function, the department
provides emergency response services staffed out of six strategically located fire stations, 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
In 1993, the City of Costa Mesa officially opened Fire Station #6 (Metro Station), with a first -in
response area covering South Coast Metro, the adjacent freeways, and providing second -in
response for the balance of the city and neighboring cities of Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana,
and Fountain Valley. Since that time, the discussion of expanding the number of fire stations in
Costa Mesa to seven (e.g., Segerstrom Home Ranch Development Agreement; 2001-2008) and
reducing the number of fire stations to five (e.g., Fire Department Reorganization Plan; 2010-
2015) have been considered.
In 2009, the authorized full-time positions for the City of Costa Mesa was 611, inclusive of 111
full-time positions (102 sworn and nine non -sworn; 99 identified as line personnel) for the Fire &
Rescue Department and they responded to 9,406 incidents. In 2013, the authorized number
positions in the city was reduced to 467, inclusive of 94 full-time positions for the Fire & Rescue
Department (89 sworn and five non -sworn; 87 identified as field personnel) and they responded to
10,732 incidents. In 2015, the Fire & Rescue Department was authorized for 84 full-time positions
(78 sworn and six non -sworn; 76 identified as field personnel) and responded to 12,955 incidents.
The reduction in staffing was the result of addressing the economic challenges that the city (and
the nation) faced leading up to that time period, which included concerns related to higher
employee retirement costs. Ultimately, the goal for the Fire & Rescue Department was to focus
on providing the most effective and efficient services to the community without compromising the
level of services to the community.
In May 2013, the City Council unanimously approved the City Manager's recommendations for a
reorganization of the fire department, inclusive of an "Alternative Model" Restructuring Plan. A
key part of the alternative plan was that it would be implemented in a two-phase approach and a
new deployment model integrating the use of paramedic rescue units, along with a comprehensive
list of 17 recommendations related to various operational and administrative components of the
fire and rescue department. One component of the plan included a transition from a six station
model to a five station model, which would close Fire Station #6 and initiate an immediate
reduction in staffing to realize a cost savings.
As of January 2016, all aspects of the Fire Department Reorganization Plan had been addressed,
with the exception of closing Fire Station #6, which remained open during the implementation
phase of the reorganization for further evaluation by the Fire Chief and City Manager. Throughout
this time, the station has been staffed with overtime personnel (e.g., the total shift is budgeted for
24 positions, but staffed with 26 positions utilizing overtime).
ANALYSIS:
The Fire & Rescue Department has been operating six fire stations with budgeted full-time personnel
funding for five stations during the implementation phase of the reorganization to maintain an
appropriate level of service. During the implementation phase of the reorganization, it became
apparent that the increasing demands for service coupled with decreased staffing, provides a clear
nexus to keep Station 6 open and properly staffed. Additionally, with increased unit hour
utilization (UHU), mandatory and specialized training requirements, community risk reduction
responsibilities, and expanding day-to-day workloads, it is recommendation of the Fire Chief and
City Manager for Fire Station #6 to remain open and staffed as the department has been operating
for the past three years (e.g., 26 on -duty line personnel), but with budgeted, full-time personnel,
not overtime personnel.
From an annual cost perspective and as an example, we are currently filling our firefighter
vacancies (PERS Classic) with an approximate annual cost of $128, 273.60 per firefighter position,
whereas, a new firefighter (PEPRA) annual total compensation at Step 1 will be approximately
$81,295.29.
From a staffing perspective, the Department's current daily staffing of four engines, a quint
(pumper/ladder), three rescue units, and a ladder truck, while adequate, are the minimum for the
risks present in the City, and is less than the Department fielded prior to the recession. What
cannot be overlooked, however, and has proven beneficial to the current resource deployment, is
the increase of three paramedic rescue units, which has expanded the range and extent of
emergency response coverage. Further, the increase from 10 to 13 Paramedics per day is also
noted as a positive result of the current staffing goal.
Moreover, while this staffing has been maintained through overtime, it has taken its toll on the
personnel, in many cases far exceeding the standard 2,912 annual hours (e.g., 56 -hour work week).
Providing full-time budgeted positions would substantially mitigate this issue.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED:
The City Council could decide to direct staff to continue to staff the necessary positions at fire station
#6 with overtime personnel.
FISCAL REVIEW:
The city's Finance Department has reviewed this report and confirms that the identified examples of
total cost comparisons are accurate. Moreover, the costs related to hiring new firefighters will provide
a realized savings in comparison to paying on-going overtime costs (see attachment 8).
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney's office has reviewed this report and has not identified any concerns.
CONCLUSION:
To formally address keeping Fire Station #6 open and based on the increased demands for fire and
rescue services with a decreased full-time staff, the Fire Chief and City Manager recommend that the
City Council formally disband the closure of Fire Station #6 and immediately approve funding for six
full-time positions, including three Fire Captains and three Firefighters.
DANIEL A. STEFANO
Fire Chief
STEPHEN DUNIVENT
Interim Finance Director
THOMAS R. HATCH
City Manager
THOMAS DUARTE
City Attorney
Attachments: 1) Total Authorized Staffing
2) Annual Incidents vs. Line Staff Data
3) Housing Trends (1990-2020)
4) Population Data
5) Daily StaffingperUnit for the CitX
6) Resources Sent to Common Risk Types & Effective Response Force
7) Unit Hour Utilization
8) Annual Firefighter Costs
Attachment 1
Total Authorized Staffing
Figure 1 shows that total authorized positions in the Fire Department from FY 2009-10 to FY 2016-17.
FIGURE 1: FIRE DEPARTMENT—TOTAL AUTHORIZED POSITIONS BY FISCAL YEAR
In FY 2009-10 the department had 112.92 full-time equivalents and in FY 2016-17 the full-time
equivalents is 87.5. The current authorized staffing level includes the following:
• 78 sworn (*76 Line Staff)
0 1 Chief
0 1 Division Chief
0 3 Battalion Chiefs*
0 1 Training and EMS Captain*
0 15 Captains*
0 18 Engineers*
0 39 Firefighters*
• 6 non -sworn
• 3.5 part-time (full-time equivalents)
Total Authorized Fire Department Positions by
Fiscal Year (Full -Time & Part -Time FTE's)
N
C
O
0.
v 100
112.92 100.92 96.44 95.44 95.75 84.75 87.25
O
87.5
`o
L
® O
0
09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16
16-17
Fiscal Year
In FY 2009-10 the department had 112.92 full-time equivalents and in FY 2016-17 the full-time
equivalents is 87.5. The current authorized staffing level includes the following:
• 78 sworn (*76 Line Staff)
0 1 Chief
0 1 Division Chief
0 3 Battalion Chiefs*
0 1 Training and EMS Captain*
0 15 Captains*
0 18 Engineers*
0 39 Firefighters*
• 6 non -sworn
• 3.5 part-time (full-time equivalents)
Attachment 2
Annual Incidents vs. Line Staff Data
The budgeted line staffing is illustrated in relation to the increasing demands for service. Figure 2 shows
this correlation from 2006 to 2015.
Annual Incidents vs. Line Staff
14000
13000
ti 12000
c
v
v 99 99 99 99
11000
0
10000 9742 9500 9406
E 9257
Z 9000
8000
7000
12955
120
110
1159
0
ANNUAL
100
STAFFING
0
10665 1073
99
9257
E
99
90 W
2008:
M
87 87
`^
99
v
80 J
75 76
70
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Year
—Incidents � Line Staff
YEAR:
BUDGETED LINE
ANNUAL
STAFFING
INCIDENTS
2006:
99
9257
2007:
99
9742
2008:
99
9500
2009:
99
9406
2010:
87
9674
2011:
87
9900
2012:
87
10665
2013:
87
10732
2014:
75
11599
2015:
76
12955
L79
Attachment 3
Housing Trends
Figure 3 below shows the City of Costa Mesa housing trends from 1990 to 2020.
FIGURE 3: COSTA MESA HOUSING TRENDS 1990 TO 2020
50000
46,296
45000
42,867
39,611
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000 ---
- - -
1990 2010 2020
Year
Year —Total Hcusing Units
Source: 1. Bureau of the Census, 1990, 2000, 2010 Census. 2. 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5 -Year
Estimates.
Figure 3 shows the number of housing units in the City in 1990 was 39,611 and by the year 2020 that is
expected to grow to 46,296, which is a 6,685 unit increase in a 30 year period.
Attachment 4
Population Data
Just as the number of housing units grow in the chart shown above, so does the population. Figure
5shows the City's population growth from 2010 to 2019.
FIGURE 4: COSTA MESA POPULATION DATA FROM 2010 TO 2019
118,000
116,705
116,000
114,4
114,000
112,1
112,000
109,9
110,000
108,000
106,000 ...............
2010 2013 2016 2019
Axis Title
Figure 4 shows that based upon a 2% growth model of the US Census, in 2010 the City's population was
109,960 and in 2019 it is expected to be 116,705 which is an increase of 6,745.
Attachment 5
Daily Minimum Actual Staffing per Unit for the City
This daily staffing is adequate, not excessive, for the immediate response fire risk needs presented
in most of the built-up urban areas of the City. The Department's current daily staffing of four
engines, a quint (pumper/ladder), three rescue units, and a ladder truck, are the minimum for the
risks present in the City, and is less than the Department fielded before the recession. The
Department now relies more on automatic and agreements aid than in the past.
Daily Budgeted Staffing per Unit for the City
Staff
3 Firefighters/day
Staff
Firefighters/day
Extended
Minimum
9
Unit
3 Engines @
Minimum
3
1 Quint (Ladder/engine) @
3
Firefighters/day
3
1 Engines @
4
Firefighters/day
4
1 Ladder Truck @
4
Firefighters/day
4
3 Paramedic Rescue Units @
2
Firefighters/day
6
Subtotal firefighters
Total
26
Battalion Chief/Command
1
Per day for command
1
Total
27
This daily staffing is adequate, not excessive, for the immediate response fire risk needs presented
in most of the built-up urban areas of the City. The Department's current daily staffing of four
engines, a quint (pumper/ladder), three rescue units, and a ladder truck, are the minimum for the
risks present in the City, and is less than the Department fielded before the recession. The
Department now relies more on automatic and agreements aid than in the past.
Daily Budgeted Staffing per Unit for the City
Staff
3 Firefighters/day
9
Unit
3 Engines @
1 Quint (Ladder/engine) @
3 Firefighters/day
3
1 Engines @
4 Firefighters/day
4
1 Ladder Truck (Station #6) @
2 Firefighters/day
2
3 Paramedic Rescue Units @
2 Firefighters/day
6
Subtotal firefighters
24
Battalion Chief/Command
1 Per day for command
1
Total
25
STAFFING
Costa Mesa Fire Department
Fire Station Locations with Assigned Apparatus~
Station #1 - 2803 Royal Palm .� ;!-slation•s
•1 Paramedic Assessment Engine (3)v•
•1 Paramedic Rescue Ambulance (2)
Station #2 - 800 Baker Street
• I Paramedic Assessment Engine (3)
• 1 Paramedic Rescue Ambulance (2)
• 771r,f `Station #3 -1865 Park Avenue 7 ;-,• I BLS Engine (3)
•i Paramedic Rescue Ambulance (2) `�} - Station 5
Sinlior•Y � I t � �
Station #4 - 2300 Placentia Avenue it * --
• I Ounu/Cambinatzon Pumper (3) X, �="• �,'
• 1 Urban Search 6 Rescue Apparatus ('Cross -Staffed)
Station #5 - 2450 Vanguard Way � `- .1-'steon'� r=.: w f
Lagena
•1 Paramedic Engine (4)
rosrm�
•1 Command Vehtcle/Battalon Chief (1) - --
,.:
Station #6 - 3350 Sakioka Drive
• t Aerial Ladder (Tiller)Truck (4)
� sum z
� su.00a
'Current deployment is 26" Firelighters a day -
a•°°'•
"Currently budgeted for 24 Firelighters a day i
a1°an°
- A•Oon 6
Attachment 6
Table 6a - Resources Sent to Common Risk Types
rMinimum
Type of Resources Sent
1 Engine or Quint or Ladder, and 1 Paramedic Rescue
Total Minimum
Personnel Sent
5 or 6
1 -Patient EMS
Auto Fire
1 Engine
3 or 4
Residential
Building Fire
3 Engines, 1 Ladder Truck, 1 Paramedic unit, 1 Battalion
Chief
16
Traffic Accident
1 Engine or Quint or Ladder, 1 Paramedic Rescue, and
1 Battalion Chief
7
Vegetation Fire
2 Engines and 1 Battalion Chief
7
First Alarm (Effective Response Force) Performance to Building Fires
In the Department, the response plan is for three engines, one ladder truck, one paramedic rescue,
and one Battalion Chief, for a minimum force total of 16 personnel. The desired travel time goal
in NFPA 1710 for career fire departments in urban areas is that the last unit arrive within 8 minutes
travel time to 90% of the First Alarms. Table 6a shows resources sent to common risk types and
Table 6b shows by station area the time that the ERF arrived on scene. Given the low number of
these incidents in a year, and the somewhat random distribution of the locations, the sample size
is small and should not be regarded as statistically significant year-to-year.
Given the low count per station area, the lowest to highest ERF response times are given:
Table 6b -Total Response Time for First Alarm Performance to Building Fires
L Station
Station 1
Total
(10:24 min goal)
7:16 to 14:05
Station 2
10:39 to 10:54
Station 3
7:41 to 11:55
Station 4
12:48
Station 5
8:29 to 10:06
Station 6
9:15
Given the Department's multiple station locations, it beats or only slightly exceeds its response
time goal to multiple -unit incidents.
Attachment 7
Unit Hour Utilization
Tables 7 and 8 depict a Unit -Hour Utilization (UHU) summary breakdown. The percentage listed
is the percentage likelihood a particular unit is involved in an incident at any given hour. This
number considers not only the number of incidents, but also the duration of incidents. The busiest
units are listed first.
Table 7 - Unit -Hour Utilization - Engine Units
0:00
12.15%
10.53%
6.919%.44"l°
10.86%
1:00
11.15%
9.04%
5.50%
4.52%
2.46%
3.27%
2:00
10.52%
7.83%
8.27%
3.40%
3.94%
3.51%
3:00
7.99%
5.51%
5.31%
4.16%
2.99%
2.69%
4:00
5.96%
5.67%
4.72%
3.02%
2.64%
2.59%
5:00
9.18%
6.24%
4.18%
2.87%
2.76%
2.09%
6:00
11.28%
8.68%
5.46%
3.56%
2.39%
4.54%
7:00
15.95%
10.23%
7.51%
7.02%
4.26%
4.16%
8:00
25.42%
17.51%
11.88%
9.70%
13,01%
4.04%
9:00
64%
14.45%
13.24%
9.66%
6.46%
5.78%
10:00
23.64%
16.59%
16.03%
11.47%
9.18%
9.30%
11:00
23.27%
13.19%
12.66%
10.77%
8.17%
9.84%
12:00
23.83%
14.87%
13.15%
10.84%
7.68%
10.32%
13:00
21.94%
20.95%
15.83%
12.63%
7.66%
8.17%
14:00
25.81%
17.81%
15.30%
13.49%
11.32%
9.05%
15:00
23.68%
14.88%
16.12%
12.02%
9.55%
8.12%
16:00
22.82%
14.17%
16.15%
11.13%
10.37%
7.16%
17:00
27.39%
18.32%
15.96%
10.57%
10.36%
9.00%
18:00
22.48%
17.23%
14.21%
10.05%
8.43%
9.27%
19:00
25.26%
17.00%
12.13%
10.65%
5.91%
11.74%
20:00
27.86%
18.75%
14.06%
8.87%
15.19%
7.70%
21:00
20.07%
12.80%
10.19%
8.28%
6.13%
5.44%
22:00
16.89%
14.42%
9.64%
5.96%
7.04%
4.82%
23:00
13.44%
11.62%
8.17%
6.90%
4.49%
3.88%
Overall
18.82%
13.27%
10.94% 1
8.17%
1 7.22%
6.28%
(UHU) is a measure of availability and readiness. If a resource is committed to emergency
incidents 10% of the time, then it is available 90% of the time for other incidents. When trying to
meet a 90% response time goal, the ideal UHU is 10%.
It is apparent that, at peak hours of the day, at least two Costa Mesa units, an engine and paramedic
rescue, are committed to incidents between 20% and 30% of each hour from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
The second paramedic rescue is utilized nearly as much. When these units are committed, the
remaining units must cover the rest of the City. The Department can use mutual aid, but the other
departments are also busy at the same hours of the day.
Table 8 - Unit Hour Utilization - Paramedic Rescue Units
Hour
0:00
Medic 83
14.55%
Medic 82
_ ....... ........
Medic 81-
.
1:00
12.27%
7.98%
7.28%
2:00
10.18%
7.67%
6.52%
3:00
6.27%
5.46%
5.38%
4:00
9.77%
5.17%
6.72%
5:00
8.62%
4.96%
4.83%
6:00
11.20%
9.39%
6.71%
7:00
16.45%
11.77%
9.04%
8:00
24.40%
15.60%
14.20%
9:00
20.28%
18.11%
14.93%
10:00
22.06%
19.67%
18.63%
11:00
20.25%
19.93%
21.55%
12:00
24.30%
18.30%
19.17%
13:00
"'630.01%
20.02%
19.99%
14:00
24.74%
19.50%
24.22%
15:00
24.18%
27.70%
22.61%
16:00
21.48%
18.41%
23.30%
17:00
27.10%
20.33%
18.70%
18:00
25.04%
18.88%
17.98%
19:00
22.50%
20.98%
15.60%
20:00
24.79%
19.14%
16.28%
21:00
18.09%
18.07%
15.39%
22:00
16.96%
11.97%
9.88%
23:00
14.87%
11.77%9.47%
Overall
18.76%
14.86%
14.05%
It is also important to consider the ideal maximum utilization percentage on a firefighting unit.
During the 9 -hour daytime work period, when crews on a 24-hour shift need to also pay attention
to a number of other considerations including apparatus/equipment check out and maintenance,
station duties, training (mandatory, specialized, and continuing), personal protective equipment
(PPE) safety checks/maintenance, community risk reduction activities, fire/life safety inspections,
high-rise certification, hazardous materials disclosure and business emergency plan program,
public education, required physical fitness/wellness training, and administrative responsibilities.
Attachment 8
`NOTE: Everytime the City of Costa Mesa hires anew Firefighter the overtime is replaced by salary. One year of Firefighter overtime is= 128,273;
then replaced by annual salary and rollup costs of anew FF = $81,295. Resulting net savings of $46,978 per open position.
* Health benefits are excluded from calculation.
Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Department - Current Annual Firefighter Costs
Firefighter - top step
e no"I,
7,127.00
I
85,524.00
I � ! ! 4
85,523.95
111 Q
® RA
R
� ' G
pie
8,556.86
3,947.26
e
6,672.12
. i ���
H
M*ID
104,700.19 62,445.84
E
ra!
167,146 03 '
Full year filled with overtime
44.05
2912
128,273.60
Firefighter under PEPRA
Firefighter - step seven
7,127.00
85,524.00
85,524.00
8,556.86
3,94726
6,672.12
104,70024
11,843.76
116,544.00
Full year filled with overtime
44.05
2912
128,273.60'
Firefighter- step one
5,318.00
63,816.00
63,816.00
None until step
6
2,763.08
6,672.12
73,251.20 ,,
8,044.08
81,295.29
Full year filled with overtime
32.87 1
95,717.44
`NOTE: Everytime the City of Costa Mesa hires anew Firefighter the overtime is replaced by salary. One year of Firefighter overtime is= 128,273;
then replaced by annual salary and rollup costs of anew FF = $81,295. Resulting net savings of $46,978 per open position.
* Health benefits are excluded from calculation.