HomeMy WebLinkAboutFire Commission 2016-04-13 MinutesCITY OF SAN RAFAEL FIRE DEPARTMENT
FIRE COMMISSION MEETING
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
April 13, 2016
Station 52, 210 Third Street, San Rafael
PRESENT STAFF PRESENT
Stephen Mizroch
Larry Luckham Fire Chief Chris Gray
Carolyn Lenert Deputy Fire Chief Robert Sinnott
Leonard Thompson Battalion Chief Jeff Rowan
David Fonkalsrud, Commissioner Alternate
ABSENT
Thomas Weathers, Commissioner
Chair Stephen Mizroch called the Fire Commission to order at 4:00pm. The Minutes of
the January meeting were approved.
Reports
Chair Mizroch thanked Commissioner Emeritus Aaron Golbus for his service and
introduced the new Commissioner Alternate David Fonkalsrud and welcomed him. The
Commissioners then introduced themselves and got to know David.
Commissioner Luckham’s reported from his activities with Firefighters Without Borders,
a Canadian group of volunteers with 20 years’ of service. See Fire Chief Gray’s report
for details.
He created a site for this year’s photos at http://www.firefighters2bomberos.com.
Commissioner Lenert has no formal report this month.
Commissioner Thompson. San Rafael Fire Foundation is in a period self-examination
and evaluation. He will report on prospects for the upcoming Wine Stroll. He will attend
an upcoming board meeting of the SRFF and report back to the Fire Commission. He
recommended Commissioners visit the Foundation’s website at
http://srfirefoundation.org/.
Report from Chief Gray. Please see the attached written report to the Fire
Commission.
1. San Rafael Fire Department has earned ISO Class 1, a great advance over its
former Class 3 designation. This achievement includes evaluations of risk
management, water supply, dispatch as well as staffing, training and equipment.
Deputy Chief Sinnott prepared the necessary statistical data. It is anticipated
that insurance rates for commercial and residential properties will have reduced
premiums. The certification is held for 10 years.
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL FIRE DEPARTMENT
FIRE COMMISSION MEETING
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
April 13, 2016
Station 52, 210 Third Street, San Rafael
2. He reported on the Essential Facilities Project. Station 2 requires no
environmental review. The PSC and Station 7 have environmental issues due to
wetlands, historic issues, and the size of the buildings, therefore the review
process is more lengthy. The goals of the project are: complete the buildings
ahead of schedule and on budget. The temporary relocation of facilities has
been finalized.
3. Two new Pierce engines have been ordered for delivery in January.
4. The Chief proposed and the Fire Commission discussed the formation of an ad
hoc subcommittee to archive, restore, preserve and display SRFD history. A
lobby showcase at the Public Safety Center. Phoenix, AZ has an outstanding
example. Brian Auger and Hunt Automotive have express interest. Several
Commissioners expressed interest in developing this resource.
5. Chief Gray indicated that the City would be open to a SRFD time capsule for the
PSC.
6. Chief Gray said that he would provide an update on the Marin Emergency Radio
Authority’s work on its new emergency communications system.
The meeting adjourned at 5:25pm.
Fire Commission – Fire Chief Update – April 13, 2016
Congratulations to Fire Commissioner’s Thomas Weathers and David
Fonkalsrud (Alternate) on being selected by our City Council to a four -
year term. We appreciate and value your service to San Rafael.
Our ISO Class 1 designation became official on April 1, 2016.
Everyone benefits…congratulations!
Fire Engineer/Paramedic Justin Barrow was promoted to Fire Captain
on March 16, 2016. Justin is a very capable and passionate
individual whom we have great confidence in. I’m sure Capt. Barrow
will continue to do an outstanding job as he serves in his new role as
the Company Commander at Engine/Medic 56-B.
Four candidates remain on the Fire Engineer Eligibility List and we
have one vacancy. We will be conducting interviews soon.
We are conducting another Firefighter/Paramedic recruitment and planning a Joint Academy in May. We
currently have four vacancies. Corte Madera, Larkspur and Marinwood have all expressed interest in
adding new hires to the Academy.
Significant progress continues with our Essential Facilities Project. Designs for the facilities are evolving
nicely and Open Houses soliciting public input have now been completed for FS 51 (Public Safety Center),
FS’s 52 and 57. We have also been to the Design Review Board (DRB) for all three projects. FS 52 and
FS 57 have received DRB approval and on April 12, 2016, the Planning Commission approved the design
for Fire Station 52. Both the PSC and FS 57 have a longer road due to environmental review.
The temporary relocation of FS 51, 52 and 57 has now been finalized. Engine and Medic 51 plus our BC
will move to the upper parking lot of City Hall. Fire Admin to the 51 Annex at 1039 C St.; Engine 52 to 519
Fourth St.; Engine 57 to FS 53 @ 30 Joseph Ct and Medic 53 to FS 56 at 650 De l Ganado.
A tentative agreement has been reached with Marin County regarding CSA 19 and FS 57 that should take
us through another 40 years. The new agreement includes an increase in the annual payment to San
Rafael for staffing with an escalator; a cost share for the new station; land lease and lot adjustment to
exclude the wetland area and the purchase of FS 53 by Marin County for use by the Tam Fire Crew.
Budget preparation continues for FY 2016/17. Paramedic taxes will once again not be increased to
residents and businesses. Nearly all of our City Employee Groups are currently in negotiations.
City Council approved the purchase of two new Pierce Fire Engines that will be delivered in January 2017.
We continue to work toward implementing Paramedic service in Marinwood. At this
point Marinwood has one qualified Paramedic to initiate service.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Dept. successfully launched a new Computer Aided
Dispatch system on March 29th after nearly two years of preparation.
FF/PM Trina Vadon recently had a baby boy, Tanner. Mom and baby are doing well.
Sono Zhang, our ambulance billing specialist who had a baby girl, Kathleen, has
decided to resign from her position. We appreciate Sono’s many contributions with
Joyce to our Paramedic service and wish her all the best. Sono may return in a
part-time capacity in the future.
For the past four years, San Rafael Firefighter/Paramedic Angel Landaverde has
been part of a dedicated group of firefighters and civilians from across Canada and
the United States of America “Firefighters Without Borders” who work to offer a
“hand up” to their brother and sister firefighters in less developed countries. Angel
has been involved with FWB since 2008 and has participated in eight missions. During this year’s mission
to Guatemala, Firefighter/Paramedic Angel Landaverde was joined by Capt. Robert de Lambert; Fire
Commissioner Larry Luckham, Firefighter/Paramedics Scott Preckwinkle, Gabe Williams, Andy Schifando
and Pepi Morel. We are very proud of our firefighters for helping in this way and have personally
participated in these types of exchanges in foreign countries as well.
san-rafael-firefighters-train-ill-equipped-emergency-responders-in-latin-america.
Larry completed a blog post of the trip at: http://www.firefighters2bomberos.com
Thank you for your continued outstanding public service, it is valued and appreciated.
Respectfully,
Christopher R. Gray, Fire Chief