2007 Fire Department Objectives with Accomplishments

Reduce new construction fire permit turnaround times from 60 days to 30 days or less.

Turnaround times are still at 60 days. Fire and Planning staff are exploring alternatives to produce desired results.

Update the Fire Department Development Standards, in coordination with updating the overall City Development Standards.

Project is nearing completion with significant progress made in developing standards in two key areas – fire department access and high rise buildings. Environmental impacts of impervious surfaces have been lessened by reducing size of streets required for fire department access.

Adopt the 2006 International Fire Code, and related amendments.

Completed.

Create a City Emergency Management Division and begin efforts to strengthen disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. (Council Goal 11)

The City of Bellingham Office of Emergency Management is up and running. Relationships have been established with the neighborhood associations and city departments, and an aggressive disaster preparedness campaign is underway. The Office is also updating the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.

Conduct two Firefighter recruit training academies.

Completed.

Conduct one company officer academy.

Completed.

Replace all self-contained breathing apparatus.

We did not receive federal funding to accomplish this in 2007. Federal grant funding has been awarded to the Department for 2008 for this project.

Fully implement the PRO QA Medical Dispatch Software to reduce the time to dispatch and improve the effectiveness of the Emergency Medical Dispatch System.

The software has been purchased and installed, and all dispatchers have been trained on the program.

Implement the Fire Priority Dispatch System, developed by the National Academy Fire Protocol, to streamline the dispatch of fire emergencies.

The software has been purchased and installed, and all dispatchers have been trained on the program. Work is underway with the county fire agencies to alter the fire incident types to sync with the new program. Full implementation is anticipated by mid-2008.

Complete paramedic training for six paramedic students and initiate a 2007 class of six paramedic students.

Six paramedic students have completed training. The second class has been deferred to mid-2008 due to program cost and logistical issues. We anticipate transitioning the course to Western Washington University’s Certificate Program in early 2008.

Implement contracts with county basic life support (BLS) ambulance services addressing joint operational payment for services procedures.

Draft contracts have been distributed to all county fire agencies. We continue to work with these agencies and the Ambulance Advisory Board to implement these contracts.