Facts and Figures a Fire Chief Should Know

“Shorty” Bryson

Why is it Important?

Impressive to others

Gives you confidence

People like quick information

Increases your technical knowledge

Quick HittersTotal Annual BudgetTotal OT with trends and reasonsNumber and types of

units,teams,stationsWhy is there minimum staffing?Diversity numbers and why?CBA knowledge Number of LD people on averageCalls for types of service (EMS, Fire,

Other)

Relief FactorPrimarily used in Operations The Relief Factor is the number of

personnel required on the payroll to fill one position 24/7.

It's very useful in quickly determining how many additional (or fewer) personnel will be required on the payroll to add (or reduce) response units.

Some departments have a relief factor for each rank

Elements used to calculate the Relief Factor

Work Week – Usually specified in the CBA (If not calculate it)

Example of the impact of the work weekWk/hrs Work Wk. # Personnel

168 40 4.2

168 42 4.0

168 44 3.8

168 46 3.7

168 48 3.5

168 50 3.4

168 52 3.2

168 54 3.1

Elements used to calculate the Relief FactorAll other paid time off (sick,

vacation, on duty injuries, FMLA, family death, etc.)

Total for all time used, divided by number of filled operational position, divided by 52 weeks.

Subtract this number from the work week. The result is the number of weekly hours employees actually work.

Elements used to calculate the Relief FactorTo get your Relief Factor divide

168 by the hours above.Example: CBA work week is 48

hrs. Other hrs comes out to 7.8 per week. The RF is 40.2 (48-7.8)

To keep one position filled 24/7 you must have 4.2 on the payroll

A four person unit requires 16.8 (17) people.

Uses of the Relief FactorNumber of people required to

staff apparatusThe optimum number on staff to

have the right amount of OT for efficiency

Figure average FF salaries and use the RF to determine the cost.

Unit AvailabilityUsed to determine a % of the

amount of time a specific unit is available for first due response.

Determine average handling times for types of calls. Multiply it be the average calls per shift to determine the out of service time per shift.

Good way to determine when adjustments need to be made.

Hole in One!