Houston Fire Department

Houston Fire Department

CORE SERVICE ASSESSMENT PRESENTATION

March 24, 2011Terry Garrison – Fire Chief

Mayor Annise D. Parker

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HFD MISSION STATEMENT

The Houston Fire Department is a professional organization, continually seeking opportunities to serve our community through:

• FIRE PREVENTION • EMERGENCY OPERATIONS• PATIENT CARE, and• EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

HFD Strategic Goals

• Enhance health and safety of HFD members• Improve fire prevention and public safety awareness• Improve emergency response operations• Strengthen management and leadership skills• Embrace diversity• Ensure funding for operations and capital assets fulfill

the needs of department personnel and our customers• Strengthen and reinforce a positive public perception of

the department• Implement best business practices to increase

organizational effectiveness, accountability, and communications

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Houston Fire DepartmentMANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

March 2011Mayor Annise D. Parker

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Fire Chief Terry Garrison

David Persse, MDMedical Director

Finance Deputy Director

Neil J. DePascal, Jr., CPA

Financial Analysis

Budgets

Permits Office

PIOPatrick Trahan

Emergency OperationsExecutive Assistant Fire

Chief Carl Matejka

Fire Suppression &

Special Ops

Emergency Medical Services

Professional Development

(Training)

LogisticsExecutive Assistant Fire Chief

Rick Flanagan

Warehouse Operations

Air Pack

Information Technology

Fleet Services

Building Services

Staff Services

Communications (OEC - Dispatch)

Community Support

SAP Management

& Control

Life Safety Bureau

Arson Bureau

Procurement (DPU)

Planning and Homeland Security

PreventionExecutive Assistant Fire

Chief Richard Galvan

Emmanuel Finney Ph.D.Staff Psychologist

Staff Services

Legal Services

Operations Analysis

Total Employees:Classified – 3,629

Civilian - 121

Total Budget: $389.3 million

Total Employees:Classified – 8Civilian - 116


Total Employees:Classified – 198

Civilian - 29


Total Employees:Classified – 1

Civilian - 2

Total Budget: $475 thousand

Total Employees:Classified – None

Civilian – 23


Total FTEs = 4,114.3

HFD Call Volumes/Incidents/Responses

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FY 2010 FY 2011 (8 Months)

HFD Calls (Fire/EMS) 367,106 241,210

HFD Incidents 271,090 178,164

EMS Incidents 226,686 148,868

Fire Incidents 44,404 29,296

HFD Responses 547,238 363,250

EMS Vehicles 352,538 232,858

Fire Vehicles 194,700 130,392

Houston Fire DepartmentFY 2011 Current Budget

$440.2M

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Components ( $ In Millions)

Personnel Costs $413.3 94%Supplies & Other Services Discretionary $ 4.3 1% Non-Discretionary $ 18.0 4%Debt Service for Fleet $ 4.6 1%

HFD Projected Actual ExpendituresFY 2011

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FY 2011 Adopted Budget $ 441,082,046

Miscellaneous Reductions (350,000)

Furlough Savings (249,705)

Fuel Adjustment (308,546)

Health Benefits Adjustment 42,905

Termination Pay/Classified OT 8,632,602

FY 2011 Projected Current Budget $ 448,849,046

HFD Budget Actions FY 2011

• Initial budget overage was $10 million (7/11)• Cost management initiatives implemented

– Redirected classified OT from training to operations– Returned firefighters to fire stations (12/10)– Consolidated seven squads with seven BLS units (12/10)

• Pilot to be revisited 3/11 for operational effectiveness– Vacation smoothing (1/1)– Outsourcing QM function

• Preparing RFP with City Strategic Purchasing Division– Curtailed spending to “must have” items only

• Promised savings to Mayor (10/11) of $4,431,694 and the above initiatives will save approximately $4,373,231

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9

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Mark with F, S, CC,

CO or CA if applicable.

Annual Projected Personnel

Cost

Annual Projected

Supplies & Services

CostTotal

Annual Cost Man

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Ad

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(fee

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Personnel 670 - 670 2 3 S/CO X XOther Supplies & Services - 212 212

- - - - - - - - -

TOTAL 670 212 882 2 3

Administrative - Provides support to service delivery.

HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTFIRE CHIEF'S OFFICE

Categories: Mandated - Required by federal (F) or state law (S), city charter (CC), city ordinance (CO) or contractual agreement (CA).Direct service - Service provided to public.

List all activities (some may not fall under mandated, direct service, or administrative). Only check one category. Check all funding sources that apply ($ per funding source can be entered instead of an X). Projected costs and FTEs associated with activities may be listed under broad, higher-level groupings to correspond with budget cost center descriptions. This may be necessary if you can not efficiently allocate cost to the activity level.However, it is important to break down actual activities underneath these broad, higher-level descriptions. Columns are provided to break out personnel cost from supplies and services, but it is not required that you do so. The Total Annual Cost can be filled in directly without the personnel and supplies breakouts if you wish.

Activities

($ Thousands)

Civilian Headcount

1/31/11

Mark with (X) if applicable.

Classified Headcount

1/31/11

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Mark with F, S, CC, CO

or CA if applicable.


Cost

Annual Projected

Supplies & Services

CostTotal

Annual Cost Man

date

d

Dir

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fine

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Emergency Response: Fire Suppression 340,990 270 341,260 3,316 4 S/CO/CA X X Hazardous Materials Team 4,775 105 4,880 37 S/CO/CA X X Airport Operations (AARF) 14,062 187 14,249 118 S/CO/CA X X Technical Rescue Team 4,907 91 4,998 46 S/CO/CA X XEmergency Medical Services 2,857 866 3,723 8 14 S/CO/CA X XProfessional Development: Training Academy 3,111 229 3,340 16 3 S/CA X X Cadet Salaries 1,654 - 1,654 79 X XDispatch & Records Communications (OEC) 9,155 13 9,168 86 1 S/CO/CA X X

TOTAL 381,511 1,761 383,272 3,627 101

List all activities (some may not fall under mandated, direct service, or administrative). Only check one category. Check all funding sources that apply ($ per funding source can be entered instead of an X).

Projected costs and FTEs associated with activities may be listed under broad, higher-level groupings to correspond with budget cost center descriptions. This may be necessary if you can not efficiently allocate cost to the activity level.

However, it is important to break down actual activities underneath these broad, higher-level descriptions. Columns are provided to break out personnel cost from supplies and services, but it is not required that you do so. The Total Annual Cost can be filled in directly without the personnel and supplies breakouts if you wish.

Activities

($ Thousands)

Civilian Headcount

1/31/11



1/31/11


HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTEMERGENCY RESPONSE


EMERGENCY RESPONSE CORE SERVICES(Suppression, Special Operations, EMS, Training, OEC)

CORE SERVICE

DESCRIPTION IMPACT IF REDUCED/ELIMINATED

SUPPRESSION 24 hour, 365 day continuous firefighting and first responder emergency medical service provided through 92 fire stations strategically located throughout the city and daily on-duty staff of 796 firefighters; Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification 1 Rating

Fewer personnel & apparatus responding; increased fire incident response time that could lead to greater risk & loss to both public and responding personnel; increased first responder incident time leading to morbidity & mortality; an increase in both civilian and firefighter injuries; increased fire insurance premiums

SPECIAL OPERATIONS

Units specially trained to respond to hazardous materials incidents, aircraft rescue incidents, extrication, swift water, confined space, trench cave-ins and WMD/terrorism threats

The special nature of these incidents poses above average risk and consequently can result in large losses of life, property value and productivity.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

Provide immediate treatment to those in need of urgent medical care; transport to appropriate medical facility

Fewer personnel and EMS units responding increases EMS response time which directly impacts survivability of individuals experiencing medical emergencies.

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EMERGENCY RESPONSE CORE SERVICES(Suppression, Special Operations, EMS, Training, OEC)

CORE SERVICE


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/TRAINING

Prepare new recruits to be entry level firefighters according to state established standards; maintain veteran firefighter state mandated skills and certifications through continuing education and live skills evolutions and training

Reduction in quality of training necessary to maintain Texas Commission on Fire Protection certifications; annual attrition without personnel replacement increases overtime costs; FY2011 new hires total of 95; 771 firefighters have 25+ years of service. Attrition in FY 2011 projected at 147 FF and in FY 2012 160 FF.

OFFICE OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

24 hour, 365 day emergency dispatch; gather information, determine and dispatch appropriate personnel and apparatus; maintain all Fire/EMS Records; inspect/test fire hydrants;EMS average call processing time 101 seconds, Fire average call processing time 114 seconds

Negative impact on fire and emergency medical services provided; increased call processing time leading to delays in overall emergency response time that will increase the life safety risk to the public; additional hazards and life safety risks for responding personnel

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MEDICAL DIRECTOR CORE SERVICES(Quality Assurance, Telehealth Nurse, Telemetry)

CORE SERVICE


QUALITY ASSURANCE

Approve the level of pre-hospital care which may be rendered locally by EMS personnel employed by and/or volunteering with EMS under the medical director's supervision, before the certificant or licensee is permitted to provide such care to the public. (State mandate)

Quality of patient care and EMS health care delivery system will deteriorate; negatively impact HFD's ability to meet the minimum standard of EMS healthcare.

TELEMETRY Tracks and directs ambulances to appropriate facilities; facilitate voice communication between field personnel and on-line medical oversight for critically ill and injured patients; records all interactions involving DNR orders (State mandate); monitors and evaluates adherence to standard of patient care and HFD protocols; 1,167 adult medical care cardiac arrest cases as of 2/28/2011.

Management (medical) will be impaired resulting in increased risk to patients; dangerous delays for acute heart attack patients. The ability of field personnel to manage critically ill patients will be impaired resulting in preventable morbidity and mortality.

TELEHEALTH NURSE

A collaborative process to reduce the burden on HFD & local hospital emergency departments of non emergent 9-1-1 callers; connect patients/clients to medical homes and reduce their reliance on emergency services for primary healthcare.

HFD has realized a 3.7% reduction in EMS call volume over the past two years vs. historic increase of 2% annually. If this program is reduced or eliminated HFD could potentially see a significant increase in call volume.

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Cost

Annual Projected

Supplies & Services

CostTotal

Annual Cost Man

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Personnel 464 - 464 1 2 S X XSupplies & Other services 11 11 X

- - - - - - - - -

TOTAL 464 11 475 1 2




Activities

($ Thousands)

Civilian Headcount

1/31/11



1/31/11


HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTSTAFF SERVICES


STAFF SERVICES CORE SERVICES(Staff/Legal Services, Operations Analysis)

CORE SERVICE


STAFF/LEGAL SERVICES

Investigation of violation of department, city, state, and federal laws and regulations by HFD classified personnel; provide detailed information to personnel on procedural stages of the grievance process; maintain written records of each step in the grievance process; 92 new complaint cases as of 1/31/2011

Reduced staff could result in delays in investigations and possible infraction of Local Government Code procedures leading to costly appeals and litigation; reduction could hamper ability to facilitate and conduct timely investigation of allegations of employee misconduct; a reduction of checks and balances for all discipline matters; loss of on-site advice and counsel on legal aspects of operational decisions, contract/other grievance issues. Grievance counselor mandated by state law.

OPERATIONS ANALYSIS

Gather departmental operations information; analyze for policy development and evaluation, formulation of program concepts and implementation strategies, collaboration and coordination with stakeholders, and advice and alternatives for assessing matters critical to the department

Negatively impact HFD’s ability to properly analyze and validate current and retrospective fire, EMS and logistical performance data; lesser ability to gauge accomplishment of established critical success factors 17

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Cost

Annual Projected

Supplies & Services

CostTotal

Annual Cost Man

da

ted

Dir

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Ser

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Ad

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Warehouse Operations 1,134 5,198 6,332 - 21 X XFleet Management 5,477 7,255 12,732 1 73 X XH/R - Risk Management 1,616 98 1,714 1 6 S X XAir Pack Maintenance 182 543 725 - 4 F X XInformation Technology 749 2,899 3,648 - 7 X XSupport Administration 746 8 754 6 5 X X

- - - - -

9,904 16,001 25,905 8 116


Projected costs and FTEs associated with activities may be listed under broad, higher-level groupings to correspond with budget cost center descriptions. This may be necessary if you can not efficiently allocate cost to the activity level.However, it is important to break down actual activities underneath these broad, higher-level descriptions. Columns are provided to break out personnel cost from supplies and services, but it is not required that you do so. The Total Annual Cost can be filled in directly without the personnel and supplies breakouts if you wish.

Activities

($ Thousands)

Civilian Headcount

1/31/11



1/31/11


HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTSUPPORT


SUPPORT CORE SERVICES(Warehouse, Fleet, IT, Air Pack)

CORE SERVICE


WAREHOUSE Provide station and EMS supplies in a timely manner; oversight for uniform distribution and voucher program

Successful completion of Fire and EMS duties requires that stations and apparatus are properly supplied and that FF are issued PPE and life safety equipment. Warehouse personnel are on 24 hour call for larger scale incidents requiring additional resources.

FLEET The repair and maintenance of all rolling stock, small engine repair, fuel accounting/monitoring, fabrication shop, body repair shop

Decreased expertise for repair of department apparatus; increased cost for service repairs and out of service time. Consolidation raises service level concerns for emergency vehicles.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Support Dispatch/Emergency Alerting Systems, Fire Records, HFD Staffing, Arson/Hazmat records, revenue generating systems

Mission critical applications would no longer be maintained. Supports HFD on-line mandated FF training.

AIR PACK Maintenance of in-service and inventory air pack supply, also known as SCBA or self-contained breathing apparatus.

Reduced life saving support to responding personnel; increased risk and mortality.

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Cost

Annual Projected

Supplies & Services

CostTotal

Annual Cost Man

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Life Safety Bureau 14,706 66 14,772 116 13 S/CO/CA X XFire Investigation (Arson) 7,980 71 8,051 67 7 S/CO/CA X XCommunity Support: Community Outreach 1,615 18 1,633 7 4 X X Classified Recruiting 729 109 838 1 - X XPlanning & Homeland Security: Critical Incident Stress Mgmt 103 5 108 1 - X X Operations Analysis 286 5 291 - 3 X X Support & OEM Liaison 874 25 899 5 2 X X New Equip Research & Testing 100 - 100 1 - X X

26,393 299 26,692 198 29


HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTPREVENTION





Activities

($ Thousands)

Civilian Headcount

1/31/11



1/31/11

PREVENTION CORE SERVICES(Life Safety Bureau, Arson, PIO, Planning/Homeland Security)

CORE SERVICE


LIFE SAFETY BUREAU

Inspection of educational, institutional, residential, and special operations facilities to determine: proper handling and storage of hazardous materials, proper installation and maintenance of fire alarms systems and fire extinguishing equipment; 40,954 inspections completed as of 1/31/2011

There will be a delay in the current inspection cycle; target areas are prioritized and provided with sufficient staffing to provide a reasonable inspection cycle; longer time between inspections for schools, hospitals, jails, nursing homes, night clubs, high rise facilities, sports stadiums. Potential for a higher loss of life and property damage.

ARSON The law enforcement agency of the Houston Fire Department ; responds in the event of incendiary fires, multiple alarm fires, fire deaths, bombings and criminal or terrorist activity associated with fires; conduct follow-up investigations in a timely manner; 1,415 arson unit responses as of 1/31/2011 with 23% average monthly case clearance.

Negative impact on arson crime rate and case clearance rate; increased length of time before incident follow-up could lead to loss or alteration of evidence and decreased ability to interact with witnesses; overall negative quality of life for citizens and businesses through higher insurance premiums and loss of potentially prosecutable cases.

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PREVENTION CORE SERVICES(Life Safety Bureau, Arson, PIO, Planning/Homeland Security)

CORE SERVICE


PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE

Provide community engagement that protects the health and safety of the public; provides a critical link between the community, stakeholders and the department; respond to media requests for information/interviews; smoke detector distribution and public instruction on evacuation planning

Decrease effectiveness of fire safety message in the community; loss of valuable relationships with stakeholders – negative impact on community disaster preparedness programs

PLANNING/HOMELAND SECURITY

Gather world and national intelligence related to homeland security issues; forward to HFD personnel and citizens to maintain a safe environment.

Major safety impact on the city as well as the region and fire department personnel. Terroristic threats and ever changing risk assessment make this a vital position.

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Cost

Annual Projected

Supplies & Services

CostTotal

Annual Cost Ma

nd

ate

d

Dir

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Se

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Ad

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Ge

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ral

Fun

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Sp

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rise

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Finance 169 685 854 - 7 X XPermits Office 369 12 381 - 7 CO X XProcurement 469 29 498 - 6 S/CO X XAccounts Payable 151 - 151 3 X X

- - - - - - -

1,158 726 1,884 - 23




Activities

($ Thousands)

Civilian Headcount

1/31/11



1/31/11


HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENTFINANCE


FINANCE CORE SERVICES(Finance/Budget, Procurement, Permits/Revenue, Accounts Payable)

CORE SERVICE


FINANCE/BUDGET Co-ordinate preparation of annual budget and Five Year Plan; prepare MFOR (Monthly Financial Operating Report); prepare financial analysis reports

Reduced fiscal accountability. Monitor effectiveness of HFD internal controls. Provide access to SAP and monitor approval processes.

PROCUREMENT Provide critical in-house service for the timely procurement of emergency related supplies and services; manage supplies and professional services contracts

Maintain compliance with city and state procurement laws. Delayed procurement of supplies and services could adversely impact service levels

PERMITS OFFICE/REVENUE Collection of revenue related to department activities/co-ordinate cash pick-up/deposits; process travel reimbursements, advances and liquidations; count and deposit permit revenue

Monitors compliance with permit requirements. Insures that renewal notices are processed or NLN has been determined. Processes all cash transactions. Bank deposits.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Timely payment of invoices Maintain vendor relations. Insure appropriate amount of funds are disbursed. Insure all documents that support the disbursement are in order. 24

Houston Fire DepartmentClassified FTEs

25

Houston Fire DepartmentCivilian FTEs

26Note: Effective 7/1/11 HFD will transfer 73 civilians to FMD

AVERAGE PERSONNEL COSTS (Annualized Salary and Fringes)

Apparatus Minimum Staffing Requirements• 2 Firefighters• 1 Engineer/Operator• 1 Captain

TOTAL AVERAGE PERSONNEL COSTS/SHIFT…………. ..$282,281STAFFING FACTOR………………………………………………… 4.66ANNUAL COSTS FOR FIRE APPARATUS……………… $1,315,429

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Houston Fire DepartmentDaily Resource Deployment

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Council Districts

Fire Stations

Minimum Staffing Engines Ladders

EMS Transport

UnitsSpecial

Operations Misc.

District Chiefs EMS Supervisors Safety Officers

A 11 82 11 2 9 - - 3

B 15 128 12 5 14 12 - 2

C 6 46 6 1 7 - - 3

D 11 103 11 6 14 - - 5

E 16 110 14 8 11 3 - 4

F 5 54 5 3 8 1 - 1

G 7 62 7 3 8 - 1 4

H 10 98 10 3 13 1 2 9

I 11 113 11 6 11 3 2 5

Total 92 796 87 37 95 20 5 36

REVENUE OVERVIEWACCOUNT DESCRIPTION FY10 FY11 FORECAST

SPECIAL FIRE PERMITS Revenue collected for special permits - tied to event stand-bys (tent permits, gas permits, fireworks permits)

$5,019,199 $5,020,000

FIRE ALARM PERMITS Commercial permitting for fire alarm systems 220,164 261,995

INTERFUND FIRE PROTECTION SVCS

HAS reimbursement to HFD for firefighting services (personnel, supplies, services and capital)

16,244,268 16,642,455

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE/PERMIT

Billable Incidents – sliding scale based on number of employees and facilities a business operates

84,870 89,600

AMBULANCE FEES Patient transports 21,638,983 24,000,000

PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT FEES Fees for Fire Records, EMS Records, Witness Records, Medical Billings Subpoenas

91,402 88,720

FIREFIGHTING SERVICES City of Houston provides firefighting services to MUD’s (e.g. Summerwood MUD, Kings Manor)

449,691 600,000

FALSE ALARM PENALTIES Commercial fire alarm revenue 402,405 903,000

CELL TOWER REVENUE Revenue from cellular phone service providers 162,022 125,020

RECOVERIES AND REFUNDS Special after-hours inspections and stand-bys. Customer pays for services offsets classified OT.

1,967,414 2,000,000

OTHER REVENUE Interfund Vehicle Repair, Copy Fees, Returned Check Charges

402,277 612,544

TOTAL REVENUE $46,682,695 $50,255,009

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WE ARE THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT

And We are PROUD To Serve YOU!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME …

Courage Compassion Commitment

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Houston Fire Department