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Comprehensive Fire/EMS

Service

Audit/Master Plan

Developed for the

Submitted by

June 2015

Shelbyville Fire Department

Shelbyville, Indiana

McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. Page 2

McGrath Consulting Group, Inc.

P.O. Box 190

Wonder Lake, IL 60097

Office (815) 728-9111

Fax (815) 331-0215

Email [email protected]

www.mcgrathconsulting.com

©Copyright 2015 McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the

expressed written permission of McGrath Consulting Group, Inc.

mailto:[email protected]


Table of Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 11 Department Overview ............................................................................................................... 11

Governance ............................................................................................................................... 12

Leadership ................................................................................................................................. 13

Fire Department Data ................................................................................................................ 13

Emergency Activity .................................................................................................................. 14

National Standards .................................................................................................................... 15

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - Non-mandatory.......................................... 15

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - Mandatory ............................... 15

Insurance Service Offices, Inc. (ISO) - Non-mandatory ...................................................... 15

Center for Public Safety Excellence - Non-mandatory ......................................................... 16

Response Times ........................................................................................................................ 16

Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) .................................................................................... 17

Staffing ...................................................................................................................................... 17

Human Resources ..................................................................................................................... 18

Facilities .................................................................................................................................... 20 Apparatus .................................................................................................................................. 21

Training ..................................................................................................................................... 22

Fire Prevention / Safety Education ........................................................................................... 23

Fiscal ......................................................................................................................................... 24

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 26 Priority Ranking Description .................................................................................................... 31

Governance and Management ................................................................................................... 32

Fire Department Overview ........................................................................................................ 35 EMS Service History ................................................................................................................ 35

Emergency Activities .................................................................................................................. 39 What Constitutes Good Emergency Activities Data? ............................................................... 39

Why is Relevant, Accurate, and Reliable Data Essential to Leadership? ............................. 40

Recommendation – Data Usage ............................................................................................ 41

Which Data is More Accurate – Dispatch or Fire Department? ........................................... 41

What is the Real Data Issue?................................................................................................. 41

Recommendation – Citywide Quality/Assurance Program .................................................. 42

Recommendation – Fire Department Quality/Assurance Program ...................................... 43

Consultants Use of Shelbyville’s Data ................................................................................. 43

Recommendations – Data ..................................................................................................... 43

Ten-Year Emergency Activity Totals ....................................................................................... 44

Recommendation – Ten Year Response Data ....................................................................... 46

Breakdown of EMS and Fire Call Totals .................................................................................. 46

Fire Service Response Model ................................................................................................... 47

Recommendation – Third Ambulance ................................................................................... 48

Incident by Nature .................................................................................................................... 48

Shelbyville NFIRS Data 2012 – 2014 .................................................................................. 49

Comparing Shelbyville to National NFIRS Statistics – 2014 ................................................... 49


Emergency Service Trends ....................................................................................................... 50

Simultaneous/Overlapping Incidents .................................................................................... 50

Shelbyville Simultaneous/Overlapping Data ........................................................................ 51

Incidents by Time of Day...................................................................................................... 53

Shelbyville Incidents – Time of Day .................................................................................... 53

Incidents by Day of the Week ............................................................................................... 54

Incidents by Month ............................................................................................................... 55

Call Distribution by District .................................................................................................. 56

Identifying Call Distribution Using Township Sections ........................................................... 58

Recommendation – Distribution by District ......................................................................... 59

Call Distribution by Station .................................................................................................. 60

Station Data Concerns ........................................................................................................... 61

Call Distribution by Shift ...................................................................................................... 61

Mutual Aid/Automatic Aid ................................................................................................... 62

Partnership Opportunity ............................................................................................................ 63

Recommendation – Partnership Opportunities .................................................................... 64

Mutual Aid Box Alarm (MABAS) ....................................................................................... 64

Summary of Emergency Activities ........................................................................................... 65

Recommendation – Data Summary ....................................................................................... 65

Response Times / Public Safety Answering Point .................................................................... 66 PSAP – City and County .......................................................................................................... 66

Response Time Requires Teamwork ........................................................................................ 67

Shelbyville EMS Response ................................................................................................... 69

Response Time Components .................................................................................................... 71

Response Time Components Control By: ................................................................................ 72

Technology Considerations ...................................................................................................... 73

Recommendation – PSAP Creation Time ............................................................................. 73

Recommendation – Turnout Time (Out the Door) ................................................................ 74

Response Time Data Opportunities .......................................................................................... 74

Fire Suppression/EMS System Operations .............................................................................. 76 Fire Department Operations ...................................................................................................... 76

Ambulance Service Operations ................................................................................................ 77

Staffing/Staffing Methodology ................................................................................................... 79 City of Shelbyville Fire Department Staffing ........................................................................... 79

Station Shift Staffing ................................................................................................................ 81

Recommendations – Staffing ................................................................................................. 83

Standards of Response Coverage .............................................................................................. 84 Standards of Coverage Overview ............................................................................................. 85

Determining a Fire Department’s SOC Benchmarks................................................................ 85

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) ...................................................................... 86

Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) ..................................................... 86

Key Elements of a SOC Plan .................................................................................................... 86

SORC Integration with the Shelbyville FD .............................................................................. 90

Recommendations –Community Risk/Standards of Response Coverage .............................. 91

National/Industry Standards ..................................................................................................... 92 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) .......................................................................... 92


NFPA 1710 or NFPA 1720 ................................................................................................... 93

Recommendation – NFPA Standard 1710 ............................................................................ 94

NFPA 1710 Suppression Team ............................................................................................. 94

Shelbyville Fire Department Suppression Team .................................................................. 95

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ........................................................ 96

Recommendation – OSHA ..................................................................................................... 97

Insurance Service Offices, Inc. (ISO) ...................................................................................... 97

ISO Changes ......................................................................................................................... 98

Split Classifications .............................................................................................................. 98

What’s Changed with the New Classifications? ................................................................... 99

ISO New Fire Suppression Rating Schedule - 2013 ........................................................... 100

Fire Department Section ..................................................................................................... 102

Emergency Communications Section .................................................................................. 103

Water Supply Section .......................................................................................................... 103

Credit Point Changes .......................................................................................................... 104

Ongoing Evaluation ............................................................................................................ 104

ISO Point Scale ................................................................................................................... 105

Shelbyville Fire Department ISO Classification ................................................................. 105

Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) .......................................................................... 108

Recommendation – CPSE ................................................................................................... 110

Recommendation – National Standard General ................................................................. 110

Human Resources ..................................................................................................................... 111 Fair Labor Standards Act ........................................................................................................ 111

FLSA 7K Exemption – General Information ...................................................................... 112

Hours Worked vs. Hours Paid ........................................................................................... 114

Kelly Days .......................................................................................................................... 115

Sleep Time .............................................................................................................................. 115

FLSA – Shelbyville ............................................................................................................. 116

Averaging Pay Days ........................................................................................................... 120

Payroll Processing ............................................................................................................... 121

Recommendations -Fair Labor Standards Act ................................................................... 121

Contract Review ..................................................................................................................... 122

Recommendations - Union Contract ................................................................................... 126

Age & Years of Service .......................................................................................................... 126

Recommendations - Age and Years of Service .................................................................... 128

Recruitment ............................................................................................................................. 128

Recommendations - Recruitment ........................................................................................ 129

City Handbook Review ........................................................................................................... 129

Facilities ..................................................................................................................................... 130 City of Shelbyville Fire Stations ............................................................................................. 130

Shelbyville Fire Station #1 ..................................................................................................... 130

Recommendation – Fire Protection Systems ...................................................................... 132

Station #1 Apparatus Bay Area ........................................................................................... 132

Recommendation – Fire Pole .............................................................................................. 133

Station #1 Administration Area .......................................................................................... 133

Station #1 Living Area ........................................................................................................ 133


Recommendations – Fire Station #1 ................................................................................... 134









Emergency Management Building ......................................................................................... 138

Response Time Mapping ........................................................................................................ 140

GIS Mapping Station #1 ..................................................................................................... 140



GIS Mapping Station #1 and Station #2 Overlap ............................................................... 142



Current Fire Station Locations ................................................................................................ 145

Future Fire Station Needs ....................................................................................................... 146

Recommendation – Fourth Fire Station ............................................................................. 152

Apparatus/Equipment .............................................................................................................. 153 City of Shelbyville Fire Department Apparatus ..................................................................... 153

Apparatus Ownership and Purchase Methods ........................................................................ 154

Recommendation – Fire Apparatus Ownership .................................................................. 156

Apparatus Maintenance .......................................................................................................... 156

Recommendation – Fire Apparatus Maintenance .............................................................. 157

Recommendations – Fire Apparatus Records ..................................................................... 157

Apparatus Condition ............................................................................................................... 158

Odometers vs. Engine Hour Meters ........................................................................................ 158

Apparatus Replacement Schedule .......................................................................................... 159

Schedule for Fire Department Apparatus Replacement(s) ..................................................... 159

Recommendations – Fire Apparatus ................................................................................... 162

Sufficiency of Apparatus ........................................................................................................ 163

Recommendations – Fire Apparatus Fleet Size .................................................................. 164

Training ..................................................................................................................................... 165 Shelbyville Training Overview ............................................................................................... 165

Competencies vs. Training Hours .......................................................................................... 166

Recommendation – Competency Testing ............................................................................ 167

Certifications ........................................................................................................................... 167

Recommendation – Officer Certifications........................................................................... 168

Recommendation – Instructor I .......................................................................................... 168

Emergency Vehicle Driver Training ....................................................................................... 168

Recommendation – Drivers Certifications .......................................................................... 169

National Incident Management System .................................................................................. 169

Recommendation – Identification of Certificates................................................................ 170

Training Risk Model ............................................................................................................... 170


Recommendation – Training Hours .................................................................................... 170

Training Data for Three-Year Study Period ........................................................................... 170

SFD Percent of ISO Required Training Hours/Year .......................................................... 173

Training Calendar ................................................................................................................... 173

Recommendation – Designated Training Times ................................................................. 174

Recommendation – Training Days ...................................................................................... 175

Daily Shift Training – Standard Sources ............................................................................ 175

Standard Lesson Plans ............................................................................................................ 176

The Liability of Poor Training ................................................................................................ 177

Recommendation – Documentation .................................................................................... 178

Supervisor (Fire Officer) Training .......................................................................................... 178

Recommendation – Officer Training .................................................................................. 180

ISO Training Points Awarded ................................................................................................. 180

Recommendation – ISO Training Points ............................................................................ 183

Training Library .................................................................................................................. 183

Recommendation – Training Library .................................................................................. 183

Recommendations – Pre-ire Plans ...................................................................................... 184

Community Development & Growth ...................................................................................... 185

Fire Prevention / Public Safety Education.............................................................................. 188 Shelbyville Fire Department Fire Prevention ......................................................................... 188

Company Inspections .......................................................................................................... 189

Recommendation – Fire Prevention ................................................................................... 190

Self-Inspections ................................................................................................................... 190

Recommendation – Self-Inspections ................................................................................... 190

Pre-Fire Plans .......................................................................................................................... 191

Recommendations – Fire Pre-Plan ...................................................................................... 192

Shelbyville Public Safety Education ....................................................................................... 193

Recommendation – Public Safety Education ...................................................................... 195

Information Technology ........................................................................................................... 196 Recommendation – Information Technology ...................................................................... 196

Fiscal/Capital Analysis ............................................................................................................. 197 City of Shelbyville Fire Department Budget .......................................................................... 197

Budget Funding ................................................................................................................... 197

Total City Revenues for Major Funds ................................................................................ 198

Total City Tax Expenditures ............................................................................................... 198

Other Fire Department Revenue ............................................................................................. 200

Ambulance Service Fees ..................................................................................................... 200

Recommendation Ambulance Fees ..................................................................................... 202

Shelby County Ambulance Service Revenue ..................................................................... 202

Recommendations - Shelby County Ambulance Service Costs ........................................... 204

Fire Protection Contracts .................................................................................................... 205

Recommendation - Fire Protection Contracts .................................................................... 206

Racino Funds ...................................................................................................................... 206

Recommendation - Racino Funds ....................................................................................... 206

Fire Alarm Fees ................................................................................................................... 206

Recommendation - Fire Alarm Fees ................................................................................... 207


Fire Grants .......................................................................................................................... 207

Recommendation - Fire Grants .......................................................................................... 207

Fire Department Budget .......................................................................................................... 208

Fire Department Operating Budget ..................................................................................... 208

Fire Department Services Budget - Salaries and Benefit Costs .......................................... 211

Recommendation - Fire Department Services Budget - Salary and Benefit Costs ............. 211

Fire Department Services Budget Overview ...................................................................... 212

Emergency Ambulance Services Operating Budget ........................................................... 212

Emergency Ambulance Services Budget - Salaries and Benefit Costs .............................. 213

Emergency Ambulance Services Budget Overview ........................................................... 214

Fire Department Capital Budget ......................................................................................... 215

Recommendations – Capital Budget ................................................................................... 215

Summary of Recommendations ............................................................................................... 216

Appendix A -Data Requested - Fire/EMS Component ......................................................... 225

Appendix B – SFD 2014 Data Correction Process ................................................................. 230

Appendix C – PSAP 2014 Data Correction Process .............................................................. 232

Appendix D: City Employee Handbook Review ................................................................... 235

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Ten Year Response Totals ............................................................................................. 45

Figure 2: Three-Year Average of Percentage of EMS to Fire ...................................................... 47

Figure 3: Shelbyville 3-Year Average .......................................................................................... 49

Figure 4: Three-Year Simultaneous Averages .............................................................................. 52

Figure 5: Incidents by Time of Day .............................................................................................. 54

Figure 6: Incidents by Day of the Week ....................................................................................... 55

Figure 7: Incidents by Month – 3 Year Average .......................................................................... 56

Figure 8: Fire Response District Map ........................................................................................... 57

Figure 9: Ambulance Response District Map ............................................................................... 57

Figure 10: Section Numbering of Townships ............................................................................... 59

Figure 11: ESO & ThinkMap® Calls by Stations ........................................................................ 60

Figure 12: Incidents by Shift 3-Year Average .............................................................................. 62

Figure 13: Mutual Aid Given & Received .................................................................................... 63

Figure 14: Fire Department Organizational Chart ........................................................................ 80

Figure 15: Staffing Levels per Day - 2014 ................................................................................... 95

Figure 16: ISO National Classifications 2015 ............................................................................ 107

Figure 17: ISO Classifications Indiana 2015 .............................................................................. 107

Figure 18: Station #1 - Headquarters .......................................................................................... 131

Figure 19: Shelbyville Fire Station #2 ........................................................................................ 134

Figure 20: Shelbyville Fire Station #3 ........................................................................................ 136

Figure 21: Shelbyville Emergency Management Building ......................................................... 139 Figure 22: Four Minute Drive Time from Fire Station #1 .......................................................... 140

Figure 23: Four Minute Drive Time from Fire Station #2 .......................................................... 141

Figure 24: Four Minute Drive Time from Fire Station #3 .......................................................... 142

Figure 25: Station #1 and Station #2 - Four-Minute Drive Time Overlap ................................. 143




Figure 28: Future Fire Station Site #1......................................................................................... 146

Figure 29: Future Fire Station Site #2......................................................................................... 147

Figure 30:2012 Members Training Hours .................................................................................. 171

Figure 31: 2013 Members Training Hours ................................................................................. 172

Figure 32: Members Training Hours .......................................................................................... 172

Figure 33: Shelbyville Transportation Map ................................................................................ 185

Figure 34: Shelbyville Future Land Use Map............................................................................. 186

Figure 35: Community Facilities including Fire Stations ........................................................... 186

Figure 36: PSAP Correction May 2014 FD Calls ....................................................................... 232

Table of Tables

Table 1: Report Priority Hierarchy ............................................................................................... 31

Table 2: 2014 Data Differences FD to PSAP ............................................................................... 42

Table 3: Percent of Change in Call Totals 2005 - 2014 ................................................................ 45

Table 4: Breakdown of EMS to Fire for Three-Year Study Period .............................................. 46

Table 5: Shelbyville Fire Department 3-Year NFIRS Data .......................................................... 49

Table 6: NFIRS National & Shelbyville Comparison .................................................................. 50

Table 7: Simultaneous/Overlapping Incidents .............................................................................. 52

Table 8: Incidents by Time of Day ............................................................................................... 53

Table 9: Incident by Day of the Week .......................................................................................... 55

Table 10: Incidents by Month ....................................................................................................... 56

Table 11 Incidents by District - 2014 ........................................................................................... 58

Table 12: Three-Year Total Distribution by Station ..................................................................... 60

Table 13: Incidents by Shift 3 Year Average................................................................................ 61

Table 14: City & County PSAP .................................................................................................... 67

Table 15: SFD Response Time Data Submitted ........................................................................... 74

Table 16: Total FD Membership................................................................................................... 79

Table 17: Career Firefighters Rates by Population Protected, 2011-2013 ................................... 80

Table 18: Shelbyville FD Full Staffing 19 Personnel ................................................................... 81

Table 19: Shelbyville FD Minimum Staffing 14 Personnel ......................................................... 82

Table 20: Shelbyville FD Minimum Staffing 16 Personnel ......................................................... 82

Table 21: NFPA 1710 Deployment Standard ............................................................................... 94

Table 22: Staffing Levels per Day - 2014 ..................................................................................... 95

Table 23: New ISO Split Classifications ...................................................................................... 99

Table 24: ISO PPC Point Scale ................................................................................................... 105

Table 25: National & Indiana ISO Classes 2015 ........................................................................ 106

Table 26: SFD ISO Points Each Category of Survey ................................................................. 108

Table 27: FLSA Table for Fire Departments .............................................................................. 113 Table 28: FLSA Example 1 - No Overtime Earned .................................................................... 114

Table 29: FLSA Example 2 - Overtime Earned.......................................................................... 114

Table 30: Overtime Calculation .................................................................................................. 117

Table 31: Number of Kelly Days Provided Annually ................................................................ 118


Table 32: Years of Service Analysis ........................................................................................... 127

Table 33: Age of Department Analysis ...................................................................................... 127

Table 34: Mileage From and To Various Locations in Shelbyville............................................ 149

Table 35: Calls to Area near I-74 and Fairlane Road 2010-2014 ............................................... 150

Table 36: Percentage of U.S. Fire Departments with Number of Fire Stations......................... 152

Table 37: Station #1 Apparatus................................................................................................... 153



Table 40: Fire Department Five-Year Replacement Plan ........................................................... 159

Table 41: Years of Service for Fire Department Vehicles .......................................................... 160

Table 42: Number of Pumper Apparatus in Communities with Populations 10,000 to 24,999 . 161

Table 43: Number of Aerial Apparatus in Communities with Populations 10,000 to 24,999 .... 161

Table 44: SFD Percent of ISO Required Training Hours ........................................................... 173

Table 45: 2014 Mandated Training Topics ................................................................................. 173

Table 46: NFPA 1001 Basic Training Topics............................................................................. 175

Table 47: Supervisor Training Program ..................................................................................... 179

Table 48: ISO Points Earned for Training .................................................................................. 182

Table 49: SFD Library Training Contents .................................................................................. 183

Table 50: Shelbyville New Construction Permits & Values 2010-2014 .................................... 187

Table 51: Public Safety Education Contacts ............................................................................... 193

Table 52: Organizations Receiving Safety Education 2012 - 2014 ............................................ 194

Table 53: Total City Major Fund Revenues 2012 to 2015 ......................................................... 198

Table 54: Total Annual City Appropriations 2012 - 2015 .......................................................... 198

Table 55: Police and Fire Department Budgets as a Percentage of Total City Budget .............. 199

Table 56: Total Dollars and Percentage for Fire and Ambulance Services - 2012-2015 ........... 199

Table 57: Shelbyville Ambulance Fees ...................................................................................... 200

Table 58: Ambulance Service Fees 2012 to 2015 ...................................................................... 202

Table 59: Sample Quarterly Shelby County Ambulance Service Fees ...................................... 203

Table 60: Annual Revenue from Shelby County for Ambulance Service 2012-2015 ............... 204

Table 61: Annual Townships Fire Protection Contract Revenues .............................................. 205

Table 62: Fire Alarm Fees .......................................................................................................... 207

Table 63: Annual Fire Department Services Budget 2012 to 2015 ............................................ 208

Table 64: Annual Ambulance Service Operating Budget 2012 to 2015 .................................... 208

Table 65: Annual Fire Services and Ambulance Service Operating Budgets 2012 to 2015 ...... 209

Table 66: Total Annual Fire Department Services Budget ......................................................... 209

Table 67: Salaries and pension as a percent of annual fire department budget .......................... 211

Table 68: Total Annual Emergency Ambulance Services Budget ............................................. 212

Table 69: Ambulance services salaries and pension - Percent of annual budget with health

insurance costs ............................................................................................................................ 213

Table 70: Ambulance services salaries and pension - Percent of annual budget without health

insurance costs ............................................................................................................................ 214


Executive Summary

McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. was commissioned by the City of Shelbyville to conduct a

Comprehensive Fire/EMS Service Audit/Master Plan of the Shelbyville Fire Department. The

study is a comprehensive assessment of the City of Shelbyville Fire Department and includes a

review of the current fire department operations, fire station(s) locations and conditions,

apparatus and equipment needs, department training, policies and procedures, use of technology,

emergency responses and activities, fiscal budget, human resource policies, mutual aid, fire

prevention and inspections, and the fiscal limitations on emergency response. The final report is

an audit/master plan that addresses current and future opportunities while ensuring the provision

of fire/EMS services in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. This document is a book of

opportunities for future planning of fire and EMS service delivery.

Five consultants were assigned to this project each handled topics that were appropriate to their

specific skills and expertise. It is important to call to the attention of the reader that the intent of

the consulting team was to write a report that identified areas of excellence as well as areas that

had opportunities for improvement.

Department Overview

The Shelbyville Fire Department currently provides fire protection services to the City of

Shelbyville and to three Townships in Shelby County under contracts with the Townships. The

Shelbyville Fire Department also provides EMS paramedic level services to the entire area and

population of Shelby County, which accounts for an area of about 412 square miles.

The area protected for fire protection is about 69 square miles including 11.84 square miles in

the City of Shelbyville and include the following communities:

City of Shelbyville - Fire Services

Township of Addison - Contract for Fire Protection

Township of Marion - Contract for Fire Protection

Township of Shelby - Contract for Fire Protection


At the time of the study there were 60 sworn and civilian members who provided fire

suppression, fire prevention, public safety education, special teams, and emergency medical

services at the paramedic level, which is the highest level of pre-hospital care available.

Governance

The City of Shelbyville operates under a Mayor/Council form of government. The Mayor's

office is the executive branch of city government. The Mayor is the chief executive for the City

of Shelbyville.

The City Council is comprised of seven (7) council members that constitute the legislative and

governing body of the City. The Mayor by the authority of the City of Shelbyville Code of

Ordinances Chapter 30.06 appoints the many city department heads including the fire chief who

all serve at the pleasure of the Mayor:

The members of the Board of Public Works and Safety are the Mayor and two voters of the City

who are appointed by the Mayor and serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. The Board of Public

Works and Safety is established by the City of Shelbyville Code of Ordinances Chapter 30.03

and serves as the chief administrative body of the City and under the ordinance has control of

the day-to-day operations of the following some City departments including the fire department

and City ambulance service.

Using a prepared list of questions, the consultants conducted interviews with the Mayor, all the

members of the City Council, the City Clerk Treasurer, the City Attorney, the Building and

Planning Director, the City Engineer, members of the Board of Public Works and Safety, the

Chief of the Police Department, the City Financial Consultant, some of the members of the

Ambulance Board, and representatives of Shelby County Commissioners. In addition,

consultants interviewed many of the officers and members of the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department.

In summary, the officials interviewed provided a lengthy list of shortcomings and weaknesses

about the Fire Department; but there were more agreements on the positive aspects of the City of

Shelbyville Fire Department.


Leadership

The success of any organization is directly related to the ability of their leaders. Leadership is

not one individual but a management team committed to the success, in this case, the success of

the City of Shelbyville Fire Department.

The Consultants identified that there are a lot more good things with the Shelbyville Fire

Department then there is wrong. What was found is a dedicated group of people providing good

service to the community. The department has multiple opportunities to move the organization

from good to great; however, the key component to this issue lies within the leadership and their

ability to develop a strong leadership team and strong relationships with the elected officials.

Fire Department Data

In most studies, the consultants have emergency response activity data within two weeks of

receipt of the data request. The data provided by a fire department is crucial for the consultants,

as it is the basis for the majority of recommendations.

At the onset of the study the Fire Department leadership advised the consultants that they

believed the 2012 and 2013 data was inaccurate and misrepresented the department’s emergency

activities by 10% to 15% lower than actual response. In 2014, the department changed data

management systems from Firehouse Software® to ESO Solutions®. The Chief indicated that

he felt confident that ESO 2014 data was a true representation of the department’s emergency

responses.

With Shelbyville, nearly three months after receiving the initial data from the fire department,

the consultants received multiple submissions of revised data and discovered that the issue of

inaccurate data is considerably more complex.

It is not an unfair question for any City official, council, even a citizen to ask how many calls the

Fire Department responded to within a given period of time and expect that the number can be

validated and fit the definition of “good data” as defined below by the International Association

of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).


Emergency Activity

During the years 2012 – 2014, the Shelbyville Fire Department responded to an average of 3,902

fire and emergency medical (EMS) calls. EMS responses comprised the greatest number of calls

annually or an average of 83.7%. The amount of EMS calls within Shelbyville is consistent with

the number of EMS calls in the fire/EMS organizations that the consultants have conducted

studies in the past. The average percentage of EMS calls as a percent of total calls for

Shelbyville is about 15.0% more than the national average for fire/EMS departments. One must

remember that the average number of emergency calls on an annual basis is based on data that

could not be verified consistently and as was mentioned is a complex issue.

When reviewing the Shelbyville fire data, there is nothing in Shelbyville’s statistics compared to

National, Midwest Region, or State of Indiana that would be of significant concern. The

Shelbyville Fire Department should be commended for the lower than average of the National

responses to false alarms.

Over the three-year study period, the department experienced different rates of percentages

simultaneous emergency calls. The Consultants believe that when simultaneous calls occur more

than 20% of the time annually, emergency response resources may need to be increased. In the

case with Shelbyville the consultants do not believe the number of simultaneous emergency calls

would require additional response resources at this time. There was very little variance as to

when calls occurred during the time of day, although the fewest calls occurred between midnight

and 5:00 AM; when statistics indicate the more serious fires occur. Friday was the busiest day of

the week and Sunday the slowest; and August and December the busiest and February the

slowest when evaluating the types and number of calls by month.

Based on the issue of data not being accurate the consultants believe this is a critical area of

improvement for the fire department to focus on for improvement. Based on the conversation

with the Fire Chief and the Mayor regarding the issue of data the consultants believe that both of

them understand the importance of making improvements to data collection a priority.


National Standards

There are numerous national standards and codes the Shelbyville Fire Department must be aware

of, although most are not mandatory. When a serious incident occurs (such as a serious injury or

death of a firefighter), departments are typically judged by these standards. The Consultant’s

used these standards to evaluate the operations of the Shelbyville Fire Department.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - Non-mandatory

The National Fire Protection Association creates and maintains private, copyrighted, standards

and codes for usage and adoption by local governments. NFPA was formed in 1896 by a group

of insurance firms; their mission was to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards

on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research,

training, and education.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - Mandatory

The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard on respiratory

protection requires that self-contained breathing apparatus be used in a hazardous or potentially

hazardous atmosphere during interior structural firefighting. Firefighters entering a burning

structure must do so in teams of at least two and at least two other fully equipped and trained

firefighters must be on standby. This rule is commonly referred to as the “two in-two out”.

Insurance Service Offices, Inc. (ISO) - Non-mandatory

The ISO Public Protection Classification program is designed to help establish fire insurance

premiums for residential and commercial properties based in part on community’s fire protection

services. ISO ratings do not provide a comprehensive assessment of staffing, deployment and

service delivery. ISO is not an industry standard, it is an advisory group.

Fire departments are rated on a point system with capability of the fire department (50 percent of

the total points); water supply (40 percent); and emergency communications (10 percent). With

the revised ISO process in 2013, 5.5 points are also being credited for community risk reduction.

The inclusion of this new section with the extra points allows credit for communities that have

effective fire prevention practices.


The Shelbyville Fire Department has split classifications of 3/9 for their ISO rating.

The split classification of 3/10 indicates areas covered that are within 5 road miles of a fire

station and within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant have a Class 3 rating. A class 10 ISO rating applies

to properties beyond 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant, but within 5 road miles of a fire station.

Center for Public Safety Excellence - Non-mandatory

The International Fire Chief’s Association (IFCA) has developed a program, Center for Public

Safety Excellence (CPSE). The CPSE measures the quality and performance of a particular

fire/EMS service agency and will award national accreditation to those departments that pass the

stringent criteria. The consultants recommend that any future effort by the Shelbyville Fire

Department to demonstrate competencies should be channeled towards the CPSE accreditation.

Response Times

Response time components begin with the time a person detects an emergency and calls 9-1-1; to

the time the fire and or EMS service arrives at the scene. One must have an understanding of the

five components of response time to fully analyze that information. The components are:

1. Detection Time: The time it takes to detect the emergency incident and dial 9-1-1.

2. Notification Time: The time from when the call is received by dispatch to the time the

department is notified.

3. Turnout Time: The time it takes personnel to prepare and leave quarters after

notification.

4. Travel Time: The time the first fire apparatus leaves the station to the time it reports on

the scene.

5. Mitigation Time: The time the first apparatus arrives at the scene to the time when

actual extinguishing/treatment efforts begin.

Data (times) was obtained from both the Shelbyville Fire Department and the dispatch center.

Due to the fact the information received was not identical in nature, the Consultants were not

able to analyze the information and determine actual response times for emergency calls. All fire


professionals understand the importance of response time and many have lived the results of not

being there just a few seconds sooner. Yet many fire departments do not routinely use response

time data as a management tool to address opportunities to improve services.

Unfortunately, this appears to be the case for the SFD. The data provided is inconclusive,

contradictory, or no data available.

The consultants do understand that if the dispatch centers were using Priority Medical

Dispatching (PMD) for Emergency Medical Service calls that most likely response times would

be improved, but more importantly sending the proper resources from the Shelbyville Fire

Department on EMS calls would be improved. By using Priority Medical Dispatching sending

an engine on every EMS call would not be necessary because the resources would be dispatched

based on the need for EMS service levels as determined by the dispatcher using the PMD

system.

Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)

Although the City and County are two separate PSAPs, they share the same facility (sitting back-

to-back), utilize the same CAD systems, all 9-1-1 calls both landline and cellular come directly

to them, utilize the same back-up PSAP in an emergency (Hancock County), share extremely

similar SOGs and policies, require the same certifications, share the same frequencies

(fire/EMS), cross the room to assist the other PSAP when overloaded, utilize the same work

schedule, and both PSAP supervisors are required to work shifts as a dispatcher.

Yet they remain two separate PSAPs with copious redundancies; the only obvious difference is

salaries. With the consultants’ background it would be most difficult to argue against the

benefits of consolidation of PSAPs; however, that is outside the scope of this study.

Staffing

The Shelbyville Fire Department is classified as a ‘career’ fire department. It is the only career

fire department in Shelby County. The fire department consist of 62 personnel including two


non-sworn personnel. The fire department operates three 24 hour shifts with nineteen (19) fire

department members assigned to each 24 hour shift.

When firefighters are off duty, a minimum number of firefighters are needed on duty in order to

operate the basic fire and EMS services that the department provides. This number is the

minimum staffing number and for the Shelbyville Fire Department the minimum staffing number

is fourteen (14) members on duty.

The fire department management believes that resources are lean as it pertains to staffing. At the

heart of study is the issue of staffing and the impact it has on service delivery. The need to

balance adequate resources (staffing) and the fiscal capabilities of the City is difficult at best.

The consultants do agree with the fire department that there is a need to staff a third Med Unit on

each shift, but this could be accomplished by reallocating current resources.

The consultants would not recommend any additional staffing for the Fire Department until data

collections methods improve to the status that the justification for additional staffing is available

and accurate.

The consultants would not recommend any additional staffing for the Fire Department until the

issues with allowing the granting of Kelly Days to fire department personnel has been addressed

since the number of Kelly days being provided to all members of the Fire Department now equal

over six full-time positions in equivalent time worked. The issue of Kelly Days is further

addressed in the Human Resources section.

Human Resources

A number of areas are covered within the human resource section. The areas that need to be

highlighted center around the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is not unusual to find errors

in administering FLSA as it has not only evolved over the years, but is confusing when applying

to fire departments. There are three areas that the City needs to ensure its FLSA compliance -

averaging pay checks; calculation of overtime; and use of Kelly days.


The FLSA allows fire departments to pay overtime based on a 7 – 28 day cycle. The Shelbyville

Fire Department has a 28 day cycle; thus, within a 28 day period, the employee would be paid

overtime for hours worked beyond 212 hours. A 40-hour employee is paid overtime for hours

worked beyond 40 hours. What makes calculating overtime difficult in fire departments is that

most institutions pay bi-weekly. What fire departments tend to do is to ‘average’ pay over the 26

pay periods. Unfortunately, FLSA does not allow averaging and as such, the first bi-weekly pay

will contain only hours worked; and the second pay period would be hours worked plus overtime

earned within the 28 day period. This may not necessarily align nicely with pay periods. It is

therefore recommended that payment of an ‘averaged pay plus an average overtime’ cease

immediately, and the department work with payroll to calculate payroll in accordance with the

statute.

A firefighter on a 24-48 type of schedule works 2,912 hours per year as compared to a 40 hour

employee who works 2,080 per year. Many fire departments feel they need ‘parity’ with the

police department – which has different education, skills and responsibilities – and in the case of

Shelbyville, calculate the hourly wage the same as police. Taking the annual salary and dividing

by 2,080 rather than 2,912. This results in a higher payment of overtime. Therefore, the

recommendation is to calculate overtime based on hours worked – annual salary divided by

2,912.

Finally, the department utilizes a Kelly Day. A Kelly Day was implemented to put a day off

within the cycle that has the greatest number of work days to minimize overtime. The

Shelbyville fire department allows individuals to ‘work’ the Kelly day and calls individuals back

into work based on Kelley day seniority – thus defeating the purpose of the day and costing the

City higher payroll costs. If Kelly Days are to continue, they should be days off – designated by

management – on the work cycle that has the greatest number of hours in order to reduce

overtime.

The consultant has made a number of suggestions for future contract negotiations, and realize

that these are only suggestions. Changing of contract language requires negotiations and the

combination of language and dollars is a balance. Other than the Fire Chief, the human resource


director and a labor attorney should be at the table – not an elected official – to ensure consistent

language throughout the City and that it benefits both the employee and the City.

Finally, the fire department should not be able to act as an independent department. It needs to

coordinate activities with human resources, payroll and finance. This is a City department – not

an independent department.

The consultant has a number of recommendations for recruitment, promotions, performance

evaluations, succession planning and has reviewed the City’s employee handbook for omissions

and changes.

Facilities

The Shelbyville Fire Department provides fire and EMS services from three fire stations located

in the City of Shelbyville. Two of the fire stations were constructed in recent years and the third

fire station was constructed in 1984 in the base of a city water tower and has room for only one

fire engine.

Unfortunately as time goes on and as communities change the locations for fire station may

change also. Currently two fire stations are located near the City boundaries and are not in the

best locations for response times and in fact have a large overlapping response districts.

All three fire stations are in very excellent condition and any needs for improvements have been

identified in the facilities section.

The Fire Chief of the Shelbyville Fire Department believes that an additional fire station is

required to serve the area of the City of Shelbyville near Interstate 74 and the Fairlane Road

interchange. This is the area located near the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino complex.

There are some areas within the response area near Interstate 74 and Fairland Road that

experience extended response times. Currently the time to respond to the area near the Indiana

Grand Racing and Casino complex is 8 to 10 minutes, but the call volume is very low. The issue

of where such a fire station would be located to best serve the area is an excellent question.


The consultants did look at two possible fire station locations for a fourth fire station north of

Interstate 74. The issue with both of these potential sites is that the areas of the City of

Shelbyville that they would serve are very limited and both sites are located on or near the border

of the City. The majority of the areas each site could reach in a four-minute drive time are not

located in the City.

The consultants are recommending that a new fire station not be constructed at this time to serve

the Northwest area of the City, but as the area develops and as the number of emergency calls in

this area increase, then the need for a fire station can be reevaluated.

Apparatus

The City of Shelbyville Fire Department currently operates three ambulances, three engines, two

quints/aerial ladders, and a number of other vehicles. The department houses three boats and a

boat trailer that are owned by Shelby County Sheriff's Department. On engine and one quint are

maintained as reserve apparatus.

The fire department will be taking delivery of two new fire engines in fall 2015, which will

replace two older fire engines. One of the current fire engines, the 2005 Pierce will become the

reserve engine when the new engines are placed in service.

The need to permanently maintain two aerial ladder apparatus in the City of Shelbyville fleet is

not necessary based on the size of the community. We are not recommending taking the 1993

Sutphen Ladder #1 out of the fleet inventory at this time, but if it becomes a major problem due

to maintenance costs then it should be removed from the fleet.

Strong consideration should be given to operating Engine 4 out of Fire Station #2 as the primary

fire response vehicle, except for target hazard occupancies. This is known as cross-staffing

vehicles and it is common in many fire departments the size of Shelbyville.

When the time comes to replace Ladder #2 it should not be maintained in the fleet as a reserve

aerial ladder as we are recommending that only one aerial ladder be maintained permanently.


The City and Fire department should consider the possibility of remounting the three ambulances

on new chassis when the vehicles are due for replacement. The costs savings would benefit the

city and the taxpayers. With the buyout at the end of the five-year lease purchase there is a

strong possibility the ambulances could be used for another couple of years before remounting is

completed.

When the lease purchase agreements end on the current ambulances the City and Fire

Department should purchase a new ambulance on a lease purchase. With the current three

ambulances being purchased and eventually remounted there would then be four ambulances in

the fleet. If the goal of the city and the department is to have three ambulances in service, it will

be necessary to have four ambulances in the fleet.

Training

The consultants performed a review of the department’s training program that included the

review of training policies, goals, schedules, training and certification records, training library,

training facilities and the ISO Summary Report prepared by ISO, dated January 30, 2015. The

consultants have discovered there are numerous opportunities to improve the SFD training

program.

The responsibility for developing and delivering the SFD training program is given to the

department’s Deputy Chief. The Deputy Chief oversees the creation of annual training goals,

and training calendar. There are two Training Officers assigned to each shift: one for fire topics,

the other for EMS topics. Instructors are assigned to teach the respective classes based upon

their areas of expertise.

There remain multiple opportunities to improve components of the training program. The

greatest challenge to all involved in the delivery of training is to keep the subjects taught up to

date and interesting. The time period for which training is delivered, varies among the three

shifts. Training should be scheduled in a uniform fashion, where it is delivered typically the

same time, each day, regardless of the shift working.


The Deputy Chief along with the Fire Chief, Shift Commanders and shift training officers should

review personnel training hour and certification records on a regular basis to assure members are

on track to achieve annual training goals. Some members did not achieve the annual goal of

required training hours; this shortcoming could be addressed by including Sunday within the

monthly training calendar.

All individuals, whether in the position a Shift Commander or Company Officer, or acting in

those positions, should have had training in the use of the incident command system, fire ground

management, and supervisory training before being placed in those positions. Management and

leadership training should be an on-going part of the Roselle training curriculum.

Fire Prevention / Safety Education

All fire inspection and prevention activities in Shelbyville are handled by a single person

assigned to the fire prevention bureau. The fire prevention inspector is a civilian employee

working a 40-hour week Monday through Friday.

Activities of the fire prevention inspector include: regularly scheduled fire inspections, plan

reviews, inspecting special venues such as the fairgrounds for special events, and working with

state and local inspectors on new and renovated construction projects. These activities require a

large portion of time and are primary function of the SFD fire prevention bureau activities. In

addition, accompanying state inspectors on educational occupancies as well as health care

facilities is also a part of the duties.

It was reported that there are approximately 1,300 “inspectable” occupancies located within

Shelbyville’s corporate boundaries and that the majority are an assortment of small to mid-size

business, commercial, mercantile and multi-family occupancies which generally do not require a

detailed, lengthy fire inspection.

In 2014 the fire prevention inspector conducted approximately 700 inspections and/or re-

inspections representing 53.84% of the total occupancies in Shelbyville. These fire inspections


were not conducted based on risk, hazard level or any particular occupancy. Most fire

prevention codes require that each occupancy be inspected annually and that records need to

reflect the conditions found, violations noted, and when corrective action was taken.

Fiscal

The fire department is funded primarily by the city General Fund Revenue Budget. The city did

hire a Financial Advisor Services within the past few years and this firm has developed a

Financial Sustainability Plan for the city with expense and revenue projections for the entire city

operations for the next few years. Revenue projections include the annual property tax rate and

the amount of revenue generated by the property tax dollars and other city fees.

The fire department has a budget for fire services and a separate budget for ambulance services.

For the time period of 2012 to 2015 the total amount of dollars for fire and ambulance services

was about 37.53% of the total city budget.

The fire department does generate revenue from a number of sources, with the primary source of

revenue being ambulance transportation fees. During 2012 and 2013 the annual amount

collected for ambulance fees was about $860,000. The city changed ambulance billing service

companies in mid-2014 and it is expected that the ambulance fees should generate over $1

million annually for 2014 and the future years.

Another source of revenue for the fire department are the fees collected from Shelby County for

operating the ambulance service throughout the county outside of the city limits. The cost

sharing formula for providing this ambulance service for the county has been in existence for a

long time and the consultants are recommending that the fees charged by the city to the county

be reevaluated. The consultants are recommending that the city consider assuming complete

control of the ambulance service operation and simply contract with the county for the actual

costs of providing the ambulance service.

The Shelbyville Fire Department contracts with three townships for fire protection services and

the revenue generated on an annual basis for providing this service is about $66,365.54.


The Shelbyville Fire Department also receives about $150,000 annually from Racino funds. The

funds are used to offset the costs of fire department equipment and vehicles.

The Fire Department has applied on an annual basis for Assistance to Firefighters Grant from

FEMA on an annual basis, but has not been successful in being awarded a grant.

For the year 2012 to 2015, the fire department budget for fire and ambulance services has been

just less than $3 million to about $3.3 million. The amount of the annual budget used for salaries

and pension average between 88% and 91% of the total budget. The consultants found that the

Fire Department is paying a substantial amount of dollars annually for overtime for various

reasons which were addressed in the Human Resources section.


Introduction

The City of Shelbyville is a municipality located southeast of Indianapolis in Shelby County,

Indiana. Shelby County covers about 412 square miles and had an estimated population of about

44,436 in 2010.

The City of Shelbyville is located in the south central section of Indiana about twenty-six miles

southeast of Indianapolis, 114 miles north of Louisville, and 100 miles northwest of Cincinnati.

The City of Shelbyville is the largest city in the County and has a population estimated at about

19,253 in 2013. The City of Shelbyville covers an area of about 11.84 square miles. In 2010,

there was an estimated 8,658 housing units located in the City of Shelbyville. From 2009-2013 it

was estimated that home ownership was about 54% of the housing unit inventory. From 2009-

2013 it was estimated that the median household income was $38,578, which is substantially

lower than the median household income of $48,248 for the entire State of Indiana. The City of

Shelbyville is served by Interstate 74 and by two state highways, which are SR 44 from east to

west and SR 9 from north to south.

The City of Shelbyville is comprised of a mixture of housing styles ranging from single family

detached homes to larger historic homes in the area of downtown. There are a number of new

subdivisions located on the southeast part of the city. Rental properties are common throughout

the City.

The City of Shelbyville has several business districts located within the City. The primary

districts include the following:

• Downtown Shelbyville

• Miller Avenue on the west side

• Strip development along SR 44 (east)

• Commercial development along East Broadway and Washington Streets in the

downtown area

• Highway commercial at the SR 9 / I-74 and the SR 44 / I-74 interchanges


The commercial highway district along SR 44 (East) near the I-74 interchange is one of the

newer and more active commercial areas. The Fairland Exit Interchange is also an area

experiencing significant growth in commercial development. As the road improvements are

completed in this area it is expected to result in more industrial development.

The City of Shelbyville has a number of larger facilities within the community that include the

Shelbyville Municipal Airport, located along I-74 near the Fairland Exit. There is currently is a

5,000 feet by 100 feet North/South runway as well as a 2,700 foot turf, crosswind runway. The

National Guard also maintains a facility primarily for helicopters adjacent to the airport.

Other facilities within the community include the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino complex, the

Indiana National Guard facility, manufacturing facilities, industrial parks, and a number of large

multi-family dwelling complexes. Shelbyville has several industrial areas of various sizes and

intensities that will be discussed in more detail later in this report.

The Shelbyville Fire Department is a fully paid career fire department with 60 staff members.

The department operates from three fire stations with two aerial ladders (quints), three engine

pumpers, three ambulances, one brush truck, two squads, one station car, one swift water vehicle,

a special operations vehicle, a fire inspector vehicle and three chiefs’ vehicles. The Shelbyville

Fire Department also houses three boats and a trailer owned by the Shelby County Sheriff’s

Department.

A quint, or quintuple combination pumper, is a vehicle that services the dual purpose of

an engine and an aerial ladder truck. The name quint is derived from the Latin prefix

quinque, meaning five, and refers to the five functions that a quint provides: pump, water

tank, fire hose, aerial ladder device, and ground ladders.

The City Council contracted with McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. to conduct this study. The

study is a comprehensive assessment of the City of Shelbyville Fire Department and includes a

review of the current fire department operations, fire station(s) locations and conditions,

apparatus and equipment needs, department training, policies and procedures, use of technology,

emergency responses and activities, fiscal budget, human resource policies, mutual aid, fire

prevention and inspections, and the fiscal limitations on emergency response. The final report is


an audit/master plan that addresses current and future opportunities while ensuring the provision

of fire/EMS services in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.

The consultants interviewed many of the officers of the City of Shelbyville Fire Department and

many members of the fire department. In addition, the consultants interviewed all the members

of the City Council, the City Clerk Treasurer, the City Attorney, the Building and Planning

Director, the City Engineer, members of the Board of Public Works and Safety, the Chief of the

Police Department, the City Financial Consultant, some of the members of the Ambulance

Board, and representatives of Shelby County Commissioners. The consultants met with the Fire

Chief, Deputy Chief, EMS Chief, Fire Inspector and many fire department members.

The consultants would like to thank all of the individuals who participated in the interviews, as

the information obtained from the interviews was valuable in the evaluation of the current

situation and in the development of our recommendations.

Everyone who was interviewed was very professional and spoke highly of the quality of the fire

and EMS services provided by the City of Shelbyville Fire Department. During the course of the

interviews a number of perspectives were brought to the attention of the consultants. These

perspectives are based on the beliefs of individuals and there is an old saying that “perspectives

are reality” which is probably true for some of these individuals.

All of the government and city officials shared the belief that the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department provides quality fire and EMS services for the citizens and the communities that are

served.

Another perspective shared with the consultants by a number of government and city officials

was that something was going on in the fire department with the use of “Kelly Days” and how

the use of this time off affected the amount of overtime dollars spent on an annual basis by the

fire department. None of those who mentioned this issue had specific knowledge of how the

Kelly Days were being used and/or how the Kelly Days affected the overtime budget, but they


all had a belief that Kelly Days were being used to benefit the fire department members and that

it was costing the city a great deal of money.

The perspective of many City of Shelbyville Fire Department members was that the City Council

did not support the fire department and was only concerned with saving money. Many fire

department members shared the perspective that the City Council wanted to change the provider

of the EMS Service from the fire department to a private provider.

From experience the consultants have learned when we begin a comprehensive study that many

people have a perspective of how the fire department provides services and operates with the

resources they are provided. From the fire department and its members the perspective is often

the same as we were told in Shelbyville.

Usually when perspectives on how the fire department operates and the resources they are

provided are different between the community stakeholders and the fire department members the

problem is most often a lack of understanding by both sides of the perspective. Similar to many

instances when there are differences of perspectives, the issues can be contributed to a lack of

communications and education about the subjects or issues.

The consultants are hopeful that this final report will allow both the city officials and fire

department members to gain a better understanding of how the fire department operates and uses

resources. Likewise, the report should allow the fire department members to better understand

the concerns of the city officials and their need to answer to the citizens and taxpayers of the

community. Perhaps with a better understanding, representatives of both sides can begin to

communicate more effectively with each other in regards to the fire department operations and

services to better serve the community and do what is in the best interest of the citizens that are

served.

Five consultants were assigned to this study. Each handled topics that were appropriate to their

specific skills and areas of expertise.


Dr. Tim McGrath – project manager – is a retired Fire Chief with 33 years of fire and EMS

experience. He has served as the Fire Chief of two very diverse communities. He has

experience in leadership of fire departments comprised of fully career to combinations of career,

paid-on-call, part-time paid, and contractual personnel. He has been a fire/EMS consultant since

1997 and president of McGrath Consulting Group, Inc. since 2000.

Chief Robert Stedman – lead consultant – is a Fire Chief with more than 30 years of fire and

EMS experience. He has served as Fire Chief in both a large career and mid-size combination

department. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor’s

degree in Fire Science Management from Southern Illinois University. He served as the Dean of

the Service and Health Division for Waukesha County Technical College. He is currently a Fire

Chief of a consolidated fire department similar in size to the City of Shelbyville Fire Department.

Dr. Victoria McGrath – brings expertise in administration and human resources. Her

published doctoral dissertation on Government as a Learning Organization dealt with

government efficiency. She is a federally trained mediator and past team member serving as city

manager. She has extensive experience with organized labor and measuring efficiency in

organizations.

Battalion Chief Larry Pieniazek, Retired – retired from the City of Elmhurst, Illinois Fire

Department with 33 years of service. Chief Pieniazek dealt with the areas of fire apparatus and

fire stations.

Chief Mike Stried, Retired - has been with McGrath Consulting Group for more than six years.

Chief Stried has spent over 37 years in the fire service starting as a volunteer firefighter/EMT

and joining a career department while he continued to serve as the chief of a volunteer fire/EMS

department.

Any report of this nature is a snapshot in time and the consultants acknowledge that certain

numbers of personnel, and/or apparatus, or other items might have changed prior to the final


distribution of this report; however, to the best of the consultants’ knowledge the material in this

report was accurate at the time of the writing.

Priority Ranking Description

All recommendations will be distributed throughout the report when appropriate and will end

with a “Priority Rank” using the table below:

Table 1: Report Priority Hierarchy

Report Priority Hierarchy

Priority Definition Example

1 Urgent/Immediate Threat to member's life, legal and regulatory compliance violations; physiological needs; essential preventative action needed

2 Pressing < Priority 1 Significant impact on organization; action needed as soon as possible

3 Important < Priority 2 Organization will benefit by addressing soon; items that should be accomplished

4 Future Consideration Items needs to be addressed; develop future plan of action; low consequences of delay-action

5 Information Only Organization should be aware; take under consideration

At the end of the report the section “Summary of Recommendations” will summarize the

periodization and will be provided on disk in a Microsoft Excel format to allow reassignment of

priority, by the client.


Governance and Management

The City of Shelbyville operates under a Mayor/Council form of government. The Mayor's

office is the executive branch of city government. The Mayor is the chief executive for the City

of Shelbyville. The Mayor of Shelbyville is elected to a 4 year term, which expires at the end of

2015.

The City Council is comprised of seven (7) council members that constitute the legislative and

governing body of the City. The City Council is responsible for passing the City's budget,

passing laws or ordinances and the spending of funds that the City collects in taxes and other

forms of revenue. City Council members are elected to a 4-year term and the term of the entire

City Council expires on December 31, 2015. Five members of the City Council are elected from

the five wards of the City of Shelbyville plus two at-large members who represent all five wards.

The Mayor by the authority of the City of Shelbyville Code of Ordinances Chapter 30.06

appoints the following department heads who all serve at the pleasure of the Mayor:

Chief of the Police Department

Chief of the Fire Department

Department of Law

Planning Department

Ambulance Department

Engineering Department

Sewage Treatment Plant Department

Street and Sanitation Department

The Fire Chief as well as other Department Heads listed in the ordinance serves at the pleasure

of the Mayor. The consultants were informed that the Mayor also appoints the Fire Department

Deputy Fire Chief and the EMS Chief.

The members of the Board of Public Works and Safety are the Mayor and two voters of the city

who are appointed by the Mayor and serve at the pleasure of the Mayor.


The Board of Public Works and Safety is established by the City of Shelbyville Code of

Ordinances Chapter 30.03 and serves as the chief administrative body of the city and under the

ordinance has control of the day-to-day operations of the following executive departments:

Police Department

Fire Department

Planning Department

Ambulance Department

Engineering Department

Sewage Treatment Plant Department

Street and Sanitation Department

Under this same Code of Ordinances Chapter 30.03 (C) City Ambulance Service, the Board of

Public Works and Safety has the following responsibilities:

(1) "The Board of Public Works and Safety is authorized to provide for and maintain an

ambulance service for the speedy removal of sick and needy persons. This service may

include the ownership by the city of an emergency ambulance or mobile first aid unit, the

purchase, sale, or exchange of these units, their maintenance and repair, and the

employment and training of personnel for the operation of these units."

(2) "The Board of Public Works and Safety is authorized to enter into any contract which it

may deem advisable with the Board of Commissioners of the county, for the furnishing

of financial assistance by the county to the city for the maintenance and operation of

mobile first aid units within the county and outside the city. Such a contract is subject,

however, to approval by the City Council of the city."

Under this same Code of Ordinances Chapter 30.07 Powers of Departments states: "Subject to

the appropriation power of the City Council, the foregoing departments shall have the ability to

hire such employees, and purchase or contract for such materials, as the Board of Public Works

and Safety or other governing board or commission deems necessary to perform their public


functions. The Board of Public Works and Safety shall have the power and responsibility to

consider, allow, approve, and/or disapprove of all claims for the issuance of warrants and

payment of money, except where the state code specifically provides otherwise.”

From the language contained in the City of Shelbyville Code of Ordinances Chapter 30.03 it

indicates that the Fire Department and Ambulance Department are actually two separate city

departments. It further indicates under this same section that the Board of Public Works and

Safety, as the chief administrative body of the city, has control of the day-to-day operations of

both the Fire Department and Ambulance Department.

It is interesting to note that in this Code of Ordinances specifically under section 30.03 Paragraph

(C) titled "City Ambulance Service", subparagraph (1) indicates the Board of Public Works and

Safety is authorized to provide for and maintain an ambulance service including the employment

and training of personnel for the ambulance service.

Under this same section 30.03 Paragraph (C) titled "City Ambulance Service", subparagraph (2),

it appears the Board of Public Works and Safety has the authority to enter into a contract with the

Board of Commissioners of the county for ambulance services and the costs of such services

provided within the county, but outside the limits of the City of Shelbyville.

In essence, the Board of Public Works and Safety has the responsibility to determine the costs of

providing ambulance services within the county, but outside the city and if necessary work out

an agreement with the county for any cost reallocations. The final costs and any contract would

need to be approved by the City Council.

Under the Code of Ordinances section 30.07 the Board of Public Works and Safety has a great

deal of responsibility for approving or disapproving of all funds spent by all the city departments

under their day-to-day control including both the Fire Department and the Ambulance

Department.


Fire Department Overview

In June 1868 the first hand drawn fire engine was purchased for service in the City of Shelbyville

and the Union Fire Company was organized sometime during the same year. Sometime during

the 1890’s the name of the Fire Department was changed to the Shelbyville Fire Company. The

Fire Department operated as a volunteer fire company until it became a fully paid department on

February 1, 1917.

The Shelbyville Fire Department currently provides fire protection services to the City of

Shelbyville and to three Townships in Shelby County under contracts with the Townships. The

Shelbyville Fire Department also provides EMS paramedic level services to the entire area and

population of Shelby County, which accounts for an area of about 412 square miles.

The area protected for fire protection is about 69 square miles including 11.84 square miles in

the City of Shelbyville and include the following communities:

City of Shelbyville - Fire Services

Township of Addison - Contract for Fire Protection

Township of Marion - Contract for Fire Protection

Township of Shelby - Contract for Fire Protection

The area covered for EMS services is an area of about 412 square miles and includes not only the

City of Shelbyville, but the entire area of Shelby County. The two primary ambulances assigned

as the first responding units are known as Med #1, which is located at fire station #1 and Med #2

which is located at fire station #2. Med #1 responds to an area of 160 square miles and Med #2

response area is about 260 square miles. Both Med #1 and Med#2 are Advanced Life Support

(ALS) Paramedic ambulances. Both Med Units are staffed by two personnel with at least one of

the members being a paramedic.

EMS Service History

As the consultants began the task of understanding the operation of the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department it became clear that the history of the fire and EMS service in the City of Shelbyville


was long, but that until January of 1990 the Fire and EMS Service were provided by two

different organizations. It is also important to understand that either an organization within the

City of Shelbyville or the County of Shelby has been instrumental in operating the EMS and/or

ambulance service both within the City of Shelbyville and Shelby County since the mid-1950s.

From the consultants’ view this is important because a number of stakeholders that were

interviewed expressed concern about the EMS service in terms of staffing, operations and if the

costs were being shared equally between the city and the county. In reviewing the background it

is apparent that the City has always been in the leadership position of operating the EMS service.

In the past, operating the ambulance service by private providers had been attempted with no

success and the cost of operating the EMS/ambulance service has been shared between the city

and county for a long time.

The significant changes that have occurred since the 1950's in terms of EMS service is the

implementation of Paramedic Service in the early 1980's, the costs of staffing and other

resources for operating the ambulance service has increased dramatically and the number and

types of EMS calls responded to on an annual basis has increased significantly over the years.

As was common throughout the country in the early days ambulance service was provided by

funeral homes. The funeral homes provided this service as a way to supplement their revenue,

but eventually the need for the service became much more that the funeral homes were able to

handle.

In 1954, the Fraternal Order of the Police began raising funds to provide ambulance service to

both the City of Shelbyville and the citizens of Shelby County. On October 1, 1954 the

Shelbyville Police Emergency Unit began offering ambulance service throughout the city and

county free of charge to everyone. By 1955 the Shelbyville Police Emergency Unit which

operated on donations started to experience financial problems.

In 1956, an agreement between the city and the county placed the operation of the ambulance

service under the control of the city with the county paying half of the operating costs.


In March 1966, the City Council adopted an ordinance authorizing the Shelbyville Board of

Public Works and Safety to own and operate the emergency ambulance service according to the

statues of the State of Indiana.

The Shelby County Emergency Ambulance Committee was also organized. The committee

consisted of the President of the Board of County Commissioners, two City Council members

and two county council members.

In October 1970, the local funeral directors informed the city and the county that they would be

ending all ambulance service including backup ambulance service by the end of the year. This

change resulted in a second ambulance being placed in service in 1971 and staffing for the

ambulance was increased to two per shift to meet the new federal guidelines. A new private

ambulance service was started in 1971. In 1970's, the State of Indiana implemented new training

standards for EMTs including 81 hours of required training and the mandate that at least one

EMT had to remain in the patient compartment during transport to a hospital.

In the early 1980's the idea of training local personnel to become paramedics became a reality

and in 1982 the first of three ambulance service members became paramedics. Finally on

February 2, 1983 the paramedic advanced life support service began in Shelbyville and Shelby

County.

The ambulance service had shared the same living space, station duties and training for almost

three decades. While many Fire Department members had no interest in responding to EMS

calls on a regular basis, their apprehension was addressed by training on duty firefighters in EMS

skills. All ambulance personnel became trained and certified as second-class firefighters. This

cross-training resulted in the stage being set for the two departments to merge into one

department.

On January 2, 1990, Mayor Dan Theobald issued an administrative order placing the ambulance

service under control of the Shelbyville Fire Department for purposes of administration. By

January 1991, the process of qualifying all ambulance personnel for the Indiana Police Fire


Pension had been completed. By 1995, the dual response of an engine company and an

ambulance responding to EMS calls became the standard response and in fact is still the standard

response for the Shelbyville Fire Department today.


Emergency Activities

At the onset of the study the Fire Department leadership advised the consultants that they

believed the 2012 and 2013 data was inaccurate and misrepresented the department’s emergency

activities by 10% to 15% lower than actual response. In 2014, the department changed data

management systems from Firehouse Software® to ESO Solutions®. The Chief indicated that

he felt confident that ESO 2014 data was a true representation of the department’s emergency

responses.

In most studies, the consultants have emergency response activity data within two weeks of

receipt of the data request. The data provided by a fire department is crucial for the consultants,

as it is the basis for the majority of recommendations. With Shelbyville, nearly three months

later, the consultants received multiple submissions of revised data and discovered that the issue

of inaccurate data is considerably more complex. However in Shelbyville, one day shy of three

months later, having received multiple submissions of revised data, the consultants have

discovered the issue of inaccurate data is considerably more complex.

It is important to note that the Fire Department administration, as well as the dispatch supervisor,

has spent copious time and effort to provide accurate fire department activities. A problem in

both recording management systems has been identified and although efforts have been extended

to ensure accurate data will be provided in the future; the consultants are concerned with the

multiple steps that must be taken to have the two data bases (fire and dispatch) numbers match.

It is not an unfair question for any City official, council, even a citizen to ask how many calls the

Fire Department responded to within a given period of time and expect that the number can be

validated and fit the definition of “good data” as defined below by the International Association

of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).

What Constitutes Good Emergency Activities Data?

The use of data is essential for any fire chief. Often, the discussion revolves around what

constitutes good data. The IAFC defines good data as data that meets three components:


Good Data is Relevant – you are collecting information on the things that matter, like

response times and number of calls for service.

Good Data is Accurate – your processes for data collection must be consistent and

trustworthy.

Good Data is Reliable – a measurement from one company is equivalent to the same

measurement from another company. You don’t have to “adjust your data to

accommodate known distortions”.

(Source: International Association of Fire Chiefs: Weathering the Economic Storm, December 2008)

Unfortunately, the SFD does not meet these criteria. Until this study, the department leadership

acknowledges they rarely queried emergency response data and as such; data was not utilized to

its fullest capabilities as a management tool as described below:

Why is Relevant, Accurate, and Reliable Data Essential to Leadership?

The primary function of a fire department is to respond to emergencies. Although this activity

only takes a small percentage of the department’s total time, its state of readiness must always be

at a maximum. The challenge for fire/EMS leadership is to identify the need for resources that

will provide the highest level of service, safety for those who receive and provide that service,

and justify the fiscal resources needed. Fire chiefs and department supervisors should daily

utilize categories of data for a variety of leadership/management functions, including but not

limited to:

Fiscal management

Staffing

Resource deployment

Budgeting

Purchasing

Strategic planning

Program development/implementation

Program oversight/assessment


Assuring competency

Assuring cost-effective/efficient services

Communication with governing board(s)

Leadership can quantify the above objectives through good data which serves as the powerful

management tool for leadership. The SFD has a significant opportunity to begin to utilize

emergency response data in the daily management and long-term planning in the department.

Recommendation – Data Usage

The department leadership should query data fields outlined in this report on a monthly basis, for utilization in all of the above listed categories in the department’s

management. Priority 2

Which Data is More Accurate – Dispatch or Fire Department?

Every time the SFD responds to an emergency incident, the call to dispatch them came from

either the City or County dispatch (both PSAP utilize the same CAD system). In the fire/EMS

consulting arena, PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) data is considered more accurate than

fire department data. With that said, not all Fire/EMS consulting firms utilize fire department

data; rather, they will only utilize data from the dispatch center that dispatches the department to

the emergencies.

Our firm utilizes both sources – the Fire Department and PSAP, which should ensure that the

data received is accurate. It was discovered that accurate data recovery from the PSAPs was not

achievable and those issues are being investigated at the writing of this report.

What is the Real Data Issue?

As concisely as possible the current process of aligning the Fire Department data to that from the

PSAP requires numerous modifications of the data management system readouts. It has been

determined that the source of data from the Fire Department and that from the PSAP do not

match. The consultants lean towards the accuracy of the ESO Solutions® 2014 data, but during

the study process three modifications of the department’s total emergency activities for 2014

were submitted all queried for ESO Solutions®.


Unlike the “rule of thumb” that PSAP data is more accurate than that of the Fire Department, the

PSAP data exposed serious entry and query issues. Appendix B and appendix C attempt to

briefly illustrate what efforts were made to bring the two sources to a similar numbers. The table

below illustrates the result of approximately three months of revisions to data that was submitted

to the consultants as “most accurate”.

Table 2: 2014 Data Differences FD to PSAP

PSAP FD Difference

Jan 384 383 1

Feb 318 314 4

Mar 390 391 -1

Apr 326 324 2

May 390 375 15

Jun 367 358 9

Jul 364 359 5

Aug 376 370 6

Sep 403 403 0

Oct 367 361 6

Nov 374 367 7

Dec 410 401 9

Total 4469 4406 63

If one is to take the position of “close enough” it must be done with the review and acceptance of

the calculations and assumptions described in Appendices B and C. The goal should be that

when the SFD is sent on an emergency incident by its only source the City and County PSAP the

data should match. To achieve this goal the City as a whole must place greater emphasis on data

in order to determine need for resources for each department.

Recommendation – Citywide Quality/Assurance Program

The City should provide the needed resources to ensure that all departments’ activities data reports are accurate and can be easily validated without alteration to

explain the numbers. Priority 5

A positive is the SFD leadership acknowledged that greater emphasis will be placed in obtaining

and utilizing accurate emergency response data. The best way to ensure this occurs is the


implementation of a data quality control/assurance program starting at the Battalion Chiefs level

and ensured by the Deputy Chief.

Recommendation – Fire Department Quality/Assurance Program Fire department leadership should implement a data quality control/assurance program

overseen by the Battalion Chiefs and submitted to the Deputy Chief monthly. Priority 2

Consultants Use of Shelbyville’s Data

Historically our firm has always substantiated report recommendation based on historical data

and data trends. Unfortunately, since data was the very challenging issue for this report, the

consultants cannot base their recommendations or conclusions on current or future services based

on quantifiable data to any degree of validation available in most studies.

The governing officials should seriously delay, when possible, fiscal request from the Fire

Department for the next two years (2015 & 2016) at which time accurate data can be provided to

justify the request. The data for 2015 and 2016 should match exactly from both PSAPs and the

department’s ESO™ data management system. The exception to this recommendation is the

full-time placement of the third ambulance into service with existing resources, on a daily basis;

and any critical life safety issues might arise. Although the consultants were provided with a

department SOG indicating that the third ambulance would be staffed daily, the language in the

contract which makes staffing and apparatus staffing a negotiable item does not support that

SOG. Members interviewed indicated that the fire squad would be staffed prior the third

ambulance when sufficient on-duty personnel allowed.

The consultants anticipate some readers of this report will take exception to this recommendation

noting that the Fire Department’s 2014 data was the most accurate. The consultant’s position is

that future resources needs should not be based on one year of data; rather a quantifiable

validated document showing needs on emergency service trends over an established period of

time.

Recommendations – Data The Fire Department should seek additional training from ESO-Solutions™ on data

entry and retrieval procedures. Priority 2


Governing officials should delay fiscal requests for additional resources from the department for the next two years of ensured accurate data – matching data from the

PSAPs and SFD data management system are compatible and accurately agree.

Exceptions: Placing the third ambulance in service with existing resources and critical

issues that pertain to obvious life safety issues. Priority 5

The SFD has a Lieutenant who is very talented in refining data from both PSAP CAD systems

and other sources. He has provided a brief description of how he obtained the most recent data

submitted to the consultants (Appendix B). It is for this reason that the consultants will use the

ESO® total call data of 4,406 incidents in 2014; although the consultants are not willing to

validate this number, it will be used as the most likely number of emergency responses in 2014.

Ten-Year Emergency Activity Totals

As previously noted, the data provided prior to 2014 was from Firehouse Software®. The

department leadership believed that the data was inaccurate and represented a loss of 10% to

15% of the actual department activities in 2012 and 2013.

The consultants were troubled by this finding, inasmuch as Firehouse Software® is the leading

fire/EMS, cloud based, data management systems with multiple components for managing

services provided by fire departments in the United States and Internationally. Of the four

fire/EMS consultants participating in this study – three used Firehouse Software® most

successfully for both fire, EMS, pre-plan, training, and other fields. This is not to imply that

ESO Solutions® is not a quality program; rather that the consultants are familiar with fire-based

data systems.

The department indicated that not all emergency calls were entered (in 2012 & 2013); the calls

that were entered are only as accurate as the information entered; and SFD does not have a

quality control/assurance program in place. In addition, the consultants were told that not all

calls were entered into the computer before the individual left at the end of their duty shift and

were entered upon the next working day of that individual. This is an unheard of practice in the

fire/EMS service and could place the City and department in a very liable situation as to


accuracy of the report. If these practices were allowed, the problem with the 2012 and 2013 data

is not a software problem it was a management/leadership issue.

The department provided total emergency call response for the last ten years, which illustrated an

increase of 2.30% in calls since 2005.

Figure 1: Ten Year Response Totals

Table 3: Percent of Change in Call Totals 2005 - 2014

Yellow highlighted percentage is not a true illustration of actual increase in emergency activities

from 2013. From the previous information provided, it is accurate to conclude that there was not

a 22.29% increase in actual emergency incidents in 2014 from 2013. Not only did the

department acknowledge that the 2012 and 2013 total call data provided was low, but if

emergency responses had increased by 22.29% the interviews with staff personnel would have

highlighted how much work had increased since the previous year. The consultants are unable to

provide even an estimate as to the actual percentage increase in SFD emergency activities in

2014.

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

3,682 3,569 3,733 3,838

3,600 3,732 3,832

3,698 3,603

4,406

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Average

% Change -3.06% 4.59% 2.81% -6.20% 3.67% 2.68% -3.50% -2.57% 22.29% 2.30%


Recommendation – Ten Year Response Data The department leadership must ensure that all future data from the City’s and County’s

CAD systems and that from their own data management system provide identical numbers. This is best accomplished through monthly quality/assurance meetings with the

PSAP directors and the department leadership. Priority 2

Breakdown of EMS and Fire Call Totals

Today most fire departments that provide both fire and EMS find EMS calls account for

approximately 75% of their emergency responses. The table below illustrates the data provided

by SFD for the three-year study period divided into fire and EMS categories:

Table 4: Breakdown of EMS to Fire for Three-Year Study Period

Year EMS % EMS Fire % Fire Total 2012 3,227 87.3% 471 12.7% 3,698 2013 3,120 86.6% 483 13.4% 3,603 2014 3,330 75.6% 1,076 24.4% 4,406 Total 9,677 82.7% 2,030 17.3% 11,707

Concern: if the total calls for 2014 equaled 4,406, this would result in fire calls increasing by

122.8% (2013 = 483 in 2014 = 1,076) from the previous year. An escalation of this percentage

of fire incidents in 2014 should raise significant concerns inasmuch as EMS data illustrates a

consistent pattern. If fire incidents increased that significantly, the consultants believe that

increase would have been shared as a serious concern not only by those interviewed within the

Fire Department, but by elected officials and administration as well. Utilizing the best data

provided, EMS percentages actually dropped by 11% in 2014; however, this is contradicted by

the actual number of incidents in the table above. Although it is listed that 82.7% of all

emergency calls are EMS, the consultants believe the actual number of EMS responses is higher.

The figure below illustrates the breakdown between fire and EMS:


Figure 2: Three-Year Average of Percentage of EMS to Fire

It should be remembered that SFD provides EMS to the entire 412 square miles of Shelby

County and fire service to three Townships (in part or whole) protecting 69 square miles.

(Shelbyville’s EMS system will be discussed in a separate section of this report).

Fire Service Response Model

Historically fire service efforts were devoted to fire suppression and those who followed in the

profession maintained the importance of fire suppression. However, the name fire department is

somewhat a misnomer. Today’s fire service is considered by most civilians as an all-risk

service, meaning the department is staffed, trained, equipped, and will respond to provide public

emergency mitigation to their emergency.

Shelbyville Fire Department services include:

Emergency Medical Services

o Advance Life Support (ALS)

o Basic Life Support (BLS)

Fire Suppression

Fire Prevention

Vehicle Extrication

Public Safety Education

Swift Water Rescue

Ice Rescue

% EMS, 82.7%

% Fire, 17.3%


Today’s service is really an EMS department that happens to also provide fire/rescue services.

SFD three-year study data indicated that 82.7% of all emergency incidents were EMS in nature.

As the service model changes, so must the utilization of resources and resource deployment.

This is particularly appropriate for the SFD which, at minimum, encounters 82.7% of all

emergencies are EMS in nature and the EMS district is just slightly six times larger than the fire

protection area. The SFD needs to staff a third ambulance by realigning its on-duty staffing to

maximum its availability.

Recommendation – Third Ambulance The on-duty staffing should be re-allocated to allow for a third ambulance to be placed in

service on a daily basis. This will require existing resource deployment changes

(perhaps jump company – individuals respond with the apparatus which best meets the

caller’s needs). The additional ambulance billing income (not loss when a private

ambulance is called) will help to offset the operational expenses. Priority 3.

Incident by Nature

Both fire and EMS reports are submitted to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security

(IDHS) by state statute. Fire reports go to the State Fire Marshal’s office who submits the data

to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) program under authority of the United

States Fire Administration (USFA). NFIRS categorizes incident types into nine categories with

each category having a series number with multiple sub-categories under each main series

number. The USFA collects and analyzes NFIRS data from participating states in order to

provide a legal record of fact, assist fire department administration in evaluating its fire and EMS

effectiveness, and to collect data for use at the state and national levels.

Emergency Medical Services data is submitted to the IDHS EMS division in addition all trauma

data is submitted to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). Currently there is no

national data recording program such as NFIRS.


Shelbyville NFIRS Data 2012 – 2014

Table 5: Shelbyville Fire Department 3-Year NFIRS Data

NFIRS # Category 2012 2013 2014 % of Total

100 Fires 107 81 98 2.4%

200 Overpressure/Explosion 4 2 13 0.2%

300 EMS/Rescue 3,227 3,120 3,456* 83.7%*

400 Hazardous Condition 28 39 69 1.2%

500 Service Calls 46 39 154 2.0%

600 Good Intent Calls 175 205 498 7.5%

700 False Alarm/False Calls 108 113 117 2.9%

800 Severe Weather 1 1 0 0.0%

900 Special Incidents 2 3 1 0.1%

Total Calls 3,698 3,603 4,406 100% * Data submitted contradicts previous data source

Figure 3: Shelbyville 3-Year Average

Comparing Shelbyville to National NFIRS Statistics – 2014

The consultants had in the past utilized NFIRS statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration –

National Fire Incident Reporting System – Topical Fire Report Series, which allowed

comparison of emergency response data on a national, regional, state, and local basis. However,

some categories (those in italics) of data were last gathered in 2004 and updated statistics are not

available for those categories. Other sources, such as NFPA, do not list all of the NFIRS

categories; however, the few they do indicate significant changes in numbers which lessened the

Fires, 2.4%

Overpressure/Explosion, 0.2%

EMS/Rescue, 83.7%

Hazardous Condition, 1.2%

Service Calls, 2.0%

Good Intent Calls, 7.5%

False Alarm/False Calls, 2.9%

Severe Weather, 0.0%

Special Incidents, 0.1%


value of the old NFIRS report. Therefore, the best comparison is illustrated in the table below

which compares the most recent NFPA estimates (2013), the SFD data.

Table 6: NFIRS National & Shelbyville Comparison

NFIRS National Shelbyville Indiana

100 Fire 4.32% 2.4% 200 Overpressure//Rupture/Explosion 0.30% 0.2% 300 Rescue/EMS 68.14% 83.7% 400 Hazardous Condition 1.13% 1.2% 500 Service Call 7.00% 2.0% 600 Good Intent 9.70% 7.5%

700 False Alarm/False Call 7.03% 2.9%

800 Severe Weather 0.30% 0.0%

900 Special Incident 1.60% 0.1% * Italicized percentages in National category are 2004 percentages which have not been updated

Emergency Service Trends

Progressive fire department leadership utilizes emergency response data for multiple purposes

including budgeting, strategic planning, management, and resource deployment. The data in the

following areas is beneficial to the day-to-day management of a department. The following

areas will be examined as they pertain to the SFD:

Simultaneous incidents

Calls by time of day

Calls by day of the week

Calls by month

Calls distribution by district

Distribution by shift

Mutual aid/Automatic aid

Simultaneous/Overlapping Incidents

Simultaneous/overlapping incidents is a term utilized when referring to times when the

department is handling an emergency situation and another unrelated emergency incident occurs

requiring immediate fire department response. Depending on the record management system

No D

ata

Pro

vid

ed b

y


utilized by a department, these incidents might be called simultaneous, overlapping, or back-to-

back calls.

The significance of the amount and frequency of simultaneous incidents can result in increased

response times or greater usage of mutual aid. There is no consensus in the industry as to an

exact number when simultaneous/overlapping incidents require additional resources. Fire

departments do not have the ability to “stack calls” as do police agencies who routinely prioritize

calls and dispatch accordingly. With few exceptions, when 9-1-1 requests the fire department it

is for an emergency – at least in the opinion of the caller.

If every piece of fire or EMS apparatus were available at its assigned location every time a call

for service was received, the department’s reliability would be 100%. If, however, a call is

received for a particular station/unit, but that station/unit is already committed to another

incident, be it fire or EMS, and the next closest unit must respond from a different station or

source; the substitute company may exceed the maximum prescribed response time.

As the number of emergency calls per day increases, the probability increases that the primary

unit needed for response is already committed and a backup or substitute unit will need to be

dispatched. Although there are no national standards that indicate when

simultaneous/overlapping calls require additional on-duty personnel the consultants’ experience

indicates that when simultaneous/overlapping calls reach 15% to 20% serious consideration to

additional on-duty personnel is recommended.

Shelbyville Simultaneous/Overlapping Data

As previous noted revised data was often submitted and simultaneous/overlapping calls utilized a

different data source to present new simultaneous call numbers after the consultants met with the

Chief and discussed their findings, figures, and charts. The Lieutenant found that not only could

they provide new numbers, but they could also plot where the calls were occurring, which was

previously indicated they could not (see call distribution by district).


The program used was ThinkMap® and is available through the GIS mapping system for the

county (see Appendix B for process). Therefore, the consultants have two sets of data for

simultaneous calls for 2014 as illustrated below.

Table 7: Simultaneous/Overlapping Incidents

Simultaneous/Overlapping Incidents

Year Source Simultaneous % of Total Average

2012 743 20.1%

2013 766 21.3%

2014 ESO 699 15.9%

ThinkMap 1,022 23.2%

Average Could Be 15.9% or 21.5%

The simultaneous calls in 2014 might have decreased by 8.7% or increased by 33.4% from the

previous year. Conventional wisdom would believe that it is unlikely simultaneous calls

decreased; conversely it is equally unlikely they increased by one-third.

Figure 4: Three-Year Simultaneous Averages

Therefore unable to quantifiably illustrate the data for simultaneous calls, the consultants do

believe the frequency of simultaneous calls warrants sufficient resources on duty in order to

address the multiple unrelated emergency incidents.


Incidents by Time of Day

One of the most fundamental ways to describe the fire/EMS problem is to show how fire/EMS

incidents are distributed by month, day of week, and hour of the day. The reason is when a

significant pattern is discovered that indicates the probability that emergency incidents will occur

at a certain time/day/month, it allows the department to utilize “peak staffing”. This is especially

beneficial for organizations that can clearly identify when emergency incidents are most likely to

occur.

Peak staffing allows the department leadership to utilize additional resources (paid-on-call or

paid-on-premise) for the time that statistically the call will occur, rather than adding additional

24-hour shift personnel when statistically they will only be needed for a short period.

In most departments, incidents charted by time of day follow a pattern similar to a “bell curve.”

The least busy time of day is from midnight to early morning, peaking in the mid-afternoon, and

decreasing in the very late evening hours. Although the least busy time of day is from midnight

to early morning, it is also when the highest number of civilian fire deaths occur, due to the

occupants sleeping. Those most at risk are the very young and old, who often are less able to

escape and protect themselves.

The leading cause of fires is people who are careless; therefore, structure fires are more likely to

start when people are home awake and active indoors. Cooking is the leading cause of structure

fires and therefore between the hours of 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM is nationally the peak period for

structure fires (source: American Red Cross).

Shelbyville Incidents – Time of Day

The table below illustrates the time of day of emergency incidents both fire and EMS along with

the three-year study average.

Table 8: Incidents by Time of Day

Time of Day Mid 1 AM 2 AM 3 AM 4 AM 5 AM 6 AM 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM 10 AM 11 AM Noon 1 pm 2 pm 3 pm 4 pm 5 pm 6 pm 7 pm 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM 11 PM Total

2012 127 108 96 81 80 86 117 126 127 160 178 184 195 189 186 242 192 219 193 180 175 168 144 145 3,698

2013 107 96 80 67 75 78 106 136 131 170 176 198 191 191 201 208 220 193 206 171 170 175 129 128 3,603

2014 124 121 110 96 94 99 130 123 188 205 241 251 244 272 226 238 251 230 244 201 198 213 165 142 4,406

Average 119.3 108.3 95.3 81.3 83.0 87.7 117.7 128.3 148.7 178.3 198.3 211.0 210.0 217.3 204.3 229.3 221.0 214.0 214.3 184.0 181.0 185.3 146.0 138.3


The figure below illustrates that there are very little variations among the three-year line plots.

This consistency might be somewhat unexpected to some; inasmuch as there has been an

increase in the total number of calls in 2014 by 22.3% from the previous year. What is

illustrated in the figure is the number of calls hourly on an annual basis, although incident

numbers change the pattern of when calls are occurring by time of day is consistent.

Figure 5: Incidents by Time of Day

Incidents by Day of the Week

Incidents reviewed by day of the week are another metric utilized by leadership to manage the

resources of the organization. Coupled with time of day and perhaps incidents by month, this

information could be of value if a pattern emerges suggesting peak staffing would be

advantageous.

The figure below illustrates the SFD three-year average for calls by day of the week.

Mid1

AM2

AM3

AM4

AM5

AM6

AM7

AM8

AM9

AM10AM

11AM

Noon

1pm

2PM

3PM

4PM

5PM

6PM

7PM

8PM

9PM

10PM

11PM

2012 127 108 96 81 80 86 117 126 127 160 178 184 195 189 186 242 192 219 193 180 175 168 144 145

2013 107 96 80 67 75 78 106 136 131 170 176 198 191 191 201 208 220 193 206 171 170 175 129 128

2014 124 121 110 96 94 99 130 123 188 205 241 251 244 272 226 238 251 230 244 201 198 213 165 142

0

50

100

150

200

250

300


Figure 6: Incidents by Day of the Week

Table 9: Incident by Day of the Week

Year Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Total

2012 469 538 536 536 555 545 519 3,698

2013 479 560 506 489 512 575 482 3,603

2014 569 631 665 639 634 663 605 4,406

Average 506 576 569 555 567 594 535 11,707

% of Total 12.96% 14.77% 14.58% 14.21% 14.53% 15.23% 13.72% 100%

The three-year study period average for incidents by day of the week would indicate that Fridays

are the busiest occurring at approximately 3:00 PM.

Incidents by Month

The Shelbyville area provides copious opportunities for outdoor activities year-round ranging

from hiking, fishing, biking, water and ice activates, and hunting; therefore, as with most mid-

west areas, the spring, summer, and fall usually have more tourists and activities resulting in a

greater demand for services on the Fire Department. However, the data provided doesn’t show

the typical pattern; rather January, August, and December indicated the greatest percentage

average for the three-year study period as illustrated below:

Sun, 12.96%

Mon, 14.77%

Tue, 14.58%

Wed, 14.21%

Thu, 14.53%

Fri , 15.23%

Sat, 13.72%


Table 10: Incidents by Month

Figure 7: Incidents by Month – 3 Year Average

Call Distribution by District

SFD designated where calls were occurring in different formats over the three-year study period

due to the change in data management systems. The data provided for 2012 and 2013 was in a

format that identified districts by which SFD unit responded, what other fire departments SFD

interacted with (unknown if aid was given or received), incidents that were not identified with an

area or district. The consultants believed that the Fire Department leadership could identify

where calls were occurring but anyone outside the organization would need assistance in

identifying this information.

What is consistent is there is an EMS response district of 412 square miles and a fire response

district of 69 square miles (including three Townships in part or whole) as illustrated in the two

figures below:

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

2012 311 274 309 287 338 320 337 355 307 287 277 296 3,698

2013 315 255 273 293 295 309 322 316 286 295 301 343 3,603

2014 383 314 391 324 375 358 359 370 403 361 367 401 4,406

Average 336 281 324 301 336 329 339 347 332 314 315 347 3,902

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

3 Year Average 336 281 324 301 336 329 339 347 332 314 315 347

250

270

290

310

330

350

370


Figure 8: Fire Response District Map

Figure 9: Ambulance Response District Map


The revised 2014 data did identify areas by names of communities as illustrated in the table

below:

Table 11 Incidents by District - 2014

Location 2014

Acton 7

Boggstown 21

Edinburgh 62

Fairland 301

Flat Rock 48

Fountaintown 72

Franklin 7

Greensburg 1

Gwynneville 11

Indianapolis 4

Manilla 14

Morristown 168

New Palestine 13

Saint Paul 33

Shelbyville 3,515

St. Paul 3

Waldron 126

Total 4,406

Identifying Call Distribution Using Township Sections

SFD provides fire/EMS protection services to the entire or portions of three Townships equaling

69 square miles and the county 412 square miles:

Fire = All of Addison township

Fire = All of Marion township

Fire = Portion of Shelby township

EMS = All of Shelby County

Townships in Indiana are surveyed using the Public Land Survey (PLS) aka: rectangular survey

system (although not a rectangle) into 6 miles by 6 miles or 36 square miles or 36 1 mile by 1

mile (1 square mile) portions. Therefore, lost townships in the United States appear as in the

figure below:


Figure 10: Section Numbering of Townships

The mapping technology utilized by the SFD Lieutenant is called ThinkMap® which is through

the GIS County mapping system. A similar program utilized by a department in Texas is a

program called Key Map®. This program provided grids that were incorporated into the Public

Safety Answering Point (PSAP) aka: dispatch. The technology will further divide each square

mile into smaller grids which will overlap the call data showing exactly where emergency

incidents are occurring. The readouts of these systems cannot only identify the exact location of

incidents by also provide date, time, and other requested information.

According to the SFD Lieutenant, the Fire Department’s calls could be placed on ThinkMap®

which would plot the location of each call. Another program would be needed to list how many

calls occurred at that address within a given time period. Therefore, the SFD could illustrate

where calls are occurring and utilize this information for future resource needs.

Recommendation – Distribution by District The Fire Department should investigate the ThinkMap® mapping technology which

could better illustrate the exact locations of emergency incidents allowing department

leadership to quantify the use of existing resources and future needs of additional

resources. Priority 5


Call Distribution by Station

Data submitted that might assist in identifying where calls are occurring was provided in

incidents by station. The ThinkMap® GIS County mapping system was not utilized in placing

call locations for resource planning and distribution. ThinkMap® was utilized by the SFD

Lieutenant in order to identify the missing calls not shown in the City and County CAD systems.

The table below illustrates the most recent data revision showing two figures for Station #3 for

2014:

Table 12: Three-Year Total Distribution by Station

Year Source Station #1 Station #2 Station #3 Sub Total County FD No Indication Total

2012 ESO 1,505 742 394 314 743 3,698

2013 ESO 1,462 679 348 637 477 3,603

ESO 220 962 1,226 4,406

ThinkMap 635 1,377 811* 4,406

Total 4,603 2,745 951 2,446 County FD = Ambulance calls outside of fire district* The number of No Indication was reduced to equal the increase calls in Station #3

2014 1,636 1,324

The two figures below illustrate the percentage of calls handled by each station as the primary

unit to respond:

Figure 11: ESO & ThinkMap® Calls by Stations

ESO - 3 Year Average

Station Calls % of Total

Station #1 4,603 39.3%

Station #2 2,745 23.4%

Station #3 962 8.2%

County FD 951 8.1%

No Indication 2,446 20.9%

Total 11,707 100%

ThinkMap - 3 Year Average

Station Calls % of Total

Station #1 4,603 39.3%

Station #2 2,745 23.4%

Station #3 1,377 11.8%

County FD 951 8.1%

No Indication 2,031 17.3%

Total 11,707 100%


The consultants believe that the data provided by the SFD Lieutenant utilizing ThinkMap® is the

more accurate three-year incident distribution by station; however, again the consultants were

unable to verify.

Station Data Concerns

The entry of data by department personnel needs to be addressed inasmuch as a range of 17.3%

to 20.9% of all incidents are classified as “No Indication” meaning the department cannot

determine which station was the primary response station. Obviously, this information is known

at the time of the incident and not entered into the data management system.

Also, depending on the data used, Station #3 responds less than once a day (0.87/day) to one and

a quarter times a day (1.25/day). The consultants will address concerns with Station #3 in the

Station section of this report but question if the design and apparatus space are best serving the

City and the community.

Call Distribution by Shift

Leadership, utilizing the metric of incidents by shift, initially might appear to be of little value

other than bragging rights for the busiest shift. However, there is value if the leadership utilizes

the data for quality/assurance control. If a particular shift’s yearly incident data conflicts with

other data, the leadership can review total incident responses for each shift and identify if the

inconsistency is department-wide or problematic to a single shift. In either case, examining

incidents by shift primarily is a quality control measurement and one appropriate for SFD.

Table 13: Incidents by Shift 3 Year Average

Year A Shift B Shift C Shift Private Other Not Identified Total 2012 1,261 1,358 1,254 2 1 3,876* 2013 1,262 1,149 1,185 4 3 3,603 2014 1,452 1,454 1,421 0 0 79 4,406

Average 1,325 1,320 1,287 * 2012 data exceeds total calls by 187 incidents


Figure 12: Incidents by Shift 3-Year Average

Mutual Aid/Automatic Aid

The philosophical concept of mutual aid is to offer assistance to a fire department upon request

of the host district. The sole purpose is to give or receive assistance when all available resources

(equipment or personnel) are depleted – and then on a limited basis. Automatic aid differs from

mutual aid in that it is a pre-determined agreement with another department to respond

automatically when the host department receives an alarm at a given location or area. SFD

utilizes mutual aid but does not use automatic aid.

In some studies, the consultants have found that governing officials believe that requesting

assistance from other communities on a routine basis will preclude them from having to add

additional personnel, pay overtime, or provide more apparatus. This thinking is greatly flawed

inasmuch as the foundation of mutual and automatic aid is reciprocity.

The SFD was unable to provide mutual aid data for 2012 and 2013; however, the consultants

were told mutual aid is used minimally. The table below would validate that information.

A Shift34%

B Shift33%

C Shift33%


Figure 13: Mutual Aid Given & Received

Partnership Opportunity

Shelbyville Fire Department is the only all career fire department in Shelby County and the

largest. Their EMS district of 412 square miles allows them to interface with multiple other

agencies which presents some significant opportunities for partnerships, but will require a

cultural change.

All organizations develop a culture, and that culture easily becomes stronger than any single

individual within an organization. Organizational cultures are created, maintained, or

transformed by people. Culture finds its roots in shared basic assumptions: invented, discovered,

perceived, or tangible by a given group as it learns to adapt within its environment. In reality,

culture is a specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people within the

organization. Culture is hard to define, but those within the organization understand it and

recognize quickly when someone or something attempts to change it. Culture portrays itself in

appearance, attitude, behavior, and performance. In short, culture is the personality of the

organization.

The data supported a theme heard throughout the study which suggests that both SFD members

and the surrounding volunteer fire department members perceive SFD as self-sufficient. There is

a difference in being part of a state-wide mutual aid system and utilizing training with,

responding to calls, and developing relationships with neighboring volunteer/combination fire

departments.

No fire department is large enough that they are self-sufficient; and waiting until an emergency

arises to work together at the emergency is less than ideal. The consulting team observed that

Mutual Aid Given 2012 2013 2014 Mutual Aid Received 2012 2013 2014

St. Paul VFD 1 Farland VFD 1

Waldron VFD 4 Fountaintown VFD 1

Manilla VFD 1

Marletta VFD 2

Morristown VFD 1

Not Indidacted 1

Total 6 Total 6


the SFD believes they are self-sufficient and are not in need of the resources of their surrounding

departments. The exception is if they were to have the “big one” they would request assistance.

Safe working relationships need to be built prior to the “big one”. Discussion with members of

other surrounding departments supported the consultants’ supposition in statements such as: If

another department was requested to assist SFD, it would most likely be to stand-by in their

station awaiting another call versus actually responding to the emergency scene.

The consultants are suggesting that SFD could become the model of excellence and provide

training, services, advice, and work at emergency scenes with surrounding

volunteer/combination fire departments. This will take not only a cultural change by many

members of the SFD, but also a feeling that the members of the volunteer/combination fire

departments are respected and valued as a potential resource.

Recommendation – Partnership Opportunities

The SFD could benefit from creating a better working relationship with the surrounding volunteer fire departments. Priority 4

Mutual Aid Box Alarm (MABAS)

The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) currently includes five Midwest states: Illinois,

Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa have adopted the program; Minnesota and Ohio are

considering adoption.

To clarify, Indiana is part of MABAS but also has a parallel program known as Indiana Mutual

Aid Response Program (IMARP) through the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association (IFCA). The

IFCA Mutual Aid Section works to coordinate the various mutual aid initiatives within the State

of Indiana, including the Mid America Mutual Aid Consortium (MAMA-C), Mutual Aid Box

Alarm System (MABAS), and the Indiana Mutual Aid Response Plan (IMARP). In addition, the

Section coordinates the efforts in regards to Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials and Mass

Casualty response in Indiana.


Summary of Emergency Activities

The most positive conclusion drawn from the challenges with SFD data is the leadership is aware

of the conflicts, indicates the need to improve data quality, indicates understanding of the

importance of accurate data in management and leadership, and has within the department an

individual who seems very adept at coordinating the data transition between the multiple parties.

The most problematic conclusion drawn from the challenges with SFD data is the consultants

cannot make recommendations based on a quantifiable finding to the degree desired. It is with

regret that the consultants have recommended that the governing officials do not make any

significant fiscal investments in additional resources until the department can provide accurate

data that aligns with the PSAP’s CAD data. The exception is placing a third ambulance in

service and addressing issues of critical life safety.

Recommendation – Data Summary All parties would benefit from focusing on the opportunities for improvements and work

cooperatively with other agencies to ensure a system of checks and balances is

established; coupled with implementation of a data quality/assurance program. As long

as the parties argue whose data is correct this opportunity will be missed. Priority 5


Response Times / Public Safety Answering Point

This section will address response times which are impacted by three significant components:

Dispatch – Pubic Safety Answering Point (PSAP) – both City and County

Shelbyville Fire Department

Uncontrollable elements such as weather, traffic, road constructions, rail traffic, etc.

It is for this reason the discussion of SFD response times and the two PSAPs should be addressed

in the same section.

Providing emergency services is all about response times. How long it takes the fire department

to get on location to begin to mitigate the fire or provide emergency medical service is the primal

issue. An acceptable response time is subjective depending on if you are the one in need or not.

When a citizen makes a call to 9-1-1 for an ambulance or fire, every second seems like minutes

and their anxiety will disproportionately increase as the severity of the incident worsens.

All fire professionals understand the importance of response time and many have lived the

results of not being there just a few seconds sooner. Yet many fire departments do not routinely

use response time data as a management tool to address opportunities to improve services.

Unfortunately, this appears to be the case for the SFD. The data provided is inconclusive,

contradictory, or no data available. The consultants share the frustration of the department

leadership, after considerable effort and multiple response time data submissions; however,

without accurate primal data, such as response times, it is difficult to justify existing or

recommend future resource needs.

PSAP – City and County

Although the City and County are two separate PSAPs, they share the same facility (sitting back-

to-back), utilize the same CAD systems, all 9-1-1 calls both landline and cellular come directly

to them, utilize the same back-up PSAP in an emergency (Hancock County), share extremely

similar SOGs and policies, require the same certifications, share the same frequencies


(fire/EMS), cross the room to assist the other PSAP when overloaded, utilize the same work

schedule, and both PSAP supervisors are required to work shifts as a dispatcher. Yet they

remain two separate PSAPs with copious redundancies; the only obvious difference is salaries.

With the consultants’ background it would be most difficult to argue against the benefits of

consolidation of PSAPs; however, that is outside the scope of this study.

Both PSAPs’ cover area, schedule, shifts and shift staffing are illustrated in the table below:

Table 14: City & County PSAP

Response Time Requires Teamwork

To improve response times, validate response times, or use response time data in

quality/assurance programs it requires a unified joint process between the PSAP (dispatch) and

the Fire Department.

A question asked numerous times of the consultants was: “Why does a fire truck have to always

go with the ambulance”? The answer is to the above question is: it doesn’t is an over-simplified

answer to a more complex issue. The issue involves traditional beliefs, lack of the use of

technology, simplification of addressing the unknown, and most obvious is the separation of fire

and PSAP – resulting in not working as a unified team.

To change the SFD two unit response to all EMS calls policy will require both dispatch centers

and the Fire Department to work together in developing an EMS response protocol and change

from the status-quo dispatching policy. The results of a successful change and working

partnerships can be a significant cost savings and additional safety for the emergency responders.

CoversNumber of

Dispatchers

Maximum

Shift

Minimum

Shift% @ Minimum

City Only 9 3 1 Midnights = 90%

Everything Outside

City within County8 3 1 Midnights = 90%

Shift Time

Days 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Afternoons 3:00 PM to 11 PM

Midnights 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM

Swing (County) As assigned

City

County

Public Safety Answering Point


The Shelbyville Fire Department, like most fire departments, staff their ALS ambulances with

two personnel; therefore, on any given day four personnel (two in-service ambulances) of the 15

to 19 on-duty personnel are the primary resource handling 82.7% of all emergency responses by

the SFD.

Yet the vast majority of fire departments today perceive themselves as a fire agency that happens

to provide EMS, and their entire service philosophy is based on this traditional view. In reality

today’s response deployment philosophy should be:

1. Today’s fire service is predominately an EMS agency that secondarily provides fire

protection services along with multiple other services. The fire service is the largest

provider of EMS services (46% of all providers). The leading service is EMS and actual

fires continue to decrease.

This is a statement easily understood by most outside the fire service; however, if

understood by the fire service, it is not the resource deployment philosophy

implemented in most fire departments. To some degree this EMS philosophy

change is occurring in Shelbyville but not to the full extent.

2. In order for the fire department to send the proper resources the dispatch (PSAP) must

utilize Emergency Priority Dispatching (EPD) information:

Emergency Medical Priority Dispatching is a unified system used to dispatch appropriate

resources to medical emergencies, most often including systematized caller pre-arrival

instructions – known as Emergency Medical Dispatching (EMD)

These are two different dispatching functions, often mistaken as one.

The consultants were told by Fire Department leadership that currently, the dispatch centers do

not provide any information as to the nature of the medical request to the Fire Department.

Therefore, the Fire Department believes they are best serving the needs of the caller by sending

sufficient resources to handle the most probable serious situation.


However, the PSAP indicates they do provide the Fire Department with:

Address

Age of patient

Gender of the patient

Nature of the call

The consultants witnessed an EMS call being transmitted to the Fire Department and confirmed

this information was transmitted.

Shelbyville EMS Response

There are several truths, fallacies, and undocumented excuses why this current

dispatching/response scenario is utilized in Shelbyville:

Serious medical emergencies (e.g., heart attack, major trauma, etc.) require more than

two paramedics to aggressively provide life saving measures. Conversely, not all

medical calls are life-threatening situations. Accurate data recording could provide

leadership with a well-defined classification of what calls will most likely require

additional resources (the premise of EPD).

Even if the Fire Department knew the nature, it is not always accurate and a caller faced

with an emergency situation could be poor judge of what resources are needed: Example

– if you break your wrist it really isn’t an emergency, however, if I break mine it is!

Therefore, the Fire Department is being prudent in their reaction to worst-case scenario.

A fire chief is not paid to take risks; they are paid to know what risks to take. EPD has

found to be a very reliable cost-effective method in matching emergency resources with

the nature of the emergency.

“What ifs”?

o Upon arrival, are additional resources are truly needed? Simply, most

departments just radio for additional resources while the first arriving personnel

intervene – worse case conducting Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).


o Many emergency medical personnel are injured from lifting so what if the patient

is obese or has to be carried up or down a flight of stairs? Again radio

transmissions travel at 186,000 miles per second (speed of light) and additional

resources can be called.

o The “what ifs” can be endless but EPD is utilized throughout the country very

successfully.

What is the up side?

o The second leading cause of death of firefighter/emergency medical technicians

is vehicle accidents either responding to or returning from. Also every time a fire

department vehicle responds with lights and sirens it increases the anxiety and

chance of injuries to civilians. Therefore, less vehicles responding under

emergency conditions lessens the chance of accidents.

o Running a fire truck after an ambulance, or worse yet an aerial apparatus (quint)

is expensive in wear, maintenance, and replacement parts (e.g., tires). It

significantly decreases the life expectancy of these units which are much more

expensive than alternative chase vehicles (e.g., SUV).

o Citizen’s perception often is the mismanagement taxpayers’ money which is

being spent on sending unneeded or unwanted resources. Often citizens will

compare outcomes to what should have been sent (e.g. she only tripped and fell

on the sidewalk but an ambulance, fire truck, and police car all showed up – all

she needed was help getting up. The emergency service provider doesn’t have

this luxury of working calls in reverse. A person’s perception is their reality for

most people.

What is the down side?

o On rare occasions either the caller or dispatcher underestimate the resource needs

or additional resource arrival is delayed – remembering that the first responding

unit is never delayed and can immediately begin mitigating the medical


emergency. Throughout the county, First Responder EMS programs are utilized

until advanced EMS care can arrive.

o Emergency Priority Dispatching requires adequate resources and unless the

change begins in the PSAP the “status-quo” will remain and multiple apparatus

will be dispatched to incidents which could be handled by a single unit. It will

costs a little more now to save a lot in the future; not even addressing the

additional safety provided the responders and general public.

Response Time Components

When examining response times, it is essential that all parties are talking about the same

response time components. When a fire department states they must be able to reach the

emergency in four minutes; they are only referring to travel time (under NFPA 1710) and are

excluding notification and turnout time.

The actual measurement of response time must be a total system understanding of all

components of response time, including:

Detection Time: The time it takes to detect the emergency incident and dial 9-1-1.

Notification Time: The time from when the call is received by dispatch (PSAP) to the

time the department is notified.

Turnout Time (Out the Door Time): The time it takes personnel to prepare and leave

quarters after notification.

Travel Time: The time the first fire apparatus leaves the station to the time it arrives on

the scene. (The term travel time ends when the unit arrives on location of the emergency)

Mitigation Time: The time the first apparatus arrives at the scene to the time when

actual extinguishing/treatment (mitigation) efforts begin.


Response Time Components Control By:

The following department/agency controls the response time components elements:

Dispatch (PSAP) Control:

Alarm Transfer Time – (NFPA 1221 – 2013 edition: shall not exceed 30 seconds 95% of

all alarms) calls that do not come directly to the dispatch center that is responsible for

notification to the fire department must be transferred.

o Neither the City or County could provide data on this component because when

the call is answered it is not recorded by CAD; rather, CAD will begin when the

call is “created” in its system.

Alarm Answering Time – (NENA – all emergency calls answering shall not exceed 10

seconds 90% of all alarms) from the time the call/alarm is received and entered into the

CAD system.

o CAD system is unable to capture this time for the same reason as described

above.

Alarm Processing Time – (NFPA 1221 – 2013 edition: shall not exceed 60 seconds 95%

of all alarms) – from entry into the CAD system to the actual time the voice or electronic

means is utilized to notify the fire department.

o Three-year average PSAP “Create to Dispatch” equal:

EMS = 1 minute 35 seconds

Fire = 1 minute 59 seconds

Source: Disk provided by the City Dispatch (March site visit)

Often these time are combined into the heading “Notification Time”. The following agencies

that have standards for communication centers – the Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA), National Emergency Number Association (NENA), National Fire Protection Agency

(NFPA), and the Associated Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).


Technology Considerations

Although the consultants have seen a few other PSAPs whose CAD systems require the

dispatcher to enter simple data (e.g., address and phone number) manually into the CAD system

this adds precious seconds to the notification of the emergency agency. This is why it is not

uncommon for dispatchers to err in the best interest of the caller and dispatch first and finish

entering CAD data later; resulting in extended average creation times. Most CAD systems

receive what is called Automatic Number Identification (ANI) and Automatic Location

Identification (ALI) which is displayed on the dispatcher’s console and automatically

simultaneously entered into the CAD system.

Recommendation – PSAP Creation Time

The City should investigate if there are technology improvements that could enhance

emergency caller’s information into the CAD system that would shorten the “creation

time”. The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch would be an excellent

source for additional information. Web Site http://www.emergencydispatch.org/

Priority 3

Fire Department Control:

Turnout Time / Out the Door Time – (NFPA 1710 – 2010 edition: shall not exceed 60

seconds for EMS and 80 seconds for fire calls) the time from when the fire department is

notified by dispatch until the first mitigation unit leaves the station or begins their

response.

o The Fire Department indicated they do not record their turnout times; however,

the consultants were able to conduct a hand count on approximately 20% of all

calls in 2014 provided in PDF format by the PSAP. SFD Turnout/Out the Door

Times = 1 minute 5 seconds (only EMS data was provided)

Mitigation Time / Intervention Time – (NFPA 1710 requires immediately upon arrival) –

from arrival of the fire department until mitigation efforts begin.

o Data not available


On Scene Time / Total Time Out Time – from the arrival of the first emergency unit until

the departure of the last emergency unit from the scene of the incident.

o 2014 data average was 34 minutes 31 seconds

No or Limited Agency Control:

Travel Time / Drive Time – (NFPA 1710 – 2010 edition: shall not exceed 240 seconds

initial assigned unit and 480 seconds for the “first alarm assignment”) the time from

when the unit leaves the station until it arrives at the emergency scene. There are many

uncontrollable factors: distance to the scene, traffic, weather conditions, availability of

closest emergency unit, etc.

o Dispatch to Arrival on the scene averaged (2014) 6 minutes 33 seconds

Recommendation – Turnout Time (Out the Door) SFD has complete control of how long it takes for apparatus to leave the station once

they have been notified. SFD times received were for EMS only; therefore, the NFPA

standard would be 60 seconds. SFD times were 65 seconds or only 8.3% higher;

however, fire turnout times were not provided. The Fire Department leadership should

begin to track turnout times and although only slightly higher than NFPA standards;

striving to reach the NFPA standard. Priority 2

Response Time Data Opportunities

In order to determine the above times for PSAP, Fire Department, and No or Limited Agency

Control numerous sources of data needed to be considered and in many cases hand counted. The

result is that the Fire Department appears to be closer to the NFPA standards than their (not

PSAP) data would reflect as illustrated in the fire department data provided illustrated below:

Table 15: SFD Response Time Data Submitted

Goal

EMS/60 sec Fire/80 sec

90% 77.6% 77.9%

90% EMS/69.3% Fire/ No Data

No Data No Data

No Standard 36% = 31 - 60 Min No Data

2014

Turnout Time

Drive Time

Scene Time

Total Response Time


For example the 2014 Turnout/Out the Door Time hand counted by the consultants was only five

seconds or 8.3% higher than the NFPA standard; whereas, the Fire Department’s data indicates

they are 22.4% higher.

The opportunity for the Fire Department and City is to place significant emphasis on data as one

of the leadership tools for management of the Fire Department.


Fire Suppression/EMS System Operations

Fire Department Operations

The Fire Department staffs all engine and ladder companies as required by the labor contract.

On a daily basis this usually means staffing two engines and a ladder or quint. The Fire

Department responds to all fire and EMS emergencies within the City of Shelbyville. The

Shelbyville Fire Department does respond to the three Townships that they provide fire

protection services by contracts. The three Townships are Marion Township, Addison Township

and Shelby Township. The contracts require that the City of Shelbyville responds with a least

one fire engine with three personnel to any fire call within each Township. The City of

Shelbyville Fire Department does respond with an engine or quint to any ambulance call within

these three Townships.

The Shelbyville Fire Department does provide water rescue services as they participate in the

Shelby County Water Rescue Team. For most other special service teams type services the City

of Shelbyville would request assistance from other outside agencies. The other services included

incidents or emergencies involving hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction, rope

rescue, high angle rescue, trench rescue, heavy rescue and urban search and rescue. The primary

outside agency that assistance would be requested from would be the City of Indianapolis Fire

Department.

Basically for any fire calls all three fire stations would respond to the calls with the vehicles that

are staffed on any given day. In the event an ambulance is out on an emergency call already the

number of personnel available for the fire call would be reduced. There are nine other fire

departments located in Shelby County, but they are all staffed by volunteer or paid-on-call

personnel. Receiving mutual aid from these outside fire departments will depend on the time of

day that the request for help is required.

All fire apparatus are equipped with Advanced Life Support equipment and supplies; which

means in most cases a fire apparatus will be able to respond and provide the services of a

Paramedic Advanced Life Support vehicle with the exception of not being able to transport the

patient.


Ambulance Service Operations

The Shelbyville Fire Department also operates the emergency ambulance service both within the

City of Shelbyville and within Shelby County. The services within the City of Shelbyville are

paid for by the taxpayers of the city. The Shelbyville Fire Department also provides ambulance

services to all of Shelby County by an agreement that has been in place for many decades.

As previously stated in this report, the area of square miles that the ambulance service responds

to is significant. The Fire Department operates with two advanced life support paramedic

ambulances in-service on a daily basis. On days when staffing allows, the third ambulance is

placed in service, but this policy was just implemented in early 2015. In the past, the Shelbyville

Fire Department relied on the services of a private ambulance service if a third ambulance were

to be required. The Fire Chief informed the consultants that the private ambulance service often

was not available to provide an ambulance because they were already committed to another call.

On most EMS calls the Fire Department responds with an ambulance and with either an engine

or the quint in the City of Shelbyville. On most EMS calls with the three Townships that the

City of Shelbyville contracts with for fire protection is the same response as the city is in the

normal manner. The response normally is an ambulance and an engine or quint. This is due to

the fact that the City of Shelbyville is the fire department for these three Townships.

For EMS calls outside the City and within Shelby County the normal response is an ambulance,

but the local fire department in the community they are responding to will be requested to

respond to the scene also. A number of the communities in the county, in addition to having a

fire department, have first responders for emergency medical emergencies and at least one fire

department has emergency medical technicians on their department.

There are also a few fire departments where members of the City of Shelbyville Fire Department

are volunteers and in some cases these personnel are paramedics. If any off-duty paramedic

responds on a call they may act as a member of the Shelbyville Fire Department in order to be

covered by the paramedic license and protocols. If the Shelbyville Fire Department ambulance


is responding to a community in the county and they request the local fire department but they

get no response, they may request a mutual aid fire department to respond to the call.

The Shelbyville Fire Department ambulance service receives the services of a medical director

from Major Hospital at no cost to the City of Shelbyville.

The Shelbyville Fire Department ambulances transport primarily to Major Hospital located near

downtown Shelbyville. It should be noted that the new Major Hospital is currently being

constructed just north of I-74 and the Hwy 9 interchange in the City of Shelbyville. With the

new hospital being located north of I-74 it is expected that the time an ambulance is out on calls

will be extended for a longer period of time for most calls.

The majority of patient transports are to Major Hospital, but the ambulance may transport to

other hospitals that have a certain specialty. Most of these specialty hospitals are located in the

area of the City of Indianapolis, which means usually that the length of the trip to the hospital

will be at least 25 miles one way.

The Fire Department expressed its concern with the need for a third ambulance to be placed in

service on a daily basis due to the number of ambulance calls they respond to and the distance

and time to respond too many of these calls. The Fire Department expressed the concern about

the large number of calls into the county and the distance to travel to these calls and the length of

time spent on these calls. Unfortunately the current data did not support the fact that 50% of the

calls by the Shelbyville Fire Department are outside the city.


Staffing/Staffing Methodology

City of Shelbyville Fire Department Staffing

The City of Shelbyville Fire Department has a current approved staffing level of 60 career

positions. This includes 57 line personnel and three staff officers including the Fire Chief,

Deputy Chief and EMS Chief. In addition there is one civilian fire inspector and one civilian

administrative assistant. The following table illustrates the rank structure of the department:

Table 16: Total FD Membership

The Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, EMS Chief, Fire Inspector and the Administrative Assistant

all work a 40 hour work week. All of them with the exception of the Administrative Assistant

may and do respond to emergency calls while off duty. The remainder of the department

members work a 24-hour duty shift and are assigned to one of three different shifts identified as

A shift, B shift or C shift.

Each of the three 24-hour duty shifts has assigned one Battalion Chief, one Captain, two

Lieutenants and 15 firefighters that may be either paramedics or emergency medical technicians

for a total shift assignment of 19 personnel.

Of the 57 department members assigned to the 24 hour shifts there are 40 certified as

paramedics, 14 certified as emergency medical technicians, and three non-emergency medical

technicians.

The following figure illustrates the City of Shelbyville Fire Department Organizational Chart:

Position Number

Fire Chief 1

Deputy Chief 1

EMS Chief 1

Battalion Chief (shift commander) 3

Captain 3

Lieutenant 6

Firefighter/Paramedic/EMT 45

Civilian Fire Inspector 1

Civilian Administrative Assistant 1

Total 62

Shelbyville Fire Department Staffing


Figure 14: Fire Department Organizational Chart

Fire Chief

Fire Inspector

Chief Fire

Investigator

Administrative

Assistant

PIO

EMS Chief

Pubic

Education

Deputy Chief

SOG

Committee

B Shift

Commander

C Shift

Commander

Training

Chief

Mechanic

Assistant

Mechanic

A Shift

Commander

Training

Facility

Committee

Assistant

Mechanic

EMS Training

Investigator

Investigator

Mayor

Board of Public Works

and Safety

The following table indicates the average number of firefighters in communities with a

population between 10,000 and 24,999 that participated in the 2011-13 NFPA Fire Service

Survey. It is obvious that the range of the number of firefighters in these communities varies

greatly.

Table 17: Career Firefighters Rates by Population Protected, 2011-2013

Career Firefighters Per 1,000 People Population Protected Low Median High

10,000 to 24,999 0.00 1.00 11.15 Source: 2011-2013 NFPA Fire Service Survey


Station Shift Staffing

The Fire Department shifts work 24 hours on duty and then 48 hours off duty. This is a common

schedule for fire department staffing and results in a 56-hour work week for fire department line

personnel. With full staffing, there are 19 personnel on duty including a Battalion Chief who is

responsible for all operations on the 24-hour shift.

With full staffing, there are 19 personnel on duty. Station #1 has ten or eleven including the

Battalion Chief, Station #2 has five, and Station #3 has three personnel. Fire Station #1 has a

Battalion Chief and a Captain assigned and each of the three fire stations has a lieutenant. The

Battalion Chief has the discretion as to which station the 19th person on duty is assigned.

With the Fire Department staffed at 19 personnel on duty the personnel at each fire station and

the vehicles they staff are as follows:

Table 18: Shelbyville FD Full Staffing 19 Personnel Station Apparatus Staffing

Station #1 Battalion Chief 1 Station #1 Engine #1 3 Station #1 Med Unit #1 2 Station #1 Med Unit #3 2 Station #1 Squad #2 2 Station #2 Ladder #2 3 Station #2 Med Unit #2 2 Station #3 Engine #3 3 Battalion Chief Discretion Varies 1

Total Staffing 19

Department firefighters may be off duty for many reasons, including vacation, Kelly days,

holidays, training, sickness, work injuries, family medical leave, and funeral leave. The result is

that it is not possible to maintain on-duty staffing of all 19 firefighters per shift. When

firefighters are off duty, a minimum number of firefighters are needed on duty in order to operate

the basic fire and EMS services that the department provides. This number is the minimum

staffing number.

For the City of Shelbyville Fire Department, the minimum staffing number was 13 personnel on

duty, but it was recently changed to 14 personnel on duty. This results in six personnel on duty


at Fire Station #1 with the Battalion Chief, five personnel on duty at Fire Station #2, and three

personnel on duty at Fire Station #3. With the previous minimum staffing level of 13 personnel

on duty the department staffed Engine 3 at Station #3 with only two personnel.

With the Fire Department staffed at minimum of 14 personnel on duty the personnel are assigned

to the station and vehicles as indicated in the following table:

Table 19: Shelbyville FD Minimum Staffing 14 Personnel Station Apparatus Staffing

Station #1 Battalion Chief 1 Station #1 Engine #1 3 Station #1 Med Unit #1 2 Station #2 Ladder #2 3 Station #2 Med Unit #2 2 Station #3 Engine #3 3

Total Minimum Staffing 14

When there are 15 personnel on duty the Battalion Chief has the discretion as to which vehicle

the 15th person will be assigned to on that shift. As of January 2015, when there are 16

personnel on duty Med #3 is staffed with two personnel as indicated in the following table:

Table 20: Shelbyville FD Minimum Staffing 16 Personnel

Station Apparatus Staffing Station #1 Battalion Chief 1 Station #1 Engine #1 3 Station #1 Med Unit #1 2 Station #1 Med Unit #3 2 Station #2 Ladder #2 3 Station #2 Med Unit #2 2 Station #3 Engine #3 3

Total Minimum Staffing 16

As stated previously both Med #1 and Med#2 are Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedic

ambulances and Med #3 would be the same. All fire apparatus of the Shelbyville Fire

Department are also equipped with Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedic equipment and

supplies and basically can provide all of the ALS-Paramedic Medical Care as a Paramedic

Ambulance except transportation of the patient to a medical facility.


Recommendations – Staffing The consultants would not recommend any additional staffing for the Fire Department

until data collections methods improve to the status that the justification for additional staffing is available and accurate. Priority 5

The consultants would not recommend any additional staffing for the Fire Department

until the issues with allowing the granting of Kelly Days has been addressed since the

number of Kelly days being provided to all members of the Fire Department now equal

over six full-time positions in equivalent time worked. The issue of Kelly Days is further

addressed in the Human Resources section. Priority 5


Standards of Response Coverage

The Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) defines standards of response

coverage as being those adopted written policies and procedures that determine the distribution,

concentration and reliability of fixed and mobile response forces for fire, emergency medical

services, hazardous materials and other forces of technical response. CFAI uses the terms

standards of response coverage and standards of coverage interchangeably throughout their

description of the program. The consultants will discuss the SFD and the factors involving what

is referred to as community risk and all hazard risk potential as it relates to emergency response

throughout the community.

Distribution

Distribution: The locating of geographically distributed, first due resources, for all risk initial

intervention. These station locations are needed to assure rapid deployment to minimize and

mitigate average, routine emergencies. Distribution is measured by the percentage of the

jurisdiction covered by the first-due units within adopted public policy response times.

Concentration

Concentration: Is the spacing of multiple resources arranged (close enough together) so that an

initial "effective response force" can be assembled on-scene within adopted public policy time

frames? An initial effective response force is that which will most likely stop the escalation of

the emergency for each risk type. Concentration is measured by risk type category; high-risk

areas need second and third due units in shorter time frames than in typical or low risk areas.

Reliability

Reliability – looks at actual incident history data to measure historical performance. How

reliable is the response system, does the department frequently see multiple calls for service and

do these degrade service? Are there predictable times of the day, week or year when queued

calls occur? Can these occurrences be controlled or can peak hour staffing be used?


Standards of Coverage Overview

Standards of response coverage are an integral part of strategic planning for fire protection.

They are the allocation and distribution of resources to meet the goals and objectives of a

community’s master fire protection plan.

Standards of Cover (SOC) also referred to as Standards of Response Coverage (SORC) or

Deployment Analysis is a system for analyzing resource deployment, to determine whether a

department is properly deployed to meet its community’s risks and expectations. Standards of

Cover (SOC) are applicable to all fire departments and districts, career and volunteer, large and

small. However, there is no 'one size fits all' SOC. The SOC must take into account factors

unique to the community the department serves.

The SOC identifies agency-specific performance goals to which fire service leaders compare

actual performance to measure the effectiveness of their fire department or district. The SOC

process is not just about the number of fire stations and fire fighters, the SOC supports

community and firefighter safety by identifying the number of personnel that should arrive at

each risk type to safely and effectively accomplish the community’s objectives.

A small fire department or district’s SOC may be only a few pages in length, while a large

department’s SOC can be upwards of one hundred pages. A well-written SOC should provide

the authority having jurisdiction, fire chief, and members:

Defensible position related to strategic plan and future funding requests.

Defensible position related to adverse events and the criteria used to make your decisions.

A clear method to assess past, present and future service delivery decisions.

Determining a Fire Department’s SOC Benchmarks

The following agencies offer guidelines to help fire service leaders determine SOC performance

benchmarks for their department or district.


National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

The CFAI draws many of their core competencies from portions of NFPA standards but unlike

NFPA do not adopt the position of one-size fits all. The national/industry standards section of

this report described the influence of NFPA standards.

NFPA 1710 would be the standards that would apply to the SFD and could be helpful in

establishing SOC benchmarks.

National Fire Protection Association Standards 1710: Organization and Development of Fire

Suppression, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career

Fire Departments – 2010 Edition

Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI)

The CFAI was discussed in the national/industry Standards section of this report; however, the

standards of coverage concept is the 'core competency' in the self-assessment process that must

be met for an agency to be accredited by the CFAI. CFAI employs a comprehensive approach to

deployment analysis.

In addition to considering travel time and distance, several other deployment factors are

analyzed, such as call concurrency, risk assessment, and deployment based on getting enough

resources to a given risk for an effective outcome. CFAI believes that a community should first

determine the levels of service it wishes to provide and then develop standards of coverage to

provide that level of service.

Key Elements of a SOC Plan

The key elements of a SOC plan are outlined below.

1. Overview - The study starts with a description of: (a) the community served, including

demographics, geography, and specific unique community features; and (b) the agency,

including statutory authority, funding mechanisms, department history, and types of services

provided.


2. Community outcome expectations - What does the community expect of the department?

Has there ever been a discussion with the elected officials about what service goals the

department ought to deliver and measure itself against?

3. Community risk assessment - This is a critical step in the SOC process. Response standards

should be identified based on risk classification. The four classes are Low, Moderate,

Significant, and Maximum risk:

Low risk: Areas zoned and used for agricultural purposes, open space, and other low

intensity uses.

Moderate risk: Areas zoned for single family properties, small commercial and office

uses, and equivalently sized business activities.

High risk: Business districts, high density residential, light industrial, and large

mercantile centers.

Maximum risk: High rise, unprotected, residential and commercial properties, heavy

industrial, and high life risk institutional properties.

Risks, other than fire are also considered, such as emergency medical service demand, technical

rescue, transportation, natural hazards, weather, and others.

The goal is to determine the probability of an event and the potential consequences. The SOC

process analyzes deployment based on the risk assessment. That is, how many people must

arrive in what time frame, properly trained and equipped, to achieve the desired outcome?

4. Distribution study - This is the location geographically, of first-due resources, typically

engines. These station locations are needed to assure rapid deployment to minimize and mitigate

average, routine emergencies. Distribution is measured by the percentage of the jurisdiction

covered by first-due units within the adopted response time benchmarks. A distribution

statement must have a percentage performance measure and a time measure and state a service

level objective. Distribution is the strategic placement of available resources so that any hazards

or risks, regarding life property and environment are covered appropriately.


Example of a distribution statement:

For 90% of all incidents, the first-due unit shall arrive within six minutes total response

time. The first-due unit shall be capable of advancing the first line for fire control or

starting rescue or providing Basic Life Support for medical incidents.

5. Concentration study - Concentration is the spacing of multiple resources arranged (close

enough together) so that an initial "effective response force" can be assembled on-scene within

adopted public policy time frames. An initial effective response force is that which will most

likely stop the escalation of the emergency for each risk type. Concentration is measured by risk

type category; high-risk areas need second and third due units in shorter time frames than in

typical or low risk areas.

A concentration statement must have a percentage performance measure, time measure and state

a service level objective.

Example of a concentration statement:

In a Moderate risk area, an initial effective response force shall arrive within 8 minutes

travel or 10 minutes total response time, 90% of the time, and be able to provide

1,500gpm for firefighting, or be able to handle a five-patient emergency medical incident.

6. Historical response reliability - Response reliability is the probability, expressed as a

percentage, that the required amount of staff and apparatus will be available when a fire or

emergency call is received, and how often these resources are at the station. There are times

when a call is received when the first-due company is unavailable, requiring a later-due company

to be assigned. Simultaneous calls for service (concurrency) is a problem for fire agencies of all

sizes.

Analysis of multiple call frequency can produce meaningful results. An agency’s deployment

may look great for travel time on a map, yet be problematic due to simultaneous calls for service.

Reliability looks at actual incident history data to measure historical performance. How reliable

is the response system, does the department frequently see multiple calls for service and do these


degrade service? Are there predictable times of the day, week or year when queued calls occur?

Can these occurrences be controlled or can peak hour staffing be used?

7. Historical response effectiveness - Response effectiveness is the percentage of compliance

the existing system delivers. How well is the agency meeting the existing service objectives? If,

for example, the current deployment is supposed to answer all calls within x minutes, y percent

of the time, does it? If not, why not?

8. Overall evaluation - The first seven elements of the SOC are each a part of the deployment

analysis. In this section, all the study parts are evaluated as a whole to determine if changes in

deployment should be proposed. Proposed standards of coverage statements by risk type are

formed.

9. Goals and Objectives - These are the specific statements related to staffing, response times,

and infrastructure developments which resulted from the deployment analysis. These goal

statements and service level objectives must include:

Rationale for the goal. This includes reference to the national, regional, or local standards used

to establish the goal, conformity to the risk assessment, and the supporting deployment analysis.

Estimated cost for implementation of the goal.

Time frame for implementation of the goal.

Method to measure the stated goal and/or objective.

The most advantageous part of working on the core competencies of the CFAI is the process not

the results. Leadership of the service department will literally self-examine every aspect of their

organization asking: what service do we provide, what is the cost of that service, should we be

providing that service, is there a more cost-effective manner in providing our core services, and

meet the three basis components of the SORC of distribution, concentration, and reliability?


SORC Integration with the Shelbyville FD

Standard of Response Coverage is determined by the community absent of any non-mandatory

requirements and consists of the analysis of the components outlined above. What is particularly

difficult for those who administer fire/EMS organizations is the absence of the second

component detailed above – community outcome expectations. In most cases, those who govern

and provide funding for fire departments concentrate on the fiscal aspects of providing that

service.

Although this is an essential responsibility for those who govern, many do not articulate exactly

what level of service they expect. What are acceptable response times? What level of fire/EMS

service do they want to provide to the citizens? What non-emergency services can the fire

department provide to the community? Thus, in many cases, the fire chiefs, not a unified team of

governing officials and fire department leadership, determine the SORC for the community.

Governing boards/department officials are constantly faced with the issue that there are more

good causes than tax dollars to provide those services. Therefore, they strive to provide as many

services at the highest level with available dollars. Absent of “citizen outcry”, governing

officials have little incentive or motivation to suddenly change service levels. Thus, fire and

EMS services are a “quality of life” issue that must be determined by community/department

leaders. The question that must be addressed is what level of risk to its residents is acceptable by

those who govern the SFD?

During the site visits by the consulting team, a close look and evaluation of the SFD response

areas were examined, visited, discussed with department personnel and viewed from a

community risk analysis viewpoint. Potential risk hazard occupancies were discussed and

evaluated by the consultants to better understand and assist in determining risk levels to the

community. Discussions were carried out with the administrative staff officers including the Fire

Chief and Battalion Chiefs to identify their own particular views and professional opinions on

the risks they felt were of particular concern within the community.


It was through this evaluation process that the following occupancies/issues were identified as

having a high risk potential to life safety concerns for the residents protected by the City of

Shelbyville Fire Department:

Indiana Grand Racing and Casino Complex

Penske Logistics

City Airport and National Guard Facility

Potential of Multiple Vehicle Accidents and Hazardous Materials Incidents on

Interstate 74

Multiple Assisted living facilities

Major Hospital Both Current and New Locations

Significant size of response area for EMS Services throughout Shelby County

As to evaluating the SFD community’s risk level, it is the consultants’ opinion and concurrence

that each of the identified areas listed above do in fact carry a higher level of risk within the

community. In determining a fire department’s standard of response coverage-state of readiness,

all aspects of this state of preparedness discussed within this section must be addressed and

independently reviewed. With this in mind, the consulting team does have a heightened level of

concern regarding these highlighted issues. Addressing each of these areas of concern would

work to enhance and improve the state of preparedness and the ability of the SFD to handle such

major incidents.

Recommendations –Community Risk/Standards of Response Coverage The standards of response coverage is a worthwhile internal assessment to address the

all hazard risk potential impacting the department. Within the next year the SFD should

utilize this tool in developing a strategic plan. Priority 3

All future capital expenditures should be evaluated against the SORC distribution,

concentration, and reliability criteria. Priority 5


National/Industry Standards

The Shelbyville Fire Department has standards (some mandatory and some advisory) which

impacts how they should provide fire and EMS. This section will address the federal and state

codes and standards which apply to City of Shelbyville and the district they protect.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Non-mandatory

The National Fire Protection Association creates and maintains private, copyrighted, standards

and codes for usage and adoption by local governments. NFPA was formed in 1896 by a group

of insurance firms; their mission was to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards

on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes, and standards, research,

training, and education. Today NFPA members include more than 70,000 individuals

representing nearly 100 nations.

The first fire department to be represented in the NFPA was the New York City Fire

Department in 1905. Today, the NFPA includes representatives from some fire departments,

many fire insurance companies, many manufacturing associations, some trade unions, many

trade associations, and engineering associations

NFPA is responsible for 300 codes and standards that are designed to minimize the risk and

effects of fire by establishing criteria for building, processing, design, service, and installation all

over the world. It’s more than 200 technical codes and standards development committees are

comprised of over 6,000 volunteer seats.

Source: NFPA website/overview

There is much disagreement as to the meaning of the words “codes and standards”. NFPA

defines a standard as:

A document, the main text of which contains only mandatory provisions using the word

“shall” to indicate requirements and which is in a form generally suitable for mandatory

reference by another standard or code or for adoption into law. Non-mandatory

provisions are not to be considered a part of the requirements of a standard and shall be


located in an appendix, annex, footnote, informational note, or other means as permitted

in the Manual of Style for NFPA Technical Committee Documents.

NFPA defines a code as:

A standard that is an extensive compilation of provisions covering broad subject matter

or that is suitable for adoption into law independently of other codes and standards.

Source: NFPA Glossary of Terms 2013 edition

If one were accepting the NFPA definition, it would appear that all standards listed in any NFPA

code other than in the appendixes, are in fact mandatory. Such would be the case if a governing

body were to adopt the code in which the standard is listed. However, governing bodies are not

required to adopt the NFPA codes; whereas, many view the NFPA terms codes and standards as

a benchmark by which to judge against.

The understanding of the significances of NFPA codes and standards becomes more complicated

in the event in which a firefighter might be seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. In these

events, NFPA codes have the effect of a double-edged sword; the fire department is not required

to meet them, but the fire department would most likely be judged against these standards by a

host of investigating agencies.

Therefore, it is advantageous for everyone in a decision-making position to be familiar with

NFPA codes and standards. Leadership’s decisions pertaining to resources and the deployment

of those resources should be based on knowledge of current industry standards as outlined by

NFPA.

NFPA 1710 or NFPA 1720

NFPA adopted two standards addressing fire department organization and development: NFPA

1710 (Organization and Development of Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Operations, and

Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments), and a sister standard NFPA 1720

(Organization and Development of Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical Operations, and

Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer/Paid-On-Call Fire Departments).


Inasmuch as the SFD has all career members it clearly falls under the NFPA 1710 standards,

which is the more stringent of the two standards. The consultants recommend that the City does

not adopt NFPA 1710; rather they should attempt to meet as many of the NFPA 1710 standards

as feasibly and fiscally possible.

Recommendation – NFPA Standard 1710 The City should not adopt NFPA 1710 standard. Adoption would include the adoption of

all OSHA and NFPA standards by reference included in the document. However, a plan

should be developed to meet as many NFPA 1710 standards as possible in the future.

Priority 5

NFPA 1710 Suppression Team

NFPA 1710 Section 5.2.4.2.2 (2010 edition) requires the initial alarm assignment to a structure

fire in a 2,000 square foot home [two-story single-family dwelling without basement and with no

exposures (defined in the same section)] involving a “working fire” (a working fire is defined as

a fire within a structure of such magnitude that an aggressive interior or exterior attack will occur

with a minimum of two hose lines for suppression) would require 14 personnel arriving at the

scene within eight minutes of the initial full alarm assignment 90% of the time (section 5.2.4.2.1)

as illustrated in the table below:

Table 21: NFPA 1710 Deployment Standard

NFPA 1710 Deployment Standards Assignment Personnel Needed

Incident Command 1 Pump Operator 1 Attack Line - 2 lines @ 2 firefighters 4 Support - 1 each attack line 2 Search & Rescue 2 Ventilation 2 Initial Rapid Intervention Crew 2

Total W/O Aerial 14 Aerial - if utilized 1

Required Personnel 15

As the above table illustrates, one additional firefighter is required if an aerial device with pump

operation is placed into service, for a total personnel count of 15.


Shelbyville Fire Department Suppression Team

The department operates three 24-hour shifts with minimum staffing at 14 (this was raised from

minimum staffing of 13 in January 2015) and maximum staffing of 19; which did not occur on

any day in 2014.

Maximum of 19 does not occur because of vacation, sick, Kelly days (supposed to be used by

management to control overtime –see HR section), or excused absences. See table below for

number of personnel on duty each day of 2014:

Table 22: Staffing Levels per Day - 2014

2014 Staffing # # of Days

13 100 14 96 15 66 16 59 17 40 18 4 19 0 Total Days = 365

Figure 15: Staffing Levels per Day - 2014

Therefore, in 2015 there will be 100 additional days of overtime to meet the new minimum

staffing level; with that said however, the reason for the increase in minimum staffing is to

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

10096

6659

40

40

# o

f D

ays

# On Duty

2014


ensure there are a minimum of three individuals assigned to Station #3, which the consultants

support.

It would appear that at best SFD could provide 265 days of meeting the NFPA suppression team

standard for a reported structure fire. This is to assume that every station was staffed and

available to respond immediately. However, the average three-year simultaneous call data was

19.1% or 21.5% (conflicting sources) of the time; therefore, all personnel would not be available

to respond. In addition if the aerial were to be utilized it would require 15 personnel which only

occurred 169 days in 2014.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Mandatory

OSHA states that “once fire fighters begin the interior attack on an interior structural fire, the

atmosphere is assumed to be “Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health” (IDLH) and section (g)

(4) of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard, 29, CFR 1910.134 [two-in/two-out] applies.”

OSHA defines interior structural firefighting “as the physical activity of fire suppression, rescue,

or both inside of buildings or enclosed structures which are involved in a fire situation beyond

the incipient stage.” This rule is commonly referred to as the “two-in/two-out” rule, which is

OSHA’s mandatory requirement for interior firefighting

OSHA requires that all fire fighters engaged in interior structural firefighting must wear SCBAs.

SCBAs must be NIOSH-certified, positive pressure, with a minimum duration of 30 minutes.

[29 CFR 1910.156(f) (1) (ii)] and [29 CFR 1910.134(g) (4) (iii)]

OSHA requires that all workers engaged in interior structural firefighting operations beyond the

incipient stage use SCBA and work in teams of two or more. [29 CFR 1910.134(g) (4) (I)] Fire

fighters operating in the interior of the structure must operate in a buddy system and maintain

voice or visual contact with one another at all times. This assists in assuring accountability

within the team. [29 CFR 1910.134(g) (4) (I)]


OSHA requires at least one team of two or more properly equipped and trained fire fighters are

present outside the structure before any team(s) of fire fighters enters the structural fire. This

requirement is intended to assure that the team outside the structure has the training, clothing,

and equipment to protect them and, if necessary, safely and effectively rescue fire fighters inside

the structure. For high-rise operations, the team(s) would be staged below the IDLH atmosphere.

[29 CFR 1910.134(g) (3) (iii)]

OSHA requires that one of the two outside person's function is to account for and, if necessary,

initiate a fire fighter rescue. Aside from this individual dedicated to tracking interior personnel,

the other designated person(s) is permitted to take on other roles, such as incident commander in

charge of the emergency incident, safety officer, or equipment operator. However, the other

designated outside person(s) cannot be assigned tasks that are critical to the safety and health of

any other employee working at the incident.

Any task that the outside fire fighter(s) performs while in standby rescue status must not interfere

with the responsibility to account for those individuals in the hazard area. Any task, evolution,

duty, or function being performed by the standby individual(s) must be such that the work can be

abandoned, without placing any employee at additional risk, if rescue or other assistance is

needed. [29 CFR 1910.134(g) (4) (Note 1)] Any entry into an interior structural fire beyond the

incipient stage, regardless of the reason, must be made in teams of two or more individuals. [29

CFR 1910.134(g) (4) (I)].

Recommendation – OSHA The Fire Department leadership must ensure that the OSHA “two-in/two-out” rule is

practiced on all structure fires. Priority 5

Insurance Service Offices, Inc. (ISO)

Non-mandatory

Insurance Services Office (ISO) – ISO is a leading source of information about property casualty

insurance risk that provides risk information to many industries, including government. The ISO

Public Protection Classification program is designed to help establish fire insurance premiums

for residential and commercial properties based in part on a community’s fire protection services.


Although the primary purpose of this tool is to rate fire protection from which insurance rates

can be established, ISO ratings have been one of the few benchmarks to compare community fire

protection. Realizing the true intent of the ISO classification, it should not be the sole

determining factor in establishing public fire protection. Rather, the schedule should be

considered an instrument for comparison and an additional factor from which to make a decision.

ISO Changes

ISO filed a proposed revised schedule in December 2012 with changes that focus on areas that

have a proven effect on fire suppression and prevention, as well as revisions that align the

schedule’s requirements with those of nationally accepted standards. In January 2013 they have

filed revisions both to modernize and enhance its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).

The schedule revisions would recognize proactive efforts to reduce fire risk and frequency.

In July 2014 new Public Protection Classifications for split class 9 and split class 8B were

implemented.

New Classifications

Through ongoing research and loss experience analysis, ISO identified additional differentiation

in fire loss experience within ISO PPC™ program, which resulted in the revised classifications.

ISO based the differing fire loss experience on the fire suppression capabilities of each

community.

The new classifications will improve the predictive value for insurers while benefiting both

commercial and residential property owners. Here are the new classifications and what they

mean.

Split Classifications

ISO developed a split classification for a community – for example 5/9 – the first number is the

class that applies to properties within 5 road miles of the responding fire station and 1,000 feet of

a creditable water supply, such as a fire hydrant, suction point, or dry hydrant.


The second number is the class that applies to properties within 5 road miles of a fire station but

beyond 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply. ISO have revised the classification to reflect

more precisely the risk of loss in a community, replacing Class 9 and 8B in the second part of a

split classification with revised designations.

What’s Changed with the New Classifications?

ISO published the new classifications as “X” and “Y” — formerly the "9" and "8B" portion of

the split classification, respectively. For example:

A community currently displayed as a split 6/9 classification will now be a split 6/6X

classification; with the "6X" denoting what was formerly classified as "9". Similarly, a

community currently graded as a split 6/8B classification will now be a split 6/6Y classification,

the "6Y" denoting what was formerly classified as "8B". Communities graded with single “9” or

“8B” classifications will remain intact.

Table 23: New ISO Split Classifications

Prior Classification

New Classification

Prior

Classification New

Classification

1/9 1/1X 1/8B 1/1Y

2/9 2/2X 2/8B 2/2Y

3/9 3/3X 3/8B 3/3Y

4/9 4/4X 4/8B 4/4Y

5/9 5/5X 5/8B 5/5Y

6/9 6/6X 6/8B 6/6Y

7/9 7/7X 7/8B 7/7Y

8/9 8/8X 8/8B 8/8Y

9 9 8B 9

What’s Changed?

ISO is still maintaining split classes, but it’s how ISO represent them to insurers that’s changed.

The new designations reflect a reduction in fire severity and loss and have the potential to reduce

property insurance premiums.

Benefits of the Revised Split Class Designations


To the fire service, the revised designations identify enhanced fire suppression

capabilities used throughout the fire protection area

To the community, the new classes reward a community’s fire suppression efforts by

showing a more reflective designation

To the individual property owner, the revisions offer the potential for decreased property

insurance premiums

New Water Class

ISO data also shows that risks located more than 5 but less than 7 road miles from a responding

fire station with a creditable water source within 1,000 feet had better loss experience than those

farther than 5 road miles from a responding fire station with no creditable water source. ISO

introduced a new classification – 10W – to recognize the reduced loss potential of such

properties.

What’s changed with Class 10W?

Class 10W is property-specific. Not all properties in the 5-to-7-mile area around the responding

fire station will qualify. The difference between Class 10 and 10W is that the 10W-graded risk

or property is within 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply. Creditable water supplies include

fire protection systems using hauled water in any of the split classification areas.

What’s The Benefit of Class 10W? 10W gives credit to risks within 5 to 7 road miles of the

responding fire station and within

1,000 feet of a creditable water supply. That’s reflective of the potential for reduced property

insurance premiums.

ISO New Fire Suppression Rating Schedule - 2013

Since July, 2013 any community being evaluated by ISO will be graded on the revised FSRS.

These changes are also incorporated in the Public Protection Classification (PPC). This applies

to cities, towns, villages, fire protection districts, and other graded areas that are evaluated based

on the major elements of their fire suppression system.


The revised FSRS makes increased reference to the national consensus standards of the National

Fire Protection Association (NFPA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), and

Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO). Using feedback

from those organizations and many other industry associations, ISO revised its PPC evaluation to

make it more accurately reflect modern fire prevention and suppression capabilities. By

incorporating more direct references to national consensus standards, ISO is reinforcing that it

doesn’t just write standards but uses recognized fire suppression and prevention practices as the

basis for the PPC evaluations.

The new schedule continues to evaluate three major categories of fire suppression: fire

department, emergency communications, and water supply. In addition, it includes a new

Community Risk Reduction section that recognizes community efforts to reduce losses through

fire prevention, public fire safety education, and fire investigation.

The addition of the new risk reduction section represents a major shift in emphasis in the FSRS,

giving incentives to communities that strive to reduce fire severity proactively through a

structured program of fire prevention activities. Examples of fire prevention programs include

wild land-urban interface ordinances, certificate of occupancy inspections, and inspections of fire

prevention equipment.

“The revised FSRS continues to provide incentives to communities to strengthen their public fire

prevention programs. The revision reflects current trends in fire protection, credits a

community’s fire prevention and fire protection capabilities in a measured, analytical way, and

improves the predictive nature of the evaluation process” (Source: ISO web site).

There has been growing involvement in community efforts to limit losses before they happen,

led largely by fire departments and their personnel. It is not easy to quantify the efforts made

toward fire prevention and fire safety education, but there is enough anecdotal evidence to

indicate that the more done to prevent a fire, the less likely a fire will happen or that it will be a

major event.


The following are samples of the FSRS revisions:

Fire Department Section

The fire department section recognizes fire departments use various methods to solve the critical

issues of economic constraints as it relates to recruitment and retention. One way that ISO

addressed this is through enhanced recognition for automatic-aid, personnel, and equipment.

This includes an increase in the factors relating to automatic-aid for fire departments that operate

with common fire ground procedures.

In addition, ISO now offers credit to fire departments that develop and use standard operating

procedures and incident management systems. ISO, based on NFPA 1710, also considers a fire

department’s deployment analysis as a potential alternative to ISO’s traditional road-mile

distribution study. That study established optimal distances for standard response districts

around each fire station — 1.5 road miles for an engine company and 2.5 road miles for a ladder

service company.

In conjunction with that change, ISO shifted emphasis from the number of apparatus and

equipment carried, to the proper deployment of those resources by adjusting point totals for the

relevant sections.

ISO modified its apparatus equipment lists to include only items specified in NFPA 1901. That

change will more closely align the schedule with consensus standards and allow additional

flexibility to revise ISO lists if there are significant changes to NFPA 1901.

Many other areas of the fire department evaluation make increased reference to consensus

standards, particularly in fire department training, where credit will now be available for officer

certification. The evaluation of pre-incident planning is now based on annual rather than

semiannual inspections.


Some of the changes directly affect the minimum facilities evaluated by the FSRS. By

referencing NFPA 1901, ISO increased minimum pump capacities for apparatus needed to

qualify for minimal recognition under Class 9 and separately for Classes 1 through 8B to follow

NFPA requirements more closely.

ISO also placed additional emphasis on firefighter safety, such as personal protective equipment

and increased recognition for driver/operator training, with the realization that personnel can

carry out successful fire suppression operations only if they are able to avoid accidents and

injury.

Emergency Communications Section

One of the most rapidly changing areas in fire suppression has been in communications. The

revised FSRS — referencing APCO standards — reflects current technology by incorporating

major revisions to this section, with a pronounced shift in emphasis from hardware, such as

phone lines and radio equipment, to a more performance-oriented evaluation.

The element of time is critical in allowing firefighters to attack a fire in its early stages, and the

revised schedule places greater value on a communication center’s ability to answer and process

emergency calls in time frames specified by the NFPA. ISO also eliminated evaluation of phone

lines and phone listings; instead, it considers enhanced 911, wireless technology, VOIP, CAD,

and GIS capabilities.

Water Supply Section

In the water supply section, the FSRS now includes specific credit for communities, water

utilities, or fire departments that enhance their understanding of a water system through periodic

fire hydrant flow testing that meets NFPA and AWWA standards. The revised schedule also

includes additional credit for flow through a single hydrant from a maximum of 1,000 gpm to

1,500 gpm, in accordance with AWWA.


Credit Point Changes

While the total credit points for the existing major categories remain unchanged, ISO increased

or decreased the point weights for some sections.

The total credit points still are:

Emergency Communications (formerly “Fire Alarm”): 10 points

Fire Department: 50+ points

Water Supply: 40 points

The community risk reduction section has a weight of 5.5 points, resulting in a revised 105.5+

available points. The inclusion of the new section with its extra points allows recognition of

communities that include effective fire prevention practices without applying undue penalty for

those that have not yet adopted such measures.

An important change throughout the revised FSRS is the way ISO credits record keeping. When

no documentation exists to substantiate an item under review, ISO will not give credit for the

section unless otherwise stated in the schedule. That means essentially a “no records, no credit”

approach. ISO also established a new limit of 75% of the credit points possible when only

partial documentation of an item exists. ISO implemented those changes to emphasize the

importance of proper record keeping.

Ongoing Evaluation

The revised FSRS was an effort that took several years and involved a variety of stakeholders in

organizations that deal with water, fire, and emergency communications; federal, state, and local

officials; insurance regulators; and insurers from across the country. But the introduction of the

revised schedule is only the beginning and will not be an once-in-a-lifetime event. ISO is

making a commitment to refine and revise the FSRS every three to five years. During that

period, ISO will collect data regarding the relationships between the items in the schedule and

their effect on fire loss. An evaluation of a community’s firefighting ability is an ongoing

process.


“ISO top insurer customers continue to tell states that the FSRS and PPC program help them

predict loss and underwrite more accurately. Statistical data on insurance losses demonstrates

the relationship between better fire protection and lower fire losses. By securing lower fire

insurance premiums for communities with better fire protection, ISO programs provide

incentives for communities that choose to improve their firefighting services.” (Source: ISO web

site)

ISO Point Scale

In review, ISO evaluates fire departments on a 100 point scale into three categories:

10% Receiving and Handling Fire Alarms (Dispatch)

50% Fire Department

40% Water Supply

The best rating is a Public Protection Classification (PPC) of 1 and the lowest is 10 as illustrated

in the table below:

Table 24: ISO PPC Point Scale

PPC Points

1 90.00 or more

2 80.00 to 89.99

3 70.00 to 79.99

4 60.00 to 69.99

5 50.00 to 59.99

6 40.00 to 49.99

7 30.00 to 39.99

8 20.00 to 29.99

9 10.00 to 19.99

10 0.00 to 9.99

Shelbyville Fire Department ISO Classification

The City of Shelbyville received correspondence from ISO in March of 2014 that the recent

review results and the actual ISO Public Protection Classification document for SFD would

become effective in August, 2014. The City of Shelbyville received a split classification of

Class 3/10. The Class 3 applies to properties within 5 road miles of a fire station and within


1,000 feet of a fire hydrant. Class 10 (XX or XY) applies to properties beyond 1,000 feet of a

fire hydrant but within 5 road miles of a recognized fire station.

The table below illustrates the number of departments in Indiana holding PPC classifications; the

highlighted blue line illustrates the number and percentage of departments nationally and in

Indiana that have a Class 3 rating as of 2015.

Table 25: National & Indiana ISO Classes 2015

2015 National % of Total Indiana % of Total Class 1 97 0.2% 0 0.0% Class 2 917 1.9% 2 0.1% Class 3 2,891 5.9% 58 3.3% Class 4 6,115 12.5% 150 8.5% Class 5 9,144 18.7% 301 17.0% Class 6 8,512 17.4% 321 18.1% Class 7 5,028 10.3% 171 9.7% Class 8 1,527 3.1% 18 1.0%

Class 8B 1,358 2.8% 45 2.5% Class 9 11,530 23.6% 600 33.9%

Class 10 1,736 3.6% 106 6.0%

The figures below illustrate the ISO Classes on the National level:


Figure 16: ISO National Classifications 2015

The figure below illustrates the ISO Classes – Indiana 2015

Figure 17: ISO Classifications Indiana 2015

The explanation of points awarded to the Shelbyville Fire Department in each of the categories

for the Class 3 is illustrated in the table below:

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

Class1

Class2

Class3

Class4

Class5

Class6

Class7

Class8

Class8B

Class9

Class10

# of FDs 97 917 2,891 6,115 9,144 8,512 5,028 1,527 1,358 11,53 1,736

National

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Class1

Class2

Class3

Class4

Class5

Class6

Class7

Class8

Class8B

Class9

Class10

# of FDs 0 2 58 150 301 321 171 18 45 600 106

Indiana


Table 26: SFD ISO Points Each Category of Survey

Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE)

Non-mandatory

A better evaluation tool exists today. The International Fire Chief’s Association (IFCA) has

developed a program called the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), formerly the

Commission of Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). The Center for Public Safety

Excellence measures the quality and performance of a particular fire service agency and will

award national accreditation to those departments that pass the stringent criteria.

Any future effort by the SFD to demonstrate competencies should be channeled towards the

CPSE accreditation. The consultants do not recommend that the department, at this time,

Feature Credit Given

Maximum Credit

Receiving & Handling Fire Alarms

Credit for Emergency Reporting 2.10 3.0

Credit for Telecommunicators 2.40 4.0

Credit for Dispatch Circuits 0.86 3.0

Credit Received 5.36 10.0 Fire Department

Credit for Engine Companies 5.06 6.0

Credit for Reserve Pumpers 0.46 0.5

Credit for Pumper Capacity 3.0 3.0

Credit for Ladder Service 1.28 4.0

Credit for Reserve Ladder & Service Trucks 0.46 0.5

Credit for Deployment Analysis 6.04 10.0

Credit for Company Personnel+ 9.59 15.0

Credit for Training 3.96 9.0

Credit for Operational Considerations 2.0 2.0

Credit Received 31.85 50.0

Water Supply

Credit for Supply System 26.5 30.0

Credit for Hydrants 2.25 3.0

Credit for Inspection & Condition 7.0 7.0

Credit Received 35.75 40.00

Divergence* -5.13

Community Risk Reduction 3.34 5.5 Total Credit 71.17 105.50


attempt to become accredited; rather, they should use the CPSE standards as the benchmark of

quality. The department has abundant opportunities to channel their efforts into better

documentation, which is essential in any accreditation process.

Although an essential responsibility for those who govern is to identify community outcome

expectations, many do not articulate exactly what level of service they expect. What are

acceptable response times? What level of fire service do they want to provide to the citizens?

What non-emergency services can the fire department provide to the community? Thus, in many

cases, the fire chiefs, not a unified team of governing officials and fire department leadership,

determine the Standard of Response Coverage (SORC) for the community. Perhaps the Board of

Public Works and Safety could be involved in setting the expectations for the City of

Shelbyville.

Governing boards/department officials are constantly faced with the issue that there are more

good causes than tax dollars to provide those services. Therefore, they strive to provide as many

services at the highest level with available dollars. Absent of “citizen outcry”, governing

officials have little incentive or motivation to suddenly change service levels. Thus, fire and

EMS services are a “quality of life” issue that must be determined by community/department

leaders.

CPSE accreditation is a structured process for documenting the levels of fire safety, prevention,

fire safety education, suppression services currently provided, and for determining the future

level of service the department should provide. CPSE accreditation asks the department to

determine and document if its fire protection services are appropriate, adequate, and effective.

The advantage to the CPSE program lies in the process of completing it. The department must

literally examine every aspect of its existence and determine the most cost-effective means of

providing service. This program requires a significant time commitment and effort on the part of

the fire administration.

Critics of the program emphasize the cost and time commitment needed for completion. These

critics miss the point that the process of compliance with CPSE standards may keep the


department from catastrophic failure in the system of service delivery. Other critics claim it is

nothing more than bragging rights, similar to an improved ISO classification. Again, the point is

missed that a department that develops pride can often translate that pride into better

performance and morale, which is priceless.

Some fire departments have incorporated student interns from schools such as Oklahoma State

University, which has one of the leading Fire Protection Safety Engineering Technology

programs in the country, to assist the department in the accreditation process. These students

usually work 8 – 12 weeks during the summer and live in the fire station, responding to calls for

experience. The students receive compensation that has been negotiated with the department.

Other students who have graduated from this program are often available to oversee and

participate in the entire process, which can easily take 12 – 18 months.

If the Fire Department or the Board of Public Works and Safety determine that CPSE

accreditation should be undertaken at some point in the future, the consultants recommend hiring

a student intern to assist on the project.

Recommendation – CPSE The Fire Department should not seek international accreditation (CPSE) at this time;

rather the CPSE should be used as a guide in reviewing department operations and the

types of documentation needed. Priority 5

Recommendation – National Standard General Although NFPA standards are not mandatory, it is in the City’s best interest to become

aware of the components in the standards in which the Department would be held

accountable in the event of a catastrophic event. Priority 5


Human Resources

There are a number of components that are integrated in Human Resources – recruitment,

compensation & benefits, employee morale/recognition, policies and procedures, and the

collective bargaining agreement. As in most union environments, the collective bargaining

agreement controls many of these functions. Thus, making any changes can be difficult as both

the City and the Union must agree.

It is interesting, that the Shelbyville Fire Department is allowed to act as an independent

department within the City. Although until recently, the Fire Department acted independently as

well; however, has recently been coordinating its efforts with the human resources department.

The City’s handbook and policies need to apply to all employees – not all employees except the

Fire Department. The Shelbyville Fire Department is a department of the City – not an

independent agency and should not be allowed to circumvent policies and procedures that apply

to all City employees.

Typically, Human Resources – salaries and benefits – account for 70% or more of the budget;

thus, one often looks to personnel and benefits when evaluating the budget. This section will

first review some major areas of salary and time off benefits as it applies to the Fire Department

as these areas provided the greatest discussion. Then, the Fire Department’s overall Human

Resource practices will be reviewed.

Fair Labor Standards Act

For the city of Shelbyville, there are several areas one needs to discuss in relation to the Fair

Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – The 7k exemption for overtime calculation; Kelly days; and

annualizing pay periods. It should be noted that all polices regarding calculation of overtime,

Kelly days, and how and if time off is calculated in overtime is not documented within the

contract nor within fire department SOG’s. Thus, this analysis is based solely on what the Fire

Chief says occurs and confirmation with payroll practices.

The Supreme Court decision in Garcia v San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority et al (105

s.ct.1005) in 1985 required state and local governments to establish a work period in order to


identify overtime threshold limits. The basic regulation under the FLSA is the payment of

overtime. According to the FLSA, individuals who work more than forty hours (40) per week

are entitled to compensation at time and one-half.

Municipalities can establish a work period of 7 to 28 days for individuals who meet the FLSA

requirements in the police and fire departments. The overtime thresholds for the pay period are

set forth in the 7k exemption of the Act. For example, a 28-day pay cycle in the fire department

equates to 212 hours worked before overtime is earned.

In August 2004, the Department of Labor (DOL) began enforcing new regulations dubbed the

“Fairpay Amendment”. There were a number of changes to the Act; probably the most

significant were changes to the language defining who is exempt from overtime payments.

The FLSA defines who is covered under the Act as follows:

“The Act applies to enterprises with employees who engage in interstate commerce,

produce goods for interstate commerce, or handle, sell, or work on goods or materials

that have been moved in or produced for interstate commerce. For most firms, a test of

not less than $500,000 in annual dollar volume of business applies (i.e., the Act does not

cover enterprises with less than this amount of business).

However, the Act does cover the following regardless of their dollar volume of business:

… and institutions of higher education; and federal, state, and local government

agencies” (Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended 29 USC §201 et seq).

The City is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and cannot negotiate its way out of a

federal law. Thus, the Shelbyville Fire Department and City of Shelbyville must adhere

all of the provisions of the FLSA regulation.

FLSA 7K Exemption – General Information

The basic regulation under the FLSA is the payment of overtime. According to the FLSA,

individuals who work more than 40 hours per week are entitled to compensation at time and one-


half. Under the FLSA, a municipality can designate a work cycle for fire and police departments

utilizing the 7k exemption component for relief of overtime.

The FLSA allows the municipality the ability to designate a work cycle from 7 to 28 days (see

table below). Each cycle has an associated number of hours that the employee is allowed to

work before the payment of overtime. Hours actually worked over the allowable amount under

the law must be paid at one and one-half the normal rate. The following is the FLSA 7k

exemption chart for fire departments.

Table 27: FLSA Table for Fire Departments

Cycle Hours Allowed Hours Worked FLSA Overtime 28 212 224 12 27 204 216 12 26 197 208 11 25 189 200 11 24 182 192 10 23 174 184 10 22 167 176 9 21 159 168 9

20 151 160 9

19 144 152 8 18 136 144 8 17 129 136 7 16 121 128 7 15 114 120 6 14 106 112 6 13 98 104 6 12 91 96 5 11 83 88 5 10 76 80 4 9 68 72 4

8 61 64 3

7 53 56 3 Cycle = number of days needed to work before overtime becomes available

Once the FLSA cycle is determined, the FLSA requires that overtime be paid for hours worked

beyond the established number. Thus, in a 28-day cycle, overtime would be paid for hours

worked beyond 212 hours.


Hours Worked vs. Hours Paid

There needs to be a distinction between “hours worked” and “hours paid”. The FLSA only

requires that overtime be paid for actual hours worked. For example, in a 28-day cycle; if the

employee were to take a day off during the 28-day cycle, these hours would not count toward the

accumulation of overtime. He/she would be paid for their vacation time, but not at an overtime

rate.

As an example: An employee is scheduled to work 224 hours. During the cycle, the employee is

granted and takes a 24-hour vacation day, and covers 12 hours for another employee. Here is

how overtime is calculated:

Table 28: FLSA Example 1 - No Overtime Earned

Example 1 Hours Comments FLSA Cycle Hours 224 Vacation Time -12 Hours Worked 200 Covered On Different Shift 12 Cover for another employee

Total Hours Worked 212 No Overtime Accumulated Vacation Pay 24 Vacation Pay

Total Hours Paid 236 All @ Straight Time Table 29: FLSA Example 2 - Overtime Earned

Example 2 Hours Comments FLSA Cycle Hours 224 Additional Shift Coverage 12

Total Hours Worked 236 Pay @ Straight Time 212 Straight Time Pay @ OT (1.5) 24 Overtime

The current practice in Shelbyville is to treat all time off benefits – personal, vacation, and sick

as hours worked. In addition, any time worked past the individual’s tour of duty is also eligible

for overtime. For a traditional 40-hour per week employee, overtime, is determined by taking

the annual salary and dividing it by 2,080 hours (the number of hours a 40-hour per week

individual works). However, a traditional 24/48 work schedule works 2,912 hours per year; thus,

overtime should be calculated by taking the annual salary and dividing it by 2,912. This will be

further discussed.


Many organizations, including Shelbyville, pay employees biweekly. With that said, when a

department utilizes a 28-day cycle, overtime is to be paid on the payroll following the 28-day

period. This is often challenging to payroll department as one payroll will be a regular pay

(without overtime) whereas the second payroll will include any overtime.

Before discussing FLSA in relation to the Shelbyville Fire Department and contract, one must

have an understanding of Kelly days.

Kelly Days

“Kelly days,” a term utilized in the fire service for days off taken to minimize overtime, are used

in some fire departments to help offset the work schedule and the cost of overtime. Employees

are provided a specific day off (without pay) within the work cycle in order to either reduce or

eliminate overtime. The day off is determined by administration, and is a day – without pay –

during the week in which overtime is at its greatest.

In Shelbyville, one Kelly Day is provided to each employee within every 10 shifts days.

Working a 24/48 schedule, the work cycle varies between 240 hours (one shift) and 216 hours

(two shifts) in the 28-day period. The Kelly Day concept was invented to have employees take

an unpaid day off within the pay period that contains the 240 hours; thus, reducing overtime in

that pay period.

The yearly work schedule should include the designated Kelly Day per work cycle. It should be

a day that aligns with the greatest amount of days within the cycle. Further, employees should

not be allowed, unless in extreme circumstances, to work the Kelly Day. Then it becomes just

another day off – not a day to alleviate overtime costs.

Sleep Time

The Fair Labor Standards act provides municipalities an exemption from paying for sleep time of

fire personnel. There are two sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act that define the

qualifications for sleep exemption: §553.222 Sleep Time and §785.22 Duty of 24 Hours or more.


Section A of §785.22 defines “where an employee is required to be on duty for 24 hours

or more the employer and the employee may agree to exclude bona fide meal periods and

a bona fide regularly scheduled sleeping period of not more than 8 hours from hours

worked, provided adequate sleeping facilities are furnished by the employer and the

employee can usually enjoy an uninterrupted night’s sleep. If sleeping is of more than 8

hours, only 8 hours will be credited.”

If the sleeping period is interrupted by a call, the interruption must be counted as hours

worked. If the period is interrupted to such an extent that the employee cannot get a

reasonable night’s sleep, the entire period must be counted. For enforcement purposes,

departments have adopted the rule that if the employee cannot get at least 5 hours of sleep

during the scheduled period, the entire time is working time. (See Eustice v. Federal

Cartridge Crop. 66F. Supp. 55 (D. Minn. 1946)).

Many organizations feel they cannot comply with these provisions as they are ‘busy’

departments; however, there are a number of organizations – one in which utilizes this concept

that receives 30,000 annual calls for service – that exercise this provision. The employee is

scheduled to work 24.25 hours and is paid for 16.25 hours. When a station responds to a call,

that time becomes work time and counted as hours worked. Also, departments that utilize this

provision regularly conduct audits to ensure that a majority of the time the sleep is uninterrupted.

The consultant suggests the City consider this provision if they begin to have fiscally challenged

budgets. The reduction in overtime costs is significant and could be applied to base wages.

FLSA – Shelbyville

There are three areas that need to be discussed with the Shelbyville Fire Department and the Fair

Labor Standards Act:

Calculation of overtime

Payment of overtime

Use of Kelly Days


As stated, the City of Shelbyville pays employees bi-weekly. The Fire Department is on a 28-

day overtime cycle; thus, overtime should be paid only upon completion of 28 days. Within the

28-day cycle, the Fire Department automatically pays each pay period 2 hours of overtime. The

rationale is that within a 28-day cycle an employee works 240 hours – a 24 hour unpaid Kelly

Day = 216 hours worked. Within the 28-day cycle, an employee must be paid overtime for all

hours worked over 212 – thus, 2 hours of overtime.

There are a number of problems with this calculation. First, within a 28-day cycle, an employee

works one cycle of 10 days; as well as 9 days within the 28 day cycle. Unfortunately a 28-day

cycle and a 30/31 day calendar do not align well. If the department were calculating overtime

correctly with the one unpaid Kelly day, then the 10 day cycle would be working 216 hours (and

be eligible for 4 hours of overtime) and the 9 day cycle would only be working 192 hours and

would need to work 20 more hours before eligible for overtime.

Next, the Fire Department is paying overtime bi-weekly, not at the end of the 28-day cycle.

Combine this with the automatic 2 hours of overtime paid per pay period; or 4 hours per month;

the City is overpaying the employee. (Keep in mind the 9 day work cycle only works 192 hours

and overtime is not payable until 212 hours worked).

Added to this is that the Fire Department some years ago, felt it needed parity with the police

department in how overtime was calculated. Recall that a 40hour per week employee earns

overtime after working 40 hours within a defined work week. Thus, a regular employee works

2,080 hours per year and overtime is calculated using the annual salary divided by 2,080 hours.

Fire personnel work 2,912 hours per year and therefore, overtime should be calculated by taking

the annual salary and divide by 2,912 hours. The Shelbyville contract has firefighter overtime

being paid at the 40 hour rate. The result is an overpayment of overtime as shown in the

following table:

Table 30: Overtime Calculation

Rank Base Salary Hours per

year Hourly

Rate Time &

Half Rate FF/EMT 1st yr. $44,137.00 2912 $15.16 $22.74

$44,137.00 2080 $21.22 $31.83 FF/Rotational Medic $52,349.81 2912 $17.98 $26.97


$52,349.81 2080 $25.17 $37.75

The additional overtime is $9.09 per hour worked for FF/EMT and $10.79 for a FF/Rotational

Paramedic. With the current practice of 2 hours of automatic overtime per pay period, multiplied

by the number of FF/EMT and FF/Rotational Paramedic, the City is spending approximately

$24,700 a year in unearned overtime.

The overtime example does not include any of the specialty pays provided for within the contract

nor include all employees eligible for overtime. According to the Fire Chief, the specialty pay is

added to the base wage and divided by 26 pay periods. Thus, it is used in the calculation of

overtime.

In the last contract negotiations, the City and Union agreed that employees could ‘sell back’

some of the Kelly Days for dollars added to the base salaries. This limited the number of Kelly

Days an employee could work. Under policy (not stated in the contract) an employee is allowed

to work the assigned Kelly Day. It is interesting to note how one can sell back an ‘unpaid’ day;

further, as payroll notes, individuals are still working their assigned Kelly Day so any potential

savings is negated by the increase in overtime – especially since overtime is at a premium rate.

In order to illustrate the cost of the Kelly Days it is important to understand that every member of

the Fire Department receives a 24-hour shift referred to as a Kelly Day off for every 28 day

FLSA cycle. There are about 13 – 28 day cycles per year. So in essence the following table

illustrates the number of Kelly Days provided to the Fire Department members on an annual

basis:

Table 31: Number of Kelly Days Provided Annually

Fire Department Members

Number 28 day Cycles Annually

Number of Kelly Days each FD member

Kelly earns each year

Total Number Kelly Days Annually

57 13 13 741

The reality is that there is no requirement to provide every member with a 24-hour Kelly Day

every 28 day cycle as discussed in this section. If the Fire Department were to follow what is


required to meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act for paying overtime it would

save the taxpayers a significant amount of dollars.

The average number of days each firefighter is scheduled to work on an annual basis is either

121 or 122 days. The total number of 741 Kelly Days provided annually equals the number of

days six full-time firefighters would be scheduled to work each year. So the reality is that the

Fire Department practice of providing these Kelly Days without being required is the equivalent

of an additional six firefighters on the Fire Department. Another way to view it would be an

additional two firefighters assigned to each 24 hour shift. This type of additional personnel

could provide the staffing for a third ambulance to be in service.

The Fire Chief informed the consultants that on each 24-hour work day the Fire Department had

two members off on Kelly Days. If two members are off each day there are numerous days the

required number of fire department personnel required on duty drops below the minimum

number required of 14 personnel. In 2014, there were at least 100 days when less than 14

personnel were on duty and this would have required overtime payment to bring the number of

on duty personnel up to the minimum number of 14.

The cost of overtime is very expensive since overtime is paid not at the 2912 hour annual

schedule of a firefighter, but it is paid at the annual hourly rate of someone that works 40 hours

per week or 2080 hours annually. So based on the current contract language everyone on the

Fire Department that is part of the union instead of receiving 1.5 times their hourly wage for

overtime receive 1.88 times their hourly salary because overtime is premium pay which is based

on the 40 hour work week hourly rate.

The hourly rate for Fire Department members ranges from about $17.72 per hour to $27.57 per

hour. The hourly rate for overtime at the premium rate for the same personnel ranges from

$33.33 per hour to $51.84 per hour. So a 24 hour shift of overtime can range from a cost of

$799.92 a day to $1,244.16 a day plus benefits. Administrators receive comp time instead of

overtime, but there is still a cost to the City for comp time.


If one were to just use the number of days overtime was required in 2014 which was 100 days

the cost for the overtime would have ranged from about $80,000 to $124,416 plus benefits.

Obviously the overtime costs are significant for the City of Shelbyville taxpayers.

The consultants were not able to verify the accurate amount of overtime pay paid each year.

This was primarily due to the fact some of the overtime wages are budgeted in the salary

accounts and not in separate overtime accounts. The Fire Department did provide some

documentation that in 2013 the Fire Department spent $235,893.28 and in 2014 the Fire

Department spent $243,037.23 in overtime. With the change in the minimum staffing being

increased from 13 personnel on duty to 14 personnel on duty it can be expected that the annual

costs of overtime will increase a significant amount.

Averaging Pay Days

Shelbyville compensates fire personnel based upon the assumption that they work an average of

240 hours per cycle. In addition, when FLSA was instituted in 1985, many departments had

difficulty interpreting the law. Thus was the case in Shelbyville, as a biweekly overtime

payment of four (4) hours per month is given to all shift personnel in order to compensate for any

overtime.

Firefighters often negotiate level pay plans within their department, so they are paid as if they

worked the same number of hours each pay period. However, firefighters do not always work 56

hours per week. In fact, firefighters who work 24-hours shifts will not work exactly 56 hours in

a week. The assumption that a firefighter works an average number of hours per week will result

in underpayment of overtime for some pay periods and overpayment for other periods.

The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits the averaging of FLSA overtime over work periods and

the Department of Labor has specifically prohibited this practice regarding firefighters (29

C.F.R. §778.104). Therefore, pay for firefighters must be based upon the actual hours worked in

the FLSA work period, not an average of the hours worked.


Although such practice is prohibited, if the municipality averages pay, but then adjusts pay at

each pay period – adding extra hours, overtime worked; and subtracting hours not worked; the

organization can average the salary over the calendar year. The payroll department pays only on

the hours submitted by the Fire Department; therefore, the City is not following the Fair Labor

Standards Act in proper payment of fire employees. The practice of ‘average’ salary for an even

pay check should cease immediately and the fire department should develop a comprehensive

accounting of time actually worked, time in excess of 212 and the reason; deduct pay when the

cycle equates to only 192 hours, etc. This payroll accounting should be submitted to payroll for

review and calculation of pay.

Payroll Processing

In discussions with City personnel regarding payroll process, the Fire Department maintains its

own records and only provides a summary of time off per employee. It is not uncommon to have

someone from the Fire Department call in and change vacation days to sick days. This raises

questions to the consultants as to the frequency of these changes and whether supervisory

personnel within the Fire Department need training on payroll practices; and/or the policies

associated with calling in and/or recording of time off. The consultants suggest that detailed

time sheets be provided to the City payroll department to ensure accurate recording of time for

employees.

Recommendations -Fair Labor Standards Act Change the Kelly Day practice to ensure that the Kelly Day falls within the pay cycle of

the longest work days. Employees should not be allowed to work the Kelly Day as it

defeats the purpose. Priority 1

In the next negotiations change the calculation of overtime to the 2,912 rate. Any potential savings could be used on the base pay. Priority 2

Payroll should be based on the hours worked and time off within the 28 day cycle; not

equally divided by the 26 pay periods. Priority 1

Detailed time sheets – per employee – should be submitted to the City payroll department for more accurate time reporting. Priority 2

Evaluate the FLSA provision of sleep time if and when the City’s budget becomes fiscally challenging. Priority 5


Contract Review

The following is a brief review of the contract between the City of Shelbyville and the

Shelbyville Professional Firefighters Association. The consultants understand that all

suggestions require negotiations to change.

The contact is currently negotiated between the firefighters and members of the City Council. It

is strongly recommended that the Fire Chief, Human Resources Director and City Attorney (or

labor attorney) comprise the City’s negotiation team. This team can work with the City Council

on establishing the parameters for negotiations, but Council members should not be a part of the

team.

The role of a City Council member is policy making – not micromanaging the operations of the

department. Further, it is necessary to have individuals at the table who are looking out for the

City as a whole – not just the interests of the Fire Department. Although reading contract

language after the fact can be problematic – as one does not understand the dynamics at play

during the negotiations – having individuals who are familiar with fire operations, city interests,

and an understanding of what is happening in the labor market, will provide for a more balanced

negotiations team.

The following are the sections of the contact that have suggestions for change:

Article 6: Hours of Work: The City’s employee handbook indicates that overtime information

for the Fire Department is contained within this section. Only Section E provides one sentence

for the calculation of overtime. Either in this section, a section on overtime, or the sections for

vacation and/or sick should indicate whether these days are used in the calculation of overtime.

Section B provides for a $35 dollar compensation for call back. The consultant is unsure why

this provision is in contract language. Returning to work due to a call back qualifies an

individual for hourly compensation – on most occasions at overtime. Since overtime is already

being paid at a premium rate – this provision should be eliminated.


Section C indicates that the contract will comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act – then the

compilation of overtime and payment of overtime at the end of the 28-day cycle should be

adhered to as it is in the contract.

Section D Court Appearances – should be in the City’s employee handbook and not in contract

language.

Section F Compensatory Time – there is a provision in this section that compensatory time

earned above the $35.00 will be credited at a ratio of three (3) hours of compensatory time for

every hour earned if the City cannot pay the overtime. The City should investigate when this

provision was last utilized and see if it is still necessary.

Use of compensatory time for leaves of absences, FMLA, medical leaves should be dictated by

City policy and placed within the City’s employee handbook.

Section H Kelly Days is not correctly being applied and four (4) hours of overtime each work

cycle are not being earned. This needs to be changed to comply with FLSA.

Article 7 & 8 Assigned/Emergency Extra Duty: An interesting article where the employee

who is on a Kelly Day is the first to be called back in the event of a shift shortage or emergency

call-back. One questions the reason for a Kelly Day as it is not serving any purpose but

providing an employee extra overtime during the work cycle. Most fire departments have a

seniority list (sometimes by required skills) that is used in rotation for call-back types of

responses. The individual at the top of the list is contacted first – usually the one with the most

seniority – and if refused, he/she goes to the bottom of the list so that all get an opportunity. In

other departments, a member of the fire department will monitor the list to ensure that overtime

is spread among all members of the department.

Article 10 Vacancies: It is unusual to find contract language as to the time frame to fill

vacancies.


Article 12 Base Salary; Article 15 Rank Pay: The department has a very interesting and

complicated salary structure and with it, one can see why hiring is difficult. Rather than having a

salary schedule for each rank, it is built on a combination of add-on and specialty pay. The

distance between ranks – firefighter, lieutenant, battalion and deputy chief is minimal and the

consultants are sure that compression (salary plus overtime) is problematic. (Note: The

consultants asked for a full fiscal year of salary plus overtime, but it was not produced).

The consultants recommend a salary study to determine the average market rate of each rank,

eliminate all of the add-on and specialty pays, and develop a salary structure that accounts for

each rank, is market competitive, and has the appropriate distance between ranks.

Eliminate the salary information for positions not covered by the bargaining agreement. The

Fire Chief should not be considered a part of the bargaining unit. The unit clarification is not

specific as to the ranks of Deputy Chief.

Section A of the Rank Pay article requires the City to fill a rank pay or specialty pay position

within thirty (30) days; however, the contract and the department’s SOG manual do not provide

any promotional process. During the interview with the Fire Chief, he indicated that there was a

testing process in place. This language and a SOG on the promotion process should be

coordinated so all employees know and understand the process and it aligns with contract

language.

Article 18 Education Pay: The contract provides for certification pay in addition to the extra

pay received as part of the salary schedule. The consultants question the receipt of certification

pay for certifications/licenses that are required for the position – EMT, paramedic, etc. This pay

should be integrated into the base pay of the rank. Education pay should be reserved for other

activities required outside of the normal job responsibilities – or for someone taking on extra

responsibilities due to these responsibilities.

Article 21 Disability Leave and Emergency Leave: The contract provides for a very lucrative

disability pay in which an employee on a leave earns 100% of his/her salary for the first 90 days


(or 3 months) of leave. (Same benefit provided to all City employees). Would suggest tailoring

this to something more in line with other municipal agencies and the private sector.

Article 22 Holiday Pay: It should be noted that the Fire Department does not receive holiday

pay; rather the contract provides for two (2) floating holidays. The consultant does not

recommend any additional holidays until the FLSA and salary schedule are revamped.

Article 26 Bereavement Leave: One must keep in mind when writing policies for organizations

on a non-traditional work schedule the impact of the policy. The contract provides for three (3)

working days off for the death of a spouse, parent, sibling or grandparent. For firefighters on a

24/48 schedule – what would be three consecutive days for a 40-hour per week employee, can be

seven (7) days off for a firefighter. Suggest reducing to two –twenty four hour shifts – or a total

of four (4) days off.

Article 27 Vacation: Suggest converting to hours rather than days – easier to calculate and

understand in a non-traditional hour department. Language either in the City’s handbook or in

the contract should specify that vacation time counts toward the calculation of overtime.

Article 28 Sick Days: Current contract language allows for the accumulation of 35 days of sick

leave. Once the maximum is reached, the firefighter can sell back unused sick leave at the

firefighter’s highest rate of pay. The City must make sure that per the CAFR regulations, all sick

leave eligible for payout is placed on the city budget as a liability. It is suggested that the

maximum be increased, and rather than a payout, the balance used to purchase health insurance

(the balance not paid by the City) at the time of retirement through a health savings account

vehicle. This provides for insurance at retirement, promotes individuals to save sick leave rather

than use it, and assists the City is the liability accumulation.

Language should be added in the City’s handbook or in the contract that sick leave pay counts

toward the calculation of overtime. As the City struggles to meet its budget, it may want to

consider changing sick leave from hours worked to hours paid. Thus, an employee would

receive sick leave pay, but the time off would not count toward the calculation of overtime.


Unfortunately the City’s payroll system does not allow a report to be run that could provide

information to the consultant to calculate an average savings. In past departments, this change

produced a minimum of $3,000 per employee in savings. These dollars could then be more

effectively utilized in base salaries or other types of incentives and/or operation costs.

Article 35 Retirement: Not sure why the type of retirement gift is a subject of negotiations.

As with many contract, there is language that over time becomes outdated. Further, what made

sense when it was negotiated 5, 10 or 15 years ago may no longer make sense now. It is helpful

to periodically go through and clean up outdated language or language that is better situated in an

SOG or the City’s employee handbook.

Recommendations - Union Contract The city needs to change the players at the negotiations table to include the Fire Chief,

Human Resources Director and a labor (or City) attorney. Priority 3

Consider a number of the recommendations for changes in the contract to bring a more balanced – employee and City – contract. Priority 5

Age & Years of Service

When it comes to recruitment and promotion activities, one needs to consider the make-up of the

department’s workforce. A younger department needs to concentrate on career development

whereas an older workforce needs to concentrate on succession planning.


Table 32: Years of Service Analysis

Of the current workforce, 66% of the members have at least 10 years of service. This is not

unusual in the public sector, especially in public safety where movement to other departments is

restricted through contract language. What it does indicate is that complacency can seep into an

organization as many have ‘been there – done that’; or ‘if it isn’t broken – don’t fix it’. It

becomes difficult for the fire chief and chief officers to motivate individuals to take on additional

responsibilities, take on overtime assignments, and challenge the status quo; whereas it is an

opportunity for an innovative department to explore new opportunities and greater efficiencies.

Table 33: Age of Department Analysis

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

<1 1 to 4.9 5 to 9.9 10 to14.9

15 to19.9

20 to29.9

30>

Number of FT Employees 1 6 14 15 9 13 4

% of Department 1.6% 9.7% 22.6% 24.2% 14.5% 21.0% 6.5%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

<20 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 >60

No of FT EE 0 9 26 16 9 2

% of Dept 0.0% 14.5% 41.9% 25.8% 14.5% 3.2%


Fifty six percent of the department is less than 40 years of age. This would indicate that there

will be little room for promotional growth as only 43% of the workforce or 27 employees will be

eligible to retire within the next 10 – 15 years, and of that number only two BCs and one LT. It

then becomes challenging for the command staff to keep employees excited about professional

growth as there is limited promotional opportunities.

The Fire Department does not currently conduct performance evaluations. It is difficult to do

evaluations when some see the exercise as futile as there is no correlation between performance

and compensation. It is suggested that the Department consider developing a performance

evaluation system that concentrates on meeting the goals of the Fire Department and professional

development to keep a relatively younger workforce (age and tenure) energized.

Recommendations - Age and Years of Service Develop a performance evaluation process that focuses on professional development

opportunities. Priority 3

Within the next few years, consider instituting some succession planning so that

employees are prepared for a promotion. Priority 3

Codify the promotional process so that the policy, contract, and job descriptions align.

Priority 3

Update job descriptions to include supervisory skills, training, and experience required for the positions. A good employee does not automatically equate to a good supervisor.

Training and experience should be required – from the lieutenant on up. Priority 3

Recruitment

An independent organization is responsible for many of the hiring activities. The consultants

reviewed all of the documents in the recruitment packet and have the following suggestions:

Application:

o Remove social security number – although not illegal, with the increase in

identify theft, and the number of individuals who review the application; it should

be removed.


o Remove driver’s license – same as above. If both of these are needed for

background checks, remove to a separate document that is maintained by the Fire

Department Secretary or the testing company.

o Consider adding a section under Skills & Qualifications that has a listing of the

desired/required licenses and/or certifications. It is easier to check a box than

guess what the department needs.

The Human Resources Department should be kept apprised of the recruitment process and

brought in when the department is considering final candidates. This provides an assessment

from a city-wide perspective, rather than just the fire department. Further, it helps them prepare

and not be taken by surprise when a new employee shows up on their doorstep.

Recommendations - Recruitment Consider making a few changes in the employment application to reduce the possibility

of identity theft of the candidates. Priority 4

Work to involve the City’s Human Resource Department in the recruitment and personnel

function of the Fire Department. Priority 3

City Handbook Review

While meeting with the Human Resources Director, the consultants offered to evaluate the City’s

employee handbook. Appendix D contains this evaluation along with suggestions for updating.


Facilities

City of Shelbyville Fire Stations

The City of Shelbyville Fire Department operates out of three fire stations. The consultants did

visit all three fire stations during the study and conducted a walkthrough of each fire station with

department personnel.

Fire Station #1 is located at 40 West Broadway Street, Shelbyville, Indiana. Fire Station #1 was

built in 2006 and is approximately 25,930 square feet on two floors. The first floor including the

apparatus bay is about 14,375 square feet and the second floor is about 11,555 square feet.

Fire Station #2 is located at 375 Progress Road, Shelbyville, Indiana. The one story station was

built in 2012 and is approximately 11,555 square feet in size. Fire Station #3 is located at 1350

West McKay Road, Shelbyville, Indiana. The station was built in 1985 and is approximately

3,350 square feet in size. Fire Station #3 is rather unique in that it was constructed in the base of

a water tower.

Shelbyville Fire Station #1

Fire Station #1 is the headquarters fire station, which is where the Shelbyville fire administration

is located. The station is located at 40 West Broadway St. in Shelbyville. The station was built

in 2006 and has not had any additional alterations. The station is a two story noncombustible

structure. The first floor is comprised of the apparatus floor with associated support function

rooms. The Fire Department administration suite and training room are located on the first floor

front of the building. The kitchen and one lounge are located on the first floor rear of the

building. The remainder of the living quarters is located on the second floor.

The following figure is a front view of fire station #1:


Figure 18: Station #1 - Headquarters

The station is not Americans with Disabilities compliant as it does not have an elevator or lift for

access to the second floor of the station. The facility is in excellent condition and maintained

very well. The fire station does have an emergency generator available for emergency power

requirements. The largest dimensions of the building are 132 feet x 132 feet. The exact size of

the areas will be discussed later in this section.

The station is sprinklered and has an alarm system however it is not monitored off site. The

consultants were informed that under Indiana statutes the fire department is not required to have

their systems monitored. The consultants recommend that the systems be monitored off site for

their own protection. A number of fire stations have experienced fires every year and if the fire

alarm system is not monitored the department could be looking at a potentially large loss.

There are approximately 150 fires in fire stations annually in the United States of which 37% are

the structure themselves and 44% are the apparatus (source: U.S. Fire Administration). The

leading cause of fire station fires is electrical followed closely by cooking, often when crews

respond to an emergency and forget to shut off the stove.


Recommendation – Fire Protection Systems Fire Station #1 and all new and existing fire stations be equipped with fire suppression

(sprinklers) and fire alarm systems that are monitored by the PSAP. Priority 2

Station #1 Apparatus Bay Area

The apparatus bay area is about 9,330 square feet in area. The apparatus bay area has three,

double deep drive through bays and a fourth bay that is not a drive through bay.

The following equipment is assigned to Station #1-- Engine #1, Aerial #1 ( Reserve), Medic #1,

Medic #3, Truck #5 ( grass rig), Tactical squad( swift water rescue ), Squad #1, Squad #2, two

boats and one trailer, station car, cars also assigned to Chief, Deputy Chief, EMS Chief and fire

prevention.

There are seven overhead bay doors with four located in the front of the station and three located

in the rear of the station. All door sizes are 14 feet 4 inches in width and 14 feet in height. All

apparatus bay doors are controlled by wall mounted switches and remote controls in the vehicle

apparatus.

The station is equipped with a Plymovent apparatus emission exhaust system for all apparatus to

remove vehicle exhaust from the building. There is not any other means of ventilation off the

truck floor and no air handling scrubbers to remove exhaust from small tool operations or

operations involving mechanics working on equipment.

This station has both an oxygen refill station and a station to refill the self-contained breathing

apparatus. The fill stations are equipped with explosion resistant enclosures and meet standards

however the air compressor used to fill the self-contained breathing apparatus is not piped to the

outside to provide the intake air for compression. We offer the following OSHA standard taken

from this OSHA technical manual as the reason for the need to install the intake piping.

https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_viii/otm_viii_2.html#10. specifically referring to the

section entitled “Other Specific Requirements”.

https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_viii/otm_viii_2.html#10


The consultants understand that Station #1 is less than 10 years old, but the fire pole from the

second floor to the apparatus bay floor by the battalion chief's office is a concern. The

installation of fire poles in fire stations is not very common any longer and this is primarily due

to the issue and concerns about safety. The safety issues are a concern due to the fact many

injuries are the result of sliding down the fire poles.

Recommendation – Fire Pole Option #1 - Take the fire pole completely out of service by removing it and securing the

hole on the second floor so it would not be possible for anyone to fall through the hole

after the pole is removed. Priority 4

Option #2 - Take the fire pole out of service and secure the area around the hole in the

second floor. Basically the fire pole could remain in place, but not used at all and the

area around the fire pole and hole on the second floor would be secured so no one could

fall through the hole. Priority 3

Option #3 - Continue using the fire pole but only with a continuous training program on the proper use of the fire pole and the methods for preventing injury. Priority 3

Station #1 Administration Area

The Shelbyville administration area contains the following offices and area. There is a large well

equipped training room with all the necessary teaching aids and equipment. The Chief’s office,

the Deputy Chiefs office, the EMS Chief’s office, the office for fire prevention, the file room,

copy/mail room and the Battalion Chief’s office suite. The area also has two individual use

restrooms without showers.

The total area of the full first floor including the kitchen and lounge located behind the

Administration area is 14,375 square feet.

Station #1 Living Area

The living area of the station on the first floor includes the kitchen, dining area, and lounge

located in the rear of the first floor. This area on the first floor is about 1,025 square feet.

The remainder of the living area is on the second floor. This second floor area includes the

following: a physical fitness exercise room, one each large multiple use men’s and women’s

restrooms with multiple individual showers, a lounge, a lounge area in the hallway, a laundry and


12 Dorm/Locker individual rooms with 3 Murphy beds in each. The total square footage on the

second floor is about 8,390 square feet.

Recommendations – Fire Station #1 Station #1 should install a direct pipe to the outside of the building to supply intake air

for the air compressor used to fill the self -contained breathing apparatus bottles.

Priority 2

Station #2 should have their sprinkler and alarm system monitored by an off-site central alarm company. Priority 2


Fire Station #2 was built and occupied in 2012 and has had no alterations. Fire Station #2 is

located at 375 Progress Road in Shelbyville. The station is a one story, noncombustible structure

with three drive through bays. The fire station does have an emergency generator available for

emergency power requirements. The station is new and still has the new station appearance.

The total square footage of the station is about 11,555 square feet.

The following figure is a front view of Fire Station #2:

Figure 19: Shelbyville Fire Station #2


The station is sprinklered and has an alarm system however it is not monitored off site. The

consultants were informed that under Indiana statutes the fire department is not required to have

their systems monitored.


The area of the apparatus floor area is 5,555 square feet; this includes the rooms along the south

side of the floor with associated apparatus area functions. There are three full drive through bays

with all six overhead doors measuring 14 feet wide and 16 feet high. All apparatus bay doors are

controlled by wall mounted switches and remote controls in the vehicle apparatus. The

apparatus normally assigned to this station are Medic #2, Ladder #2, Engine #4, and Boat #3

with a trailer.




operations involving working on equipment.

There is also a mezzanine above the rooms on the south side of the truck floor where there is a

small amount of storage currently. There is a permanent stairwell to the area for access.


The living quarters are 6,000 square feet in area. The living quarters includes a large kitchen/

dining area, day room, one office, and space for a future office, 4 restrooms, a fitness room, and

8 single use dorm/locker rooms. Each dorm room has a close locker desk and a bed with three

storage areas for linen storage when off duty. There are 4 individual bathrooms for the

firefighter each with a shower.

Recommendations – Fire Station #2 Station #2 should have their sprinkler and alarm system monitored by an off-site central

alarm company. Priority 2



Station #3 is located at 1350 W. McKay Road and was constructed in the base of a municipal

water tower. This building was constructed in 1984. The fire station does have an emergency

generator available for emergency power requirements. The following figure is a front view of

Fire Station #3:

Figure 20: Shelbyville Fire Station #3

This station is located in the lower level of a municipal water tower with two levels. The ground

level is the apparatus floor with one overhead door and the second level is the living quarters.

Each level is 1, 675 square feet with a total square footage of the station at 3,550 square feet.

This is a fairly small portion of the overall structure.

This building is not Americans with Disabilities compliant and would require considerable work

to bring it into conformity. The overall condition of the building is good and it appears to have

been well maintained. The consultants however have concerns on the safety of the building.

The first floor is primarily intended as storage for a motor vehicle with a considerable amount of

diesel fuel on board. There is only one way to access the living quarters above the truck floor.


The second floor living quarters has a single wood door protecting that floor from the single

egress open stairwell on the second level. On the second level other than the one stairwell from

the first floor there is a fire pole and two small windows. The windows do not appear to be big

enough for an adult to fit through and the fire pole goes directly to the area of the engine on the

ground floor. The consultants realize that the station is sprinklered, but sprinklers can be

compromised with petroleum based fires and the sprinkler system is not monitored off premises

with a central alarm company. This station is not equipped with a fire alarm system. It is

doubtful that the City would allow any other occupancy and/or occupancy permit for a building

with single access to the second floor in a similar situation.

The consultants have previously stated their concerns with fire poles. Station #3 adds the danger

a floor opening in a direct route for smoke and heat from a first floor occurrence to the second

floor with only one means of egress.


The apparatus bay area is about 1,675 square feet and is roundish. The single overhead panel

door for the station is 12 feet by 12 feet. It is operated by both wall mounted push button and a

remote in the engine.




operations involving working on equipment. Therefore any practice of checking tools and

running them in the station should not be allowed.


The living area for this station is 1,675 square feet and covers the second level. The living area

includes a small but effective kitchen with a dining area which transitions into the lounge.

Located off the lounge area is a small office. There is a hallway that leads to a fairly large single

bunk room with a number of Murphy beds that ring the outside of the room. There is a

washroom off the bunkroom which is not Americans with Disabilities compliant. In the hallway


that goes from the lounge to the bunkroom there is a fire pole that is used occasionally. The

stairwell connecting the first and second level is located off the lounge area on the second floor

level.

Recommendations – Fire Station #3 Station #3 should have a fire alarm system installed. This system should include smoke

and carbon monoxide detection. Priority 2

Station #3 should have their sprinkler and alarm system monitored by an off-site central

alarm company. Priority 2

Station #3 should provide a secondary means of egress from the second floor in the event of an emergency. The door to the second floor stairwell should be two-hour rated and

the hole between floors repaired. Priority 1

Emergency Management Building

The City of Shelbyville and the County have a cooperative effort in place to maintain the old

Fire Station #2 as an Emergency Management Facility. The Emergency Management Building

is located at 715 East State Road 44, Shelbyville, Indiana. The city pays for the maintenance of

the station through the Fire Department and the county pays the salaries and expenses of

operating the facility. Most of the equipment is donated and maintained by the sponsors.

The following figure is a front view of Emergency Management Building:


Figure 21: Shelbyville Emergency Management Building

The facility is a one story ordinary construction building that was constructed in 1964. The

building has had a number of minor renovations over the years, but no records were available.

The building is very functional for the needs, but it is an older facility that does not have all of

the amenities of a modern facility. The building is not Americans with Disabilities compliant.

The facility houses two Shelbyville police Swat vehicles inside at the front of the apparatus floor

and two trailers at the rear of the floor. There are three additional trailers stored outside in the

rear parking lot. The trailers are used for the following purposes:

1) Mass Casualty trailer sponsored by in town hospital (capacity 75 patients)

2) Mobile incident command trailer with large radio capabilities

3) Red Cross shelter trailer with 150 cots, out of Indianapolis

4) Small incident command trailer for hospital group

5) Spill Recovery trailer LAPC funded by Shelbyville

The station is equipped with a Plymovent apparatus emission exhaust system for two SWAT

Team apparatus to remove vehicle exhaust from the building. The only area of concern is the

explosives locker on the side of the floor used to store the flash bang grenades used by SWAT

team.


The living area is one story with a kitchenette, Director’s office, washroom, foyer, and a larger

single room with radios, chalk and white boards used as a secondary or back up Emergency

Operating Center. The facility appears to meet the current needs, however if there is intended to

be a prolonged use the facility should be brought up to Americans with Disabilities compliant;

this should not be overly expensive.

Response Time Mapping

The consultants utilized a GIS computerized mapping program that displays drive times from

each of the current three fire station located in the City of Shelbyville. The maps illustrate the

distance which emergency vehicles can reach with a drive time of four minutes under normal

roadway conditions and traffic from the existing fire stations.

GIS Mapping Station #1

On the following map the color area illustrates a four-minute drive time from Fire Station #1

Figure 22: Four Minute Drive Time from Fire Station #1

Station #1



On the following map the colored area illustrates a four-minute drive time from Fire Station #2



On the following map the colored area illustrates a four-minute drive time from Fire Station #3

Station #2



GIS Mapping Station #1 and Station #2 Overlap

The following map illustrates overlap (in the gold highlighted portion) of the areas of the City of

Shelbyville that can be reached in a four-minute drive time under normal road conditions from

Fire Station #1 and Fire Station #2. The reddish/brown highlighted area is the remainder of the

area that Station #1 can reach in a four-minute response time. The yellow highlighted portion is

the remainder of the area Station #2 can reach in a four-minute response time.

Station #3


Figure 25: Station #1 and Station #2 - Four-Minute Drive Time Overlap


The following map illustrates overlap (in the dark blue highlighted portion) of the areas of the

City of Shelbyville that can be reached in a four-minute drive time under normal road conditions

from Fire Station #1 and Fire Station #3. The reddish/brown highlighted area is the remainder of

the area that Station #1 can reach in a four-minute response time. The blue highlighted portion is

the remainder of the area Station #3 can reach in a four-minute response time.

Station #2

Station #1




The following map illustrates there is no overlap of the areas of the City of Shelbyville that can

be reached in a four-minute drive time under normal road conditions from Fire Station #2 and

Fire Station #3. The yellow highlighted portion is the remainder of the area Station #2 can reach

in a four-minute response time. The blue highlighted area is the remainder of the area that

Station #3 can reach in a four-minute response time.


Station #3

Station #1


Current Fire Station Locations

Fire Station #1, which is the headquarters station, is located in downtown Shelbyville and this is

an excellent location. As shown in the figure above Station #1 and Station #2 have a significant

area of overlap in their four minute drive times. It is apparent that when Station #2 was

constructed it was not built in a location that would benefit response times. Station #2 was built

too close to Station #1 and this is the reason for the large overlap area in the four minute

response time. Station #2 was constructed very close to the eastern border of the City of

Shelbyville.

As shown in the figures above Station #1 and Station #3 have a significant area of overlap in

their four-minute drive times. It is apparent that when Station #3 was constructed it was not built

in a location that would benefit overall City response times.

Station #3 was built too close to Station #1 and this is the reason for the large overlap area in the

four minute response time. In addition, Station #3 was constructed very close to the western

border of the City of Shelbyville. At the time that Station #3 was built the location was probably

attractive as it was built into the City owned water tower; the consultants were told that the City

could get grant money for a water tower but not money for a fire station.

Station #2 Station #3


In addition to the location, Station #3 only has room in the apparatus bay area for one vehicle,

which is Engine #3. If the station would have been constructed as a normal fire station there

would have been room for at least one more vehicle, which probably would have been an

ambulance. In fact if Station #3 had two bays and an ambulance was able to be located in the

station the three-person crew at Station #3 then could have cross-staffed between the engine and

the ambulance depending on the type of call they were responding to for an emergency. This

would have allowed the current ambulance staffing problem to be resolved for a period of time.

In essence, the City of Shelbyville Fire Department has three fire stations, but two of the three

fire stations are not located in the best locations and the result is that response times are affected

and there is significant overlap in station response districts for the four minute drive time

measurement.

Future Fire Station Needs

The Fire Chief of the Shelbyville Fire Department believes that an additional fire station is

required to serve the area of the City of Shelbyville near Interstate 74 and the Fairlane Road

interchange. This is the area located near the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino complex. This

area and other future development and growth within the City of Shelbyville will be discussed in

another section in this report.

The issue of where such a fire station would be located to best serve the area is an excellent

question. Currently the time to respond to the area near the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino

complex is 8 to 10 minutes, but the call volume is very low.

The consultants will discuss two potential locations for the purposes of illustrating where a

fourth fire station may be located.

Future Site 1 – Station #4

The following location is near the intersection of North Michigan Road and 400 North. This is

near the Interstate 74 and Fairland Road interchange.

Figure 28: Future Fire Station Site #1


Green area represents a four-minute drive time, under normal traffic and weather conditions from

a future Station #4 (the map will only color in areas in which there are existing roadways). The

red area represents a four-minute drive time, under normal traffic and weather conditions from

existing Station #1

Future Site 2 – Fire Station #4

The following location is near the intersection of Bassett Road and North Riley Highway

(Hwy 9). This location is near the site of the new hospital being constructed in the area.

Figure 29: Future Fire Station Site #2

Station #1

Future #4,


Purple area represents a four-minute drive time, under normal traffic and weather conditions,

from a future Station #4 (the map will only color in areas in which there are existing roadways).

The red area represents a four-minute drive time, under normal traffic and weather conditions

from existing Station #1. Either of these sites would help serve the areas of the city that are

currently located beyond the four-minute drive time, but the areas are very limited in size.

The issue with both of these potential sites is that the areas of the City of Shelbyville that they

would serve are very limited and both sites are located on or near the border of the City. The

majority of the areas each site could reach in a four-minute drive time are not located in the City.

Station #1

Future #4


During a visit to Shelbyville the consultants used a GPS to measure the mileage and time

between various locations in Shelbyville. The locations were primarily between Shelbyville Fire

Stations and sites near the I-74 and Fairland Road interchange. The consultants also measured

the distance between the Fairland FD and various locations since that fire station is the closest

fire station to the area.

Table 34: Mileage From and To Various Locations in Shelbyville

Mileage From and To Various Locations in Shelbyville From To Mileage Time

Station #3 Station #1 2.2 miles 4 minutes

Station #3 Station #2 4.4 miles 9 minutes

Station #1 Indiana National Guard Site

6.4 miles 9 minutes

Station #1 Pilot Travel Center 5.8 Miles 7 minutes Station #1 Fairland FD 7.7 miles 9 minutes

Station #1 Grand Casino 6.3 miles 9 minutes

Fairland FD Grand Casino 3.0 miles 4 minutes

Station #1 Penske Logistics 6.1 miles 8 minutes

Fairland FD Penske Logistics 2.8 miles 3 minutes

Fairland FD Shelbyville Airport 4.7 miles 8 minutes

Station #1 Shelbyville Airport 5.1 miles 8 minutes

Station #1 New Major Hospital 3.0 miles 5 minutes

The Fire Chief provided the consultants with a PowerPoint document with the title Shelbyville

FD Risk Assessment for our Northwest fire protection district. The document provided the

consultants with a list of businesses located in the area, with square footage of the businesses,

number of employees and visitors and other information regarding the hazards in these

occupancies. The list of businesses included the following:

McDonalds

Pilot Travel Center

Capital Industries

American Finishing

Indiana Grand Racing

Indiana Grand Casino

Quickway

U.S. Express


Hagie

Indiana National Guard

Major Health Partners

Shelbyville Municipal Airport

The consultants appreciate the fact that the Chief provided us with this information, but the

reality is that the history of emergency calls to these occupancies and to this area of the City of

Shelbyville is very limited as shown below.

The fact is the area where the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino and the other businesses are

located is an isolated area away from the City of Shelbyville. The routes to drive from the City

are very limited; either Michigan Road, Interstate 74 or the back roads using Bassett Road. The

result is it is a very narrow stretch of area that would be served by a fire station located at either

of the general areas selected in figures above for a future fire station.

At the present time it would be very difficult to justify a fire station to serve the areas near the

Indiana Grand Racing and Casino complex or the new hospital once it is completed for two

reasons. The first reason has been stated above and that is the areas that would be served by a

fire station in either location would be very limited at least in terms of the area within the City of

Shelbyville.

The second reason is the fact that the number of emergency calls within both areas has been a

small percentage of the calls that the Shelbyville Fire Department responds to on an annual basis

as shown in the following table:

Table 35: Calls to Area near I-74 and Fairlane Road 2010-2014

Calls to Area Near I74 and Fairlane Road 2010-2014

Indiana Grand Casino

Horse Track

Horse Track

Stables

Pilot Travel Center

Penske Logistics

Hagie American Finishing

Capital Industries

Total

2010 153 21 2 10 7 0 1 0 194

2011 133 16 0 13 6 0 1 0 169

2012 79 12 1 14 17 0 0 0 123


2013 92 18 1 22 19 0 2 0 154 2014 72 24 0 14 15 0 0 0 125

The calls over the five-year period ranged from one call every 1.88 days (2010) to one call every

2.96 days (2012). Over the five year period the City of Shelbyville Fire Department responded

to this area for a total of 765 calls, which is an average of 153 annually or one call every 2.38

days.

The calls in this area on an annual basis were not divided by fire and EMS calls, but the Fire

Chief informed the consultants that in 2014 of the 125 calls in this area 121 calls were EMS calls

and only four (4) calls were fire calls. Based on the number of emergency calls in this area over

the past five years it would be very difficult to justify the construction and staffing of a fire

station in this area at this time.

The following table indicates the number of fire stations by percentages of U.S fire departments

that participated in the NFPA Fire Service Survey from 2011-2013 that serve a population

between 10,000 to 24, 999. As the figure indicates the majority of fire departments that

participated in the survey have one or two fire stations. Only a small percentage of the fire

departments have three or four fire stations.


Table 36: Percentage of U.S. Fire Departments with Number of Fire Stations

Percentage of U.S Fire Departments With Population Protected No Stations 1 Station 2 Stations 3 Stations 4 or More Stations

10,000 to 24,999 0.0% 45.1% 30.6% 13.5% 10.7% Source: 2011-2013 NFPA Fire Service Survey

Recommendation – Fourth Fire Station The consultants are recommending that a new fire station not be constructed at this time

to serve the Northwest area of the City, but as the area develops and as the number of

emergency calls in this area increase, then the need for a fire station can be reevaluated.

Priority 2


Apparatus/Equipment

City of Shelbyville Fire Department Apparatus

The City of Shelbyville Fire Department currently operates three ambulances, three engines, two

quints/aerial ladders, and a number of other vehicles. The department houses three boats and a

boat trailer that are owned by Shelby County Sheriff's Department. The Fire Department does

have a five-year capital equipment budget, which is updated annually. The five-year plan

includes fire department vehicles. Current apparatus placement is shown in the following three

tables representing each station:

Table 37: Station #1 Apparatus

Apparatus Type Manufacturer Year Mileage Hours Pump Tank Battalion Command Chev, 2500 HD 2001 77,903 NA NA NA Engine #1 Pumper Pierce/Enforcer 2005 71,366 6,548 1,500 750 Aerial #1 Quint/100 Ft Tower Sutphen 1993 19,864 2,102 1,500 250

Truck #5 Brush Truck Dodge 3500 2013 325 NA 150 250 Squad #1 Station Utility Vehicle Dodge 1500 2007 96,624 NA NA NA

Squad #2 Manpower/EMS Ford F450 1999 99.407 NA NA NA Tactical Squad

Swift Water Rescue Southern 4600LP 1991 99,407 8,479 NA NA

School School Vehicle Dodge Dakota 2001 79,300 NA NA NA Medic #1 Ambulance Road Rescue

Ford F450 2013 20,957 2059 NA NA

Medic #3 Ambulance Road Rescue Ford F450

2013 13,022 856 NA NA

Car #1 Command/Chief Dodge Ram 1500 2013 10,325 469 NA NA

Car #2 Command/Deputy Chief

Dodge Ram 1500 2013 14,060 516 NA NA

Car #3 Command/EMS Chief Ford Explorer 2013 15,967 NA NA NA

Inspector Fire Prevention Ford Explorer 2013 12,480 NA NA NA


Apparatus Type Manufacturer Year Mileage Hours Pump Tank Engine #4 Pumper/Reserve KME/Renegade 1992 64,436 10,208 1,250 750 Quint #2 105 Ft Rear Mount

Ladder Smeal 2008 46,110 4,524 1,500 500

Medic #2 Ambulance Road Rescue Ford F450

2013 21,503 1,496 NA NA



Apparatus Type Manufacturer Year Mileage Hours Pump Tank Engine 3 Pumper KME Renegade 1997 NA 9.972 1,500 750

Apparatus Ownership and Purchase Methods

The three ambulances are not owned by City of Shelbyville Fire Department, but are leased

under five-year lease purchase agreements. The consultants were informed that in the past when

ambulances were leased for five years at the end of the lease the ambulances could be purchased

for about $40,000 each and then they would use these purchased ambulances as trade in for new

ambulances purchased under the same lease purchase arrangement.

The consultants were told that of the current three ambulances only one ambulance was

purchased under the $40,000 buyout at the end of the lease purchase period. The other two

ambulances were purchased with the buyout number of $1.00 at the end of the lease purchase

period. The Fire Chief stated he was going to make arrangements to have the ambulance that

was purchased with a $40,000 buyout changed to the $1.00 buyout.

The consultants questioned the need to lease ambulances, especially when the normal time in

service for an ambulance is about seven years with another two to three years of reserve service

expected. It basically assures that the Fire Department will receive new ambulances at the end of

each lease purchase agreement period.

The lease purchase programs for municipalities is in essence a loan for the purchase of the

vehicles due to the fact the interest rates are usually low and the buyout cost at the end of the

lease purchase period can be adjusted to meet the financial needs of the municipality.

The Fire Chief informed the consultants that the decision was made to go with the $1.00 buyout

figure as then the Fire Department could look at the option of keeping the ambulances at the end

of the lease and use these vehicles to remount with a new chassis.

Remounting of ambulance chassis has become an attractive method of replacing ambulances. It

usually involves sending the ambulance back to the manufacturer or dealer who will then replace


the worn out chassis with a new and the modular box being updated with lighting, oxygen lines,

electrical components, flooring, upholstery and paint as required. The end result is an ambulance

that is just like brand new with significant cost savings to the Fire Department.

If the Fire Department purchases the ambulances at the end of the lease purchase agreement for

$1.00 the decision can be made at that time based on the condition of each vehicle as to whether

a remount needs to be completed immediately or if the condition of the ambulance will allow the

vehicle to remain in service for a few extra years before a remount is completed.

Some of the consultants have had very successful experience with remounts and some fire

departments have remounted a modular ambulance box on a new chassis multiple times. The

major factor in deciding to use remount ambulances is the quality of the ambulances a fire

department will remount. Fortunately for the Shelbyville Fire Department they have an excellent

ambulance manufacturer product to use for remounts with the Road Rescue ambulances.

The Shelbyville Fire Department does own all of the other vehicles in the fleet with the

exception Aerial Ladder 2, which is the 2008 Smeal 105 foot rear mount aerial ladder. This

vehicle was purchased using the municipal lease purchase program with the $1.00 buyout at the

end of the lease. The lease has about four more years of payments at just about $82,000 per year

as the amount was just refinanced at a lower interest rate for the remainder of the original 10 year

lease purchase.

The consultants were informed on the first site visit that two new pumpers had just been ordered

from Smeal Fire Apparatus with expected delivery of both vehicles in September 2015. When

the two new pumpers are delivered and placed in service they will replace the current Engine #1

and Engine #3. The current Engine 1 the 2005 Pierce will become Engine 4 and will be a reserve

engine.

The two new engines have been purchased under a municipal lease program. The total purchase

price is about $500,000 for each engine for a total of about $1 million. The City of Shelbyville

made a down payment of $200,000 on a ten-year lease purchase agreement with the final buyout


of both engines at the end of the ten years at a cost of $1.00 each. The down payment of

$200,000 was paid from TIF funds and the balance of the lease purchase payments will be paid

from Racino funds, which are funds the City receives on an annual basis from the Indiana Grand

Racing Casino for city services.

It should be noted that in 2013 the Fire Department purchased five other vehicles in addition to

the three ambulances. Four of the vehicles purchased were command staff vehicles and one was

the Dodge Brush Truck. All five vehicles, with the exception of the EMS Chief’s vehicle, were

purchased with Racino Funds. The EMS Chief vehicle was purchased with funds that are being

paid through the Ambulance Service Budget over a period of five years.

Recommendation – Fire Apparatus Ownership As long as the City Financial Consultant approves of purchasing fire department

apparatus through the municipal lease purchase program with the buyout at the end of

the lease at a cost of $1.00, it should be continued. Priority 3

Apparatus Maintenance

All the department apparatus and equipment is maintained by three firefighter mechanics in

house. All three of the firefighter mechanics are full-time members of the Fire Department that

perform the mechanic duties as extra duties and they are compensated for these duties.

The chief mechanic is a certified Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) and the other two

mechanics are working on achieving the EVT certification. The three mechanics perform

preventive maintenance on the vehicles as well as make minor repairs. The major repairs are

completed by outside companies and during one of the visits by the consultants one of the

engines that is being replaced was placed out of service for mechanical repairs and was towed to

an outside vendor for repairs.

Most of the vehicle work is accomplished in the vehicle maintenance bay at Fire Station #1. The

Fire Department does not utilize any mechanics from the City of Shelbyville Streets Department

at this time.


Recommendation – Fire Apparatus Maintenance Organize a cooperative effort for the City mechanics and Fire Department mechanic to

aid one another in a time of need under the lead of the respective lead mechanic.

Priority 4

The Fire Department does maintain a moderate supply of parts primarily preventative

maintenance supplies with a known need on quantity such as filters, hoses, and lamps. The

mechanics stated that there was no problem getting any needed parts or related services needed

in a timely manner within the area.

The Fire Department purchases fuel from a local company that has 24 hour/7 days a week fuel

pump service. In addition, if fuel was needed at the scene of an emergency the fuel supplier

would bring fuel to the scene.

The documentation of vehicle repairs and preventive maintenance has been a problem for the

Fire Department. The chief mechanic has been in the position for a short time, but understands

the need for documentation of vehicles repairs and maintenance. Currently the Fire Department

is using the Firehouse software program for recording vehicle maintenance, but they stated they

are experiencing problems with the Firehouse software. The mechanics are looking at the

possibility of finding an out of the box computer program for EVT fire department use with

technical support or if obtaining a fleet computer program with technical support would be the

best option for them.

The mechanics do the yearly pump testing in house with complete records, however there is still

work to be done to incorporate the testing and apparatus mechanical documentation cohesively.

The ladder and ground ladder testing is completed annually by Consolidated Fleet Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 8238 Searcy, AR 72145- (866)811-5237. The same applies here as to documentation.

Recommendations – Fire Apparatus Records Records should be maintained for all vehicle preventive maintenance and repairs.

Priority 4

Records should be maintained for all annual pump testing and aerial ladder and ladder testing. Priority 2


Apparatus Condition

Most of the apparatus are in good condition and appear to have the equipment to satisfy both the

NFPA Standard 1901 on Fire Department Apparatus and also the Insurance Service Office 2013

Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. All the equipment appears to be in good operational

condition.

One notable exception is there is a 4 bottle portable refill station located on the tactical squad,

but the unit does not have an approved mobile filling station. Extrication equipment with some

cribbing is located on Engine 1, Engine 2 and Ladder 2. The extrication equipment includes

cutters, spreaders and rams. There is also a set of air bags located on Engine #1. The two new

engines that will be delivered in fall 2015 will both have a new set of extrication tools.

Odometers vs. Engine Hour Meters

An hour meter is a gauge or instrument that tracks and records overall elapsed time that the

engine is actually running and is normally displayed in hours and tenths of hours. The table

“Apparatus/Vehicle Inventory” lists the apparatus/vehicles that have both odometers and engine

hour meters.

The majority of hour meters are used to log running time of equipment to assure proper

maintenance of expensive machines or systems. This maintenance typically involves replacing,

changing or checking parts, belts, filters, oil, lubrication or running condition in engines, motors,

blowers, and fans, to name a few.

Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars may all have significantly higher running times

compared to mileage. Fire trucks can be running for hours at the scene without clocking a single

mile. The same is true with ambulances whose on-scene idle time might be less than a fire

engine but occurs more frequently. If maintenance is performed on these vehicles based on

odometer readings only, engine life may be affected. Maintenance personnel understand the

wear issues surrounding a vehicle’s engine hour time compared to road miles; and therefore


Board members should not base replacement needs on apparatus/vehicle appearance and mileage

but take into account all factors including engine hours.

Apparatus Replacement Schedule

NFPA 1901 “Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus” sets the standard for new fire apparatus

used in any aspect of fire protection. Although at one time there was discussion of a standard of

life for apparatus, the efforts were abandoned because of the diversity of apparatus usage

throughout the country. However, the standard does address the need to replace or renovate any

apparatus that was built prior to the NFPA 1901 apparatus standards or manufactured prior to

1979.

Apparatus life expectancy varies greatly based upon usage, preventive maintenance,

environmental factors, and the community’s ability to generate replacement funds. Another

significant factor in equipment replacement is the rapidly changing technology, much of which is

directly related to firefighter safety. Therefore, apparatus technology becomes a factor when

considering replacement.

Schedule for Fire Department Apparatus Replacement(s)

The department does have a five-year capital equipment plan, and a number of vehicles are

included on the plan for future years as indicated in the table below:

Table 40: Fire Department Five-Year Replacement Plan

Apparatus Type Manufacturer Year Shelbyville FD Replace Year

Consultants Replacement

Battalion Command Chevrolet, 2500 HD

2001 2006 2016

Engine#1 Pumper Pierce/Enforcer 2005 Replacement On Order then Reserve Status

2030 (New 2015 Engine)

Aerial #1, Reserve

Quint/100 Ft Tower Sutphen 1993 2020 Remove from Fleet when no longer serviceable

Truck #5 Brush Truck Dodge 3500 2013 As Needed As Needed Squad #1 Station Utility

Vehicle Dodge 1500 2007 2017


Squad #2 Manpower/EMS Ford F450 1999 No Date Listed Remove from FD Fleet

Tactical Squad

Swift Water Rescue Southern 4600LP

1991 Requesting 15 year Lease

2016

School School Vehicle Dodge Dakota 2001 No Date Listed Remove from FD Fleet

Medic #1 Ambulance Ford F450 2013 5 Year Lease 2020 Medic #3 Ambulance/Reserve Ford F450 2013 5 Year Lease 2020 Car #1 Command/Chief Dodge Ram

1500 2013 2018 2023

Car #2 Command/Deputy Chief

Dodge Ram 1500

2013 2018 2023

Car #3 Command/EMS Chief

Ford Explorer 2013 2018 2023

Inspector Fire Prevention Ford Explorer 2013 2018 2023 Medic #2 Ambulance Ford F450 2013 5 Year Lease 2020 Ladder #2 105 Ft Rear Mount

Quint Smeal 2008 2017 2028

Engine #4 Pumper/Reserve KME/Renegade 1992 Reserve Update with Engine 1

2023

Engine #3 Pumper KME Renegade 1997 Replacement On Order

2030 (New 2015 Engine)

Note: Engine #4 will be the 2005 Pierce Pumper when new engines are delivered in fall 2015

The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department are planning for the replacement and purchase

of fire department apparatus. The consultants have a number of recommendations in regards to

the above five-year capital equipment purchase plan in regard to fire department apparatus and

vehicles that are listed in the above table.

The consultants recommend the following apparatus replacement schedule; however, following

the general schedule are specific replacement recommendations.

Table 41: Years of Service for Fire Department Vehicles

Years of Service for Fire Department Vehicles Type of Apparatus Recommended In Service Years Engine/Pumper 15 years + 3 years Reserve Aerial/Tower/Quint 20 years + Reserve Ambulance 7 years + 2-3 years Reserve Auxiliary Vehicles As Needed Cars/Pickups/SUV's 10 years


The following table indicates the number of pumper apparatus possessed by fire departments

within the United States, according to the 2011-13 NFPA Fire Service Survey, in communities

protecting a population from 10,000 to 24,999.

Table 42: Number of Pumper Apparatus in Communities with Populations 10,000 to 24,999

Percentage of U.S Fire Departments With Population Protected

No Pumper 1 Pumper 2 Pumpers 3-4 Pumpers 5 or More Pumpers


The following table indicates the number of aerial apparatus possessed by fire departments

within the United States, according to the 2011-13 NFA Fire Service Survey, in communities

protecting a population from 10,000 to 24,999.

Table 43: Number of Aerial Apparatus in Communities with Populations 10,000 to 24,999

Percentage of U.S Fire Departments With Population Protected

No Aerial Apparatus

1 Aerial Apparatus

2 Aerial Apparatus

3-4 Aerial Apparatus

5 or More Aerial Apparatus


It should be noted that only 3.2% of the fire departments serving a population between 10,000

and 24, 999 in the United States that responded to the NPFA survey had two aerial ladder

apparatus.

It should be noted that Ladder #1 is a 1993 Sutphen with about 19,864 miles and 2,102 hours on

the vehicle, but Ladder #2 is a 2008 Smeal with about 46,110 miles and 4,524 hours on it. It

appears the Ladder #2 has over twice the amount of miles and operating hours because it has

been used as the primary response vehicle responding from Fire Station #2 to fire calls and to

EMS calls with Medic #2. It appears that the reason Ladder #2 has been used as the primary

response vehicle from Station #2 is because Engine 4, a 1992 KMS pumper, was a reserve

vehicle that has about 64,436 miles on the vehicle.

Once the two new engines are delivered in fall 2015, the current Engine 1, a 2005 Pierce with

71,366 miles, will become Engine 4. Strong consideration should be given to operating Engine 4


out of Fire Station #2 as the primary fire response vehicle, except for target hazard occupancies.

This is known as cross-staffing vehicles and it is common in many fire departments the size of

Shelbyville.

This would allow a longer service life expectancy for Ladder #2 by using Engine #4 to respond

to primary calls. A smaller vehicle, Engine #4, would also respond to EMS calls with Medic #2

instead of dispatching Ladder #2 on EMS calls, which are the majority of calls for the

Shelbyville Fire Department.

Recommendations – Fire Apparatus Once the two new engines are delivered in fall 2015, the current Engine 1, a 2005 Pierce,

will become Engine 4. Strong consideration should be given to operating Engine 4 out of

Fire Station #2 as the primary fire response vehicle, except for target hazard

occupancies. This is known as cross-staffing vehicles and it is common in many fire

departments the size of Shelbyville. Priority 2

When the time comes to replace Ladder #2 it should not be maintained in the fleet as a reserve aerial ladder as we are recommending that only one aerial ladder be maintained

permanently. Priority 3

The need to permanently maintain two aerial ladder apparatus in the City of Shelbyville fleet is not necessary based on the size of the community. We are not recommending

taking the 1993 Sutphen Ladder #1 out of the fleet inventory at this time, but if it becomes

a major problem due to maintenance costs then it should be removed from the fleet.

Priority 2

The City and Fire department should consider the possibility of remounting the three

ambulances on new chassis when the vehicles are due for replacement. The costs savings

would benefit the city and the taxpayers. With the buyout at the end of the five-year lease

purchase there is a strong possibility the ambulances could be used for another couple of

years before remounting is completed. Priority 2

When the lease purchase agreements end on the current ambulances the City and Fire Department should purchase a new ambulance on a lease purchase. With the current

three ambulances being purchased and eventually remounted there would then be four

ambulances in the fleet. If the goal of the city and the department is to have three

ambulances in service, it will be necessary to have four ambulances in the fleet. Priority

2


Sufficiency of Apparatus

Sufficiency of apparatus can be considered in two divergent ways: the amount of apparatus and

its capability. The consultants have observed fire departments that have an abundance of

apparatus, often resulting in apparatus that is rarely, if ever, deployed; or, more apparatus than

the department is able to staff. In other instances, departments are under-equipped and/or the

apparatus is lacking the tools required to perform tasks on the emergency scene.

Water tenders have an important part to play in the operations of the Shelbyville Fire Department

operations. Not only are the tenders needed occasionally in the three Townships protected by the

department, but may also relied on in severe fires in the city to supplement the water supply.

The consultants have been told that the Fire Department administration and department as a

whole feel very comfortable with using the surrounding departments’ inventory of tenders for the

job. They believe that there is good training and interoperability with a very successful history

of past operations. This provides for a cost-effective way to provide needed capabilities but also

helps with some additional staffing at the scene.

Not including the three new ambulances that were new in 2013, there were five other fire

department vehicles that were new to the Fire Department fleet in 2013. Purchasing this many

new vehicles in one year becomes a future problem if they all need to be replaced again in the

same future year. The Fire Chief informed the consultants that the reason so many vehicles were

replaced in one year was because the Fire Department had gone without replacing vehicles and

equipment for a number of years. The Fire Department vehicle replacement plan needs to be

updated on an annual basis and communicated with the Mayor, Public Works and Safety

Committee and the City Council so planning and budgeting for the future purchases can be

accomplished.

The number of fire department apparatus and vehicles is more than most departments the size of

Shelbyville has in its inventory. We are recommending that Squad #2 a 1999 model which is the

Manpower/EMS vehicle and the 2001 model School station car both be removed from the Fire

Department fleet. It appears these vehicles were in the Fire Department fleet and when they

were replaced with new vehicles and the Fire Department just maintained them in the fleet and


designated their purpose differently. This usually results in a fire department then needing to

replace these vehicles at some point due to their age and maintenance issues. The Fire

Department stated that Squad #2 is used for snowplowing the fire stations, but the consultants do

not believe it is necessary for emergency response activities.

Recommendations – Fire Apparatus Fleet Size We are recommending that Squad #2, a 1999 model which is the Manpower/EMS vehicle

and the 2001 model School station car both be removed from the Fire Department fleet.

It appears these vehicles were in the Fire Department fleet: when they were replaced

with new vehicles and the Fire Department just maintained them in the fleet and

redesigned their purpose. Priority 5

The Fire Department vehicle replacement plan needs to be updated on an annual basis and communicated with the Mayor, Public Works and Safety Committee and the City

Council so planning and budgeting for the future purchases can be accomplished.

Priority 3


Training

Firefighting and Emergency Medical Services are carefully coordinated operations in which a

great many people participate. Firefighters and EMS personnel perform to the level they are

trained, typically under times of extreme danger and stress. The statement “How you train is

how you will perform on the emergency scene during an emergency” describes the need for the

Shelbyville Fire Department to have in a place a comprehensive training program that meets the

needs of the community.

Failure to train all personnel, to the levels of service demanded by the community can result in

exposure to dangerous situations by those providing as well as receiving those services. The

single most important aspect of any training program is safety both for the giver and the receiver.

The Training Division and the Training Officer are essential to the fire department operation. It

is within the training division that the foundation for each and every new firefighter, EMT, and

paramedic is created. It then becomes the never-ending mission of the training division to

maintain those skills learned by the new firefighter, EMT, and paramedic during basic training,

certification courses and classes that present new subject matter that addresses evolving hazards

and current trends as well as the use of new tools and equipment.

Shelbyville Training Overview

The consultants performed a review of the department’s training program that included the

review of training policies, goals, schedules, training and certification records, training library,

training facilities and the ISO Summary Report prepared by ISO, dated January 30, 2015. The

consultants have discovered there are numerous opportunities to improve the SFD training

program.

The responsibility for developing and delivering the SFD training program is given to the

department’s Deputy Chief. The Deputy Chief oversees the creation of annual training goals,

and training calendar. There are two Training Officers assigned to each shift: one for fire topics,

the other for EMS topics. Instructors are assigned to teach the respective classes based upon

their areas of expertise. Each instructor creates a lesson plan, which might include a

PowerPoint® presentation and/or visual aids when appropriate, for the classes they will be


teaching. When the consultants asked to review examples of lesson plans and PowerPoint®

presentations, they were told that that material is not retained in a central location and remain

with the individual who created the lesson.

The challenge for any Training Officer is to assure that the training provided is current,

interesting, and progressive. This must be done when delivering new information in addition to

what is required by external mandates. It is important that the Training Officer, as well as the

department instructors that deliver the training, provide the impetus to keep the members

interested, motivated and possessing the desire of wanting to be trained. This can be

accomplished when the Officer and the department instructors remain current in the latest trends

in fire, EMS, and specialized rescue work, as well as demonstrating and maintaining their

enthusiasm, knowledge and abilities.

The SFD has a written standard operating guideline to address training. Safety and Health SOG

206 describes the purpose for training, identifies the department training policy and outlines

responsibilities of both department members and department supervisors. Members are charged

with maintaining the certifications they have earned and the supervisors must ensure that the

members are in fact certified and that those members have sufficient skills to efficiently perform

their duties. This process cannot be accomplished adequately by merely observing individuals

during training. There must be an organized methodology to measure member’s competencies

and identify any weaknesses or unsafe practices, so remedial training can occur.

Competencies vs. Training Hours

Beyond the actual training program, today’s fire service requires more than simply teaching

members how to perform their jobs safely; it requires validation of their competency to do so. A

well-constructed training program will employ a system to ensure all members receive required

training and document core competencies (practical training evolutions) and it appears the

current SFD Records Management System (ESO) has those capabilities, but apparently are not

utilized.


The topic of measuring competencies of department personnel continues to raise strong feelings

from both those who manage the department and those department members who provide the

actual service. Yet everyone seems to agree that the most important issue is safety of the

emergency responders. Therefore, is it adequate for a chief to base the abilities of the emergency

responder personnel on their certifications and monthly training records or attendance at drills,

versus their actual ability to not only to perform the task, but also to do so in a safe manner?

Discussion of competency testing often results in many jumping to the conclusion that if an

individual lacks the skill associated with a particular task and cannot perform in a safe manner,

there should be some type of punitive action. Quite the opposite should occur. Rather, remedial

training should be given and documented, until such time the individual can perform the task

safely and proficiently. Punitive action should occur if the individual refuses to correct the

unsafe behavior.

Recommendation – Competency Testing The department should develop and implement training competency testing for all

members to be conducted a minimum of semi-annually. Members showing deficiencies

should receive remedial training. Priority 2

Competency testing should be observed by the Deputy Fire Chief and Safety Officer. Records of

the testing should become part of the individual’s training record. The evaluation should

measure both knowledge and skills (routine evolutions) that each member is required to possess

and maintain.

Certifications

The information provided to the consultants indicates that of the 60 sworn full-time line

members, 51 are certified as Firefighter I and Firefighter II, respectively. There are 16 Officers,

of which 14 are certified as both Fire Officer I and Fire Officer II, the remaining two senior fire

officers do not hold any Fire Officer level certification. A total of 39 members, including 15 fire

officers, have completed Fire Officer Strategy and Tactics certification. All SFD officers should

be required to obtain and maintain Fire Officer Certification.


Recommendation – Officer Certifications All fire officers and those members that could fill-in for absent fire officers (acting

officers), should be required to obtain and maintain as a minimum, certification as Fire Officer I, Fire Officer II and Fire Officer Strategy and Tactics. Priority 3

Seventeen (17) members have earned certification as Instructor I and three (3) as Instructor II/III.

Although certified fire instructors may not be required in all cases, the quality of training

provided by a certified fire instructor is expected to be of a higher quality. The SFD has a

significant number of Fire Instructors (Level I) that possess the foundation necessary to deliver

the department’s training needs.

Recommendation – Instructor I Members that have the responsibility of delivering training classes should at minimum be

certified as Fire Instructor I. Priority 3

Emergency Vehicle Driver Training

The driving of emergency vehicles, especially under emergency conditions (lights and sirens) is

a routine part of providing services. Even though driving emergency vehicles is a routine duty,

driving department owned automobiles, SUVs, or small, medium and large trucks carries a high

degree of liability; and is the second leading cause of death for firefighters and EMS personnel.

There are 44 non-officer members of the department that hold the ranks of permanent FF,

FF/EMT, FF/Paramedic, and/or FF/Rotational Medic. Of the 44 non-officers, 31 have received

Driver Operator Pumper certification, 12 have received Driver Operator Aerial certification and

three (3) are certified as EMS Emergency Vehicle Operators.

In the unfortunate instance that an accident involving the SFD does occur, the department will

have their driver training program and driver training records closely scrutinized. By including

emergency vehicle driver training within the department’s overall training program will not only

reduce those events but provide documentation of the members’ driving training.

The Indiana Firefighter Training System (IFSTS) provides fire service training courses to

Indiana firefighters to facilitate their ability to meet national standards. Within the suite of

courses offered are the 40-hour Driver / Operator Pumper course, and the 24 hour Driver /


Operator Aerial course. Both course and ultimate certification provides candidates with the

knowledge and skills to meet minimum job performance requirements as outlined in NFPA

1002, Standard for Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualifications.

Recommendation – Drivers Certifications The consultants recommend that all members who drive and operate department

pumpers, aerial devices, and EMS ambulances be required to obtain and maintain the

respective driver’s certifications throughout their employment. Priority 2

In addition, ISO requires all new driver/operators to receive 60 hours of training in accordance

with NFPA 1002: Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, edition 2014. In

requiring SFD members to achieve Driver/Operator Pumper and Driver/Operator Aerial

certification, candidates will have received 100% of the required training hours for new

driver/operators; thereby satisfying the ISO requirements.

National Incident Management System

The SFD places strong emphasis on requiring their members to complete training courses in the

National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS provides a uniform format that allows

for federal, state, tribal, local governments, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to

work together before, during and after a significant incident, regardless of cause, size, location,

or complexity. This consistency provides the foundation for nationwide use of NIMS for all

incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to more complex incidents requiring a coordinated,

multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response. All 60 members of the SFD have completed NIMS

Course 100, 56 have completed NIMS 200 and NIMS 700, and over 50 members have

completed NIMS 1st Responder Awareness and NIMS 1st Responder Operations.

SFD members have earned an extraordinary amount of certifications in multiple areas of fire and

EMS disciplines. Upon review it is shown that some certifications have been earned by a single

member or special rescue operations certification have been earned by approximately 33% of the

members. It would be advantageous for the department leadership to identify those certifications

that would benefit the department and categorize them as primary certifications which would be

reimbursed; those not identified by the department would not be paid for by the City.

http://www.nfpa.org/1002


Recommendation – Identification of Certificates The department should establish certification goals and needs that best serve the needs of

the SFD. The department’s efforts should encourage members to seek these certifications

which would be paid for by the City. Those not identified as primary certifications would

not be paid for by the City. Priority 4

Training Risk Model

“Training is not the most important thing; it is the only thing.” This well-known quotation in

sports is very applicable to the fire/EMS service. Well known speakers, such as Alan Brunacini

and Gordon Graham, teach risk analysis models such as “risk a lot to save a lot, risk little to save

a little, risk nothing to save nothing”; “high risk, low frequency, no time to think it through =

DANGER” which address the significance of training.

Appling these training risk models, the high frequency, low risk would best describe the majority

of EMS calls that represent 82.7% of the department’s emergency responses (average three-year

study period). Therefore, the remaining 17.3% of the emergency responses are fire by nature;

fires could easily fall into the low frequency, high risk, and potentially no time to think it

through.

EMS training hours are dictated by the Project Medical Director who oversees the paramedic

program for the department. The SFD fire training hours goals align with the ISO recently

revisions of 16 hours per month plus 18 per year that must be conducted in a fire training facility,

for a total of 210 mandated fire training hours (represents a decrease of 30 annual training hours

per individual).

Recommendation – Training Hours The Deputy Chief should ensure that all members of the department meet the EMS

required hours as dictated by the Project Medical Director, and meet the ISO newly

established 210 hour of fire training per member annually. Priority 2

Training Data for Three-Year Study Period

The data provided to the consultants listed each member’s total training hours for the three-year

study period. Their total training hours consisted of both EMS and fire training hours. The


consultants, to the best of their ability, removed Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, EMS Chief, Fire

Inspector, and Project Medical Director. In addition, any member who was inactive for greater

than three months was removed so not to misrepresent the yearly training figures.

The figures for each year and three-year summary are listed from the greatest number of hours

obtained to the least number of hours obtained. The employees’ names have not been included

in the figures nor are they in any alphabetical order.

2012 Training Hours:

Figure 30:2012 Members Training Hours

2014 Average for SFD members is 37.9% of the ISO standard


2013 Training Hours

Figure 31: 2013 Members Training Hours


2014 Training Hours

Figure 32: Members Training Hours



SFD Percent of ISO Required Training Hours/Year

Table 44: SFD Percent of ISO Required Training Hours

Year ISO % of Total

2012 37.9%

2013 31.8%

2014 50.8%*

Average 40.2%

* 2014 ISO required hours dropped by 12.5%

Training Calendar

As previously noted training is coordinated by the SFD Deputy Fire Chief, but the fact is all Fire

Department officers need to be responsible for training and need to be held accountable for this

responsibility. The department was able to provide a comprehensive calendar for 2014 which

listed mandatory training topics (see table below); topics aligned with dates, individual assigned

to conduct training.

Table 45: 2014 Mandated Training Topics

Mandated Training Topics

Hazard Communications Pump Ops

Respiratory Protection Vehicle extrication

Lock Out Tag Out Ventilation

hazardous Materials Thermal Imaging

Hazardous Materials Spill, Prevention and Control Documentation/Reporting

Blood Borne Pathogens Driver/Operator Training

Night Drills - 2 per year SCBA Fit Testing

HIPPA Personal Protective Equipment Refresher

Combustible & Flammable Liquids EMS

SCBA Confidence Course Company Level Training

Firefighter Survival Techniques

Upon review of the annual training calendars the consultants found that there are no specific

times of the day listed for the daily training sessions. It appears that each shift develops its own

daily schedule, with training specifically, delivered at different times. Such a schedule or lack of

a schedule makes it difficult or impossible for management to oversee.


Although the 2014 training calendar is impressive, it is concerning that there is no scheduled

shift training for January; rather the preponderance of the training time is dedicated to house

cleaning. One has to question if house cleaning is going to be of any value at the emergency

scene?

A busy department cannot guarantee, for example, that 09:00 to 11:00 will be dedicated to

training without interruption by emergency events. However, it is prudent to designate a time

when the crew, if available, will conduct a minimum of two hours of training per shift. The

department recently designated only Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays as dedicated training

days; Thursdays and Fridays dedicated to other tasks, Saturdays to pre-plans, and no official

work schedule on Sundays with the exception of apparatus checks. The first week is dedicated

to fire training; followed by the second week dedicated to EMS. This rotation remains

throughout the year.

When reading the department’s SOGs it appears times and dates are in fact noted; however,

during the interviews it was made clear that training is inserted in the day whenever possible.

Emergency calls come first; however, a greater emphasis on aligning non-emergency activities

would be beneficial.

Recommendation – Designated Training Times The training calendar should be more comprehensive and designate a time of day

dedicated to training. Postponement or cancellation of training at that time should be

limited to emergency responses only. Priority 4

Most training programs require the on-duty personnel to train every work day. Some

departments allow Sunday to be an exception, such as the SFD. Members are scheduled to work

a maximum of 122 days annually (2 shifts, 1 shift 121 days), before subtracting vacation, sick or

other official time off. With members working less than 122 days a year, it is not unreasonable

to require Sunday training to accomplish training goals. In those instances in which individual

members of the SFD do not achieve the minimum of 210 training hours required by ISO, those

members would benefit from an opportunity to train on Sunday.


Recommendation – Training Days Leadership needs to reassess if “other tasks” and no work on Sundays is of greater value

to the department than required training. Nothing should diminish the safety of emergency responders, and training offsets those dangers the best. Priority 2

Daily Shift Training – Standard Sources

NFPA 1001 – Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, edition 2013: chapter 5 –

Fire Fighter I, and chapter 6 – Fire Fighter II list firefighting skills taught in the certification

class for Fire Fighter I & II. These are excellent topics for daily training as this knowledge and

skills will be utilized throughout the members’ careers: Daily training topics from NFPA 1001

are listed in the table below:

Table 46: NFPA 1001 Basic Training Topics

Training – Continuing Education Topics

Mission of the Fire Service Fire behavior

SFD Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG’s) Overhaul

SFD Rules and Regulations Salvage Fire and Life Safety Initiatives to reduce injuries and LODD

Automatic fire sprinkler / standpipe systems

Physical Fitness and Healthy Lifestyle Water supply

Personal protective clothing; Mobile water supply apparatus

SFD communication: phones, radios, verbal / written Fire hose: loads, deployment, supply, draft

Initiate a response to reported emergency Classification of fires, extinguishers, Reporting an emergency, taking/receiving alarms, Radio codes and procedures

Scene lighting

Operate SFD communication equipment Electrical, gas, water and utility systems

SFD personal accountability system Ground cover fire operations

Donning and Use of SCBA Ropes, knots, hoisting equipment

Establish and operate within emergency work areas Inspect and maintain SFD tools and equipment

Forcible entry Inspect fire hose, note defects

Basic building construction Incident management system

Work in areas with limited visibility Basic incident reporting

Ground ladders: Raise, carry, extend, climb Flammable liquid fires, firefighting foam

Vehicle fires Coordinate an interior fire attack

Fire streams: handlines and master streams Hose/ nozzle for fire attack

Search and Rescue in structures Dangerous building conditions

Fire attack Assemble a team for fire attack

Ventilation Attack a flammable gas cylinder fire

Characteristics of pressurized flammable gas FF II role in fire investigations

Cause and origin, evidence preservation Extrication from motor vehicle accidents


Training – Continuing Education Topics

SFD role at vehicle accidents Hand and power tools for forcible entry

Assist special rescue teams, knowledge of tools Fire inspections, code compliance

Fire causes and prevention Fire station tours per SFD SOG’s

Present prepared fire prevention materials/document Water supplies for fire protection

Prepare pre-incident surveys Sketch the site, identify systems, hazards

Maintain power supplies, power tools, inspect Clean/maintain equipment per SFD SOG’s

Annual fire hose testing Record testing results per SFD SOG’s

Standard Lesson Plans

The consultants were informed that the department does not maintain standard lesson plans

within the department library. Lesson plans are developed for use, by the respective instructors,

however they are not required to submit their lesson plans as documentation or for future use.

Without standard lesson plans, a department moves in a very independent fashion which can

result in non-uniformity on the emergency scene or enhancement of “freelancing” (firefighters

working independent of the team approach). Members’ safety is improved when all are taught

the same material in the same format and must show competency in the same manner.

Lesson Plans Should Have:

Each training session should require the following:

Class/lesson title

References

Lesson plan

o Goal

Objectives

o Learning objectives

o Reference to the curriculum utilized by the department

o Listing of materials needed

o Location of the training

o Time required

Lesson preparation

Motivation for learning the particular subject


Lesson outline

Practice

Summary

Method to ensure competency

Documentation

Instructor certification

Participant sign-in (not a check sheet)

The Liability of Poor Training

With an increasingly litigious society, the liabilities associated with poor training and/or poor

documentation of that training, are enormous. Within the last decade there has been an increased

tendency for municipalities/districts to be stripped of their immunity protection when dealing

with an employee’s injury or death.

It is hoped that the SFD never experiences a firefighter’s line-of-duty death. However, in the

event of such an occurrence or a serious line-of-duty injury, a large number of state and federal

agencies would conduct independent investigations. At minimum, the Fire Department would

need to provide the investigators with the following:

Documentation that the individual received training in the evolution(s) in which the

death/injury occurred.

Comprehensive curriculum of the training topic.

Attendance sheet with the individual’s signature indicating he/she attended – not a list of

member’s names with a check-off box.

Record of the instructor’s qualifications to teach the topic.

Competency documentation showing how the department measured the ability of the

individual to safely perform the task in which he or she was injured.


Historical record showing how frequently this topic was instructed and what other topics

supported a safe environment under the conditions found at the accident scene.

In the event of a serious accident or line-of-duty death, lack of such documentation could result

in fines from both state and/or federal agencies, as well as leave the Fire Department and perhaps

even the City open to serious civil litigation.

In addition, the following should be recorded into the record management system: date of the

training, time and duration of the training, class objectives, audio/training aids utilized, training

participants’ feedback, notes or comments by the instructor on how the training could be

improved.

Recommendation – Documentation The City and Fire Department members must realize the liability of lack of training and

lack of proper documentation of training. Documentation of training is as important as

the training itself. The department would benefit from greater emphasis placed on

training and documentation. Priority 2

Supervisor (Fire Officer) Training

Within the fire service, it is very common to have an individual serving as a firefighter one day

and be an officer the next. In many departments the transition from firefighter to fire officer is

based solely on changing the color of the shirt and/or badge. It is as if the fire fighter

experienced a form of magical osmosis, leaving the rank and file and miraculously prepared to

serve in a supervisory position.

There is no assurance that the best firefighter with outstanding job skills will somehow become a

great manager because of a promotion. Management and leadership skills can be learned and

officers need constant training on how to best deal with emergency situations as well as the non-

emergency issues they face the preponderance of the day with their personnel.

The SFD does not employ a formal officer training program or curriculum for preparing their

firefighters to lead. The consultants do not question the fire, special rescue and EMS skills of the

SFD personnel, although daily training to reinforce and learn new skills is encouraged.


However, SFD fire officers are not required to obtain formal supervisory/management training

beyond those certifications offered by the State of Indiana Fire Training System. The

consultants learned that continuing education for fire officers could be obtained by their

attendance at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), held annually in Indianapolis.

SFD fire officers are able to satisfy their annual (12 hours) training requirements, simply by

attending the FDIC. The consultants do not disqualify FDIC as a means of receiving quality

training; rather it should not be the sole source of SFD fire officer training. The Deputy Chief

indicated that the member only needs to indicate they received the 12 hours from some source

but no validation is required nor officer training records kept.

The table below illustrates training topic appropriate for any line officer (including acting

officers) through the rank of Fire Chief:

Table 47: Supervisor Training Program

Training - Supervision Topics

Principle of Supervision Managing Change

Management vs. Leadership Diversity

Supervisor: Linking Pin Concept Problem Solving

Ethics Managing Differences

Dealing with Conflict Managing Multiple Projects

Legal Time Management

- Harassment Delegation

- Discrimination Performance Management

- Job (race, religion, sex or national origin) - Documentation

- Age - Evaluations

- Disability (Americans with Disabilities Act) Employee Attitudes

- Military - Coaching

- Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) - Motivation

- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) - Empowerment

- Gender-pay differences - Influencing

- Pregnancy - Discipline

- Immigration Confidentiality

- Sexual Orientation Strategic Thinking

Workplace Safety Political Savvy

Communication Negotiating

Interpersonal Relationships Creativity

Team Building Innovation


Recommendation – Officer Training All officers should be required to obtain a minimum of two hours per month in addition to

all other training requirements. Priority 2

ISO Training Points Awarded

Included within an ISO assessment of a municipal fire department’s ability to provide service is

a review of the department’s fire training program. Obviously, this is a means to ensure that the

firefighters expected to provide emergency service are trained to provide that service.

Although contemporary fire departments provide a wide variety of services such as EMS and

special rescue operations, ISO primarily focuses their reviews on fire suppression training. Fire

departments such as the SFD must be mindful of the ISO requirements, as a failure to train and

maintain records can quickly become detrimental to their current and future ISO fire rating.

A summary of the items ISO considers when reviewing a community’s training for firefighters

includes:

Facilities and Aids

o Drill Tower

o Fire building (including smoke room)

o Combustible liquid pit

In areas where federal, state or local officials prohibit the use of

combustible-liquid pits, credit may be available for video simulation

depicting extinguishment of flammable-liquid fires.

o Library and training manuals

o Fire pump cutaway

o Fire hydrant cutaway

Use

o Half-day (3 hours) drill, 8 per year

o Half-day (3 hours) multiple-company drills, 4 per year

o Night drills (3 hours), 2 per year

o ISO may credit a single-company drill under the first and last of these items; ISO

may credit multiple-company drills under all three.


Company Training

o Company (Shift) training at fire stations, 20 hours per member per month

Officer Training

o Two days (6 hours each) per year for all officers

Driver and Operator Training

o Four half-day (3 hours each) sessions per year

New Driver and Operator Training

o One half-day (3 hour) session per member per year

Training on Radioactivity of Hazardous Materials

o One half-day (3 hour) session per member per year

Recruit Training

o 240 hours per recruit ( does not include EMS)

Fire Pre-plans and Inspections

o The community (department) should have a fire pre-plan inspection of each

commercial, industrial and other similar structure twice a year to achieve

maximum credit in the FSRS (ISO Fire Suppression Rating Schedule). Records

of the inspections should include complete and up-to-date notes and sketches.

Records

o When a community’s (department) records are incomplete, ISO can reduce the

total points credited for training by up to 20 points each for the items listed above

(see ISO FSRS schedule for reference)

In their report dated January 30, 2015, ISO published the results of the analysis of the

firefighting capabilities of the Shelbyville Fire Department. Of the many critical elements

included within this analysis was the department’s training program. To have achieved a

“maximum score”, the training program would have had to receive a rating of 12 credits. The

Fire Department does have plans to construct a fire training facility for future use. Upon review

of the training program the department earned 3.96 credits or 44% of the points as illustrated in

the table below:


Table 48: ISO Points Earned for Training

ISO Item 581 - Credit for Training (9 points)

Training Earned Credit

Credit Available

A. Facilities, and Use: For maximum credit, each firefighter should receive 18 hours per year in structured fire related subjects as outlined in NFPA 1001.

0.00 35

B. Company Training: For maximum credit, each firefighter should receive 16 hours per month in structured fire related subjects as outlined in NFPA 1001.

10.00 25

C. Classes for Officers: For maximum credit, each officer should be certified in accordance with the general criteria of NFPA 1021. Additionally, each officer should receive 12 hours of continuing education of or off site.

12.00 12

D. New Driver and Operator Training: For maximum credit, each new driver and operator should receive 60 hours of driver/Operator training per year in accordance with NFPA 1002 and NFPA 1451

1.17 5

E. Existing Driver and Operator Training: For maximum credit, each existing driver and operator should receive 12 hours of driver/operator training per year in accordance with NFPA 1002 and NFPA 1451

5.00 5

F. Training on Hazardous Materials: For maximum credit, each firefighter should receive 6 hours of training for incidents involving hazardous materials in accordance with NFPA 472

0.83 1

G. Recruit Training: For maximum credit, each firefighter should receive 240 hours of structure fire related training in accordance NFPA 1001 within the first year of employment or tenure.

5.00 5

H. Pre-Fire Planning Inspections: For maximum credit, pre-fire planning inspections of each commercial, industrial, institutional, and other similar type building (all buildings except 1*-4 family dwellings) should be made annually by company members. Records of inspections should include up-to-date notes and sketches.

9.96 12

Item580 "Credit for Training (CT)" = 3.96 or 44% of maximum


Recommendation – ISO Training Points There are significant opportunities to improve the entire training program in the SFD;

especially in “Facilities, and Use”, and “New Driver and Operator Training”. Greater emphasis on the part of Fire Department leadership needs to be invested in the training

program. Priority 2

Training Library

Also used to support the delivery of training is the SFD Training Library that includes textbooks,

and department EMS protocols and department Standard Operating Guidelines. Found within

the library are lesson plans and videos, produced by nationally recognized training organizations

or publishers such as IFSTA (International Fire Service Training Association); NFPA (National

Association of Fire Protection), Fire Engineering and Jones & Bartlett. The table below

illustrates the training material currently in the SFD library:

Table 49: SFD Library Training Contents

SFD Library Contents

EMS Fire

Brady NFPA

Paramedic Care Fire Engineering

Critical Care Paramedic Fire Dept. Training Network

Anatomy + Physiology NIST

12 Lead for Acute + Critical Care OSHA

AMLS Jones + Bartlett

SFD Protocols & Run Audits Firehouse

Internet - Ves.Com/FFClose Calls

Essential Curriculum

SFD - SOGs

Recommendation – Training Library Training material created by instructors such as PowerPoints, lesson plans, etc. should

be kept in the training library for future use either as a class or individual training.

Priority 4

Pre-Fire Planning Inspections

The consultants were told that department leadership has placed a higher priority on the

development of pre-fire plans which are scheduled for Saturdays. However, during the study

little progress had been made and the consultants were told that they were waiting for


instructions on this aspect of the ESO® software. There was some discussion as to the

disagreement if these documents should be placed on the computer or in a booklet format.

Section H of the ISO evaluation indicated the department received 9.96 points of a possible 12

possible points for this area. At the time of the study the department indicated they had

completed approximately 100 pre-fire plans.

Recommendations – Pre-ire Plans The consultants encourage the emphasis placed on pre-fire plans as it is a significant

safety factor for responding personnel. These pre-fire plans are best suited for electronic

transmissions to the mobile data terminals in the fire apparatus. Priority 3


Community Development & Growth

The consultants did meet with the Director of Plan Commission and Building Commission and

reviewed the City of Shelbyville Comprehensive Plan dated June 7, 2010. The City of

Shelbyville has been experiencing limited growth and it is expected that the growth will increase

as the economy improves. The City is currently in the process of doing road construction in the

area of I-74 and Fairlane Road south of the interstate. These road improvements will allow the

development of an industrial park area with the road improvements being completed in stages

over a period of time. The following transportation map indicates the first phase of the road

construction.

Figure 33: Shelbyville Transportation Map

The other areas that are expected to see growth are the areas near the two interstate interchanges

near I-74 and Hwy 9 and I-74 and Hwy 44. The growth in both cases would be primarily

highway commercial and general commercial. In addition, future growth in single family

residential will be in the area north of I-74 off of Knightstown Road and on the Southside of the

city. The future land use map is shown in the following figure:

First Phase of

Road

Construction


Figure 34: Shelbyville Future Land Use Map

The following figure illustrates the locations of community facilities including the fire stations:

Figure 35: Community Facilities including Fire Stations

Fire Station

#1

Fire Station

#2

Fire Station

#3

First Phase

Road

Construction


The growth in the City of Shelbyville can be seen in the following table as shown by the number

of building permits during the five years:

Table 50: Shelbyville New Construction Permits & Values 2010-2014

City of Shelbyville Permits and Construction Values 2010-2014

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Building Permits 134 131 142 125 137

Construction Values $9,885,605 $20,308,408 $22,635,348 $19,399,072 $83,949,087

In 2014, the building permit for the new hospital was valued at $64,000,000 and the Indiana

Grand Racing & Casino had building permits issued for over $2.25 million in value.


Fire Prevention / Public Safety Education

Fire prevention activities historically have been driven for various reasons: interest in the

public’s and firefighters’ safety, while other acts were profit-driven by insurance companies

looking to reduce insurance claims. At one time insurance companies had special crews that

responded alongside the fire departments to help mitigate, protect insured’s belongings, and help

to reduce the loss from fire; this is now a function of the fire department. Whatever the reason,

everyone benefits when the loss from fires are reduced and even greater if fires can be prevented.

Obviously the fire service has demonstrated their ability to fend off the budgetary assaults and

still maintain their absolute focus on fire suppression. This has been accomplished by sacrificing

the fire prevention and public education programs, which interestingly enough, as an average

3.49% goes to fire prevention and 0.65% to public safety education. The percentage of the

budget for fire prevention drops as the departments get smaller. (Source: EFOP research project NFA,

Fire Prevention in America at the Dawn of the New Millennium, by Azarang Mirkhah, P.E.).

Fire departments in the U.S. place greater emphasis on fire suppression over fire prevention.

One reflection of this is the high standards set for fire department response times and fire

suppression performance. If firefighters in other countries do not respond to fires as quickly as

firefighters in the U.S., why are their fire death rates lower? Simply put, it is a function of the

level of resources devoted to fire suppression versus fire prevention. Other countries place a

higher premium on their ability to prevent fires rather than their ability to put them out once fires

occur. (ibid).

Shelbyville Fire Department Fire Prevention

All fire inspection and prevention activities in Shelbyville are handled by a single person

assigned to the fire prevention bureau. The fire prevention inspector is a civilian employee

working a 40-hour week Monday through Friday.

Activities of the fire prevention inspector include: regularly scheduled fire inspections, plan

reviews, inspecting special venues such as the fairgrounds for special events, and working with

state and local inspectors on new and renovated construction projects. These activities require a


large portion of time and are primary function of the SFD fire prevention bureau activities. In

addition, accompanying state inspectors on educational occupancies as well as health care

facilities is also a part of the duties.

Fire investigations are not conducted by the fire prevention bureau, but carried out through the

Fire Department shift investigators. It was reported that there are approximately 1,300

“inspectable” occupancies located within Shelbyville’s corporate boundaries and that the

majority are an assortment of small to mid-size business, commercial, mercantile and multi-

family occupancies which generally do not require a detailed, lengthy fire inspection.

There are however, larger industrial, manufacturing, commercial, special and multi-family

complexes do in fact require more extensive evaluation and oversight due to the inherent dangers

they present to the public, its occupants, as well as firefighters.

In 2014 the fire prevention inspector conducted approximately 700 inspections and/or re-

inspections representing 53.84% of the total occupancies in Shelbyville. These fire inspections

were not conducted based on risk, hazard level or any particular occupancy. Most fire

prevention codes require that each occupancy be inspected annually and that records need to

reflect the conditions found, violations noted, and when corrective action was taken.

Company Inspections

Currently, there is no type of company fire inspection program conducted by on-duty fire

personnel through the SFD at this time. The consultants would recommend utilizing on-duty

(company) shift personnel to conduct rotating basic fire inspections in order to ensure all

occupancies are inspected annually. The shift personnel would also be responsible for the first

re-inspection if a violation was noted. If there are 1,300 inspectable occupancies, each shift

would need to conduct 433 inspections per year; however, many of these occupancies are small

and adjoin each other and multiple inspections could be performed by a single individual.

Shift personnel would need to be trained by the Fire Inspector in the proper procedure for

conducting routine basic fire inspections. All occupancies that had unique challenges, significant


code violations were discovered, or the violations remained after the first shift re-inspection, it

would be referred to the Fire Inspector.

There are many advantages of company fire inspections; however, one of the most important is

safety for the firefighters who have the ability to see the layout of the occupancy prior to having

to enter it when it is on fire. The goal of the Fire Department leadership should be that all

qualifying occupancies are inspected on an annual basis and this could easily be accomplished by

incorporating company inspections.

Recommendation – Fire Prevention The department should develop a company fire inspection program where each of the

three shifts would be assigned a given number of occupancies each month to complete.

Priority 3

Training of shift personnel on how to conduct company inspections should be done by the Fire Inspector. Issues found by the shifts that exceed their training or are unique should

be referred to the Fire Inspector. Priority 3

Self-Inspections

Some communities have instituted a “self-inspection” program for businesses that have a record

of no violations and adhere to all fire prevention requirements. In these cases the business owner

would complete a self-inspection sheet and send it to the Fire Prevention Bureau. The Fire

Prevention Officer, or the fire companies would do spot checking to ensure the sheets are

maintained accurately. Depending on the size and nature of the business, these occupancies

might only require a company inspection every two to three years. All self-inspection sheets

should be recorded by the Fire Prevention Bureau. The consultants recommend consideration to

a self-inspection fire program as well.

Recommendation – Self-Inspections The fire inspector should consider the “self-inspection” program for businesses that have

a proven track record of compliance with all fire prevention codes and regulations.

Priority 4


Pre-Fire Plans

Pre-fire planning of commercial, institutional, multi-family residential (common areas), and

industrial buildings by the fire department is of great value to firefighting personnel safety. Pre-

fire planning is a very important component of firefighter training and readiness. Fire pre-

planning programs are formal programs where the firefighting companies familiarize themselves

and others with the buildings they are expected to protect. The SFD indicated that a goal for

2015 was to significantly increase the number of occupancies that have pre-fire plans completed;

currently estimated at approximately 100 pre-plans.

Pre-fire plan programs include site visits to properties within the City/District to gather

information as to the hazards and problems that may occur in the event of an emergency such as

a fire or explosion. These site visits allow the firefighters to sketch the buildings and gather

other pertinent information about a structure that can be referenced directly or transmitted by

radio if an emergency event occurs in the structure.

All such information goes back to the fire station for further development and dissemination.

ESO Solutions® software has a modular designed solely for this purpose. At some point in time,

all commercial structures should have a pre-fire plan for reference when/if the need arises. The

best method to subject all fire department members to the hazards of the buildings they might

enter to fight a fire is to include pre-planning as part of the training curriculum of the department.

This training should include an actual walk-through of high-risk buildings by the entire crew.

The greatest benefit of fire pre-plans is firefighter safety. Conventional wisdom would suggest

that when a firefighter is about to enter a building for life safety or fire suppression purposes,

knowledge of that building is beneficial to the member; it is also beneficial to the business itself

in that it could result in quicker extinguishment and less property damage.

The pre-fire plan program should include the gathering of the following information pertaining

to each occupancy:

Location-address

Owner and key holder contact information

Occupancy information


Access points keyed and forcible entry

Special hazards

Type of construction

Available water supply

Building protection systems and their location

Utilities, including the location of shut-offs

Exposures

Special resource considerations

Technical rescue exposures

Hazardous materials presence

Particular life hazard issue

The presence of lightweight trusses in construction

Like any program in the fire department, success of the duty shift inspection and pre-fire plan

program will require the company officer to hold shift members accountable for completion of

these programs. It can be anticipated that some might respond by indicating “they” (fire

department) are too busy to conduct company inspections and/or pre-plans; however, no fire

department member should be too busy to consider his/her personal safety worth the time

investment.

Recommendations – Fire Pre-Plan

On-duty shift personnel should be assigned to develop pre-plans while conduction company inspections. Each shift should be assigned the inspectable occupancies in

which to inspect and develop pre-plans. Priority 2

The Fire Department needs to implement an aggressive pre-fire plan program that over time will create a pre-fire plan for all non-residential buildings. Priority 2

The pre-fire plans should be developed through the ESO Solutions® software module

incorporated in the data management system and the plans should become part of the

training curriculum. Priority 5


Shelbyville Public Safety Education

The SFD Public Safety Education program is overseen/coordinated by a shift

firefighter/paramedic. Additional department personnel will participate in the various programs

upon request. Although overseeing public safety education from a shift position is not as

difficult as overseeing training; it is not without challenges and SFD has a successful public

safety education program as illustrated in the data provided below:

Table 51: Public Safety Education Contacts

Public Safety Education Contacts Year Adults Children 2012 706 3,372 2013 528 4,062 2014 629 2,154 Total 1,863 9,588

As with most fire department public safety education programs, Shelbyville’s program leans

heavily towards children in an attempt to establish the importance of safety at an early age. The

coordinator presents safety programs in public and parochial schools for students from pre-

school to fifth grade. Once a year the department participates in Occupation Day at the high

school.

Other routine safety education programs include:

Fourth grade field trip, in which safety education is presented

Pre-school fire department tours

Presentation for schools outside of the City limits upon request

Safety presentations of seniors

Open house during fire prevention week

Different outlets for printed newsletters

Participation in Head Start Pre-school with parents

Fire department presence in community festivals

CPR demonstrations

Fire extinguisher demonstrations (usually in conjunction with extinguisher companies)

Program “A Day in the Life of a Firefighter” presentations (most popular program)


Community service club presentation

In addition the SFD indicated they have made safety education presentations to the following

groups during the three-year study period as illustrated in the table below:

Table 52: Organizations Receiving Safety Education 2012 - 2014

Presentation Groups 2012-2014 Aktion Club JAG Class

Ashford Place Pig Roast Japanese students (Sister City)

Bark in the Park Loper Commons Bears of Blue River Festival MOPS

Community Network meeting Optimist Club

Connersville Elementary School Parks Dept Preschool

Cub Scout Troops Ryobi Fire Prevention Week Open House St. Joseph Catholic School

Girls, Inc. Trade Fair

Headstart Festival Waldron Drivers Education Class

Headstart Preschool Waldron Elementary School

Hendricks Pointe Women of the Workforce

Indiana Downs Farm Safety Day

The Fire Department could partner with the City’s police department and County Sheriff’s

Department in the implementation of the NFPA “Risk Watch Program” in conjunction with the

Lowes Home Safety Council. This program is present in cooperation with the classroom

instructor for school aged children 14 and under.

The components of the Risk Watch Program include:

Poison Prevention

Choking/Suffocation/Strangulation Prevention

Fire Prevention and Burn Prevention

Motor Vehicle Safety

Falls Prevention

Firearms Injury Prevention

Bike and Pedestrian Safety

Water Safety


Recommendation – Public Safety Education The Fire Department should incorporate the NFPA and Lowe’s Home Safety Council’s

Risk Watch Program in conjunction with the City Police and County Sheriff’s Department. Priority 5

The Fire Department budget for safety education in 2014 was $2,800 or 0.09% of the Fire

Department’s budget. Many of the safety handouts are obtained through the National Safety

Council. The safety education officer is part of a regional organization in Indianapolis who share

ideas and support to members.


Information Technology

The Shelbyville Fire Department does use information technology to a limited degree. The Fire

Department has about ten desktop computers, one notebook computer for training, one notebook

computer for the fire inspector and six mobile computers which are Panasonic Toughbooks for

the fire apparatus and ambulances.

All fire stations have internet access with Station #1 and Station #2 having fiber optic lines

installed. Fire Station #3 has internet access through Comcast Cable Company. All three

stations have access to the Fire Department network for the use of the ESO Solutions software

and the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

All ambulances and engines have computers (WDA’s), but the WDA’s are not being used to

record en-route or on-scene times with the CAD system. The Fire Department is still using the

vehicle mobile radios to communicate their en route and on-scene times.

The Fire Department is using Verizon cards in the computer for internet access and all six EKG

monitors have data packs to transmit EKG’s to the hospital. All front line apparatus and the

Battalion Chief vehicles have cell phones for communications.

The consultants were informed the major problem with the Fire Department information

technology system is that they lose internet connections multiple times daily and even dispatch

loses their internet connection.

Recommendation – Information Technology The City and Fire Department should work together in finding a solution to the problem

of the internet connection being disconnected multiple times daily. The loss of the internet connection causes problems for Fire Department operations and recording of

data. Priority 2


Fiscal/Capital Analysis

City of Shelbyville Fire Department Budget

Budget Funding

The City of Shelbyville General Fund Budget funds all of the basic services provided by the

City. The City of Shelbyville budget year is from January 1st through December 31th. The

primary sources of revenue for the General Fund budget include property taxes, Auto-Aircraft

excise taxes, CAGIT Certified Shares and Replacement Credit, alcohol and cigarette taxes,

Emergency Ambulance Fees, Fire Protection Agreements, licenses and permits, fines and

forfeitures and charges for services. The General Fund budget is used to provide funding for the

following major service areas including:

Mayor’s Office

Clerk-Treasurer Office

City Council

City Hall Department

City Attorney and City Engineer

Police Department

Fire Department

Custodian

Emergency Ambulance

Other Departments and projects identified in the annual budget document

The City of Shelbyville does contract for Financial Advisor Services with the Financial Solutions

Group, Inc. of Plainfield, Indiana. The Financial Advisor has worked with the City of

Shelbyville in developing a Recovery/Budget Analysis also called the Financial Sustainability

Plan. The Sustainability Plan takes into consideration the future City of Shelbyville Expenses

and Revenues. It is a planning document for the City to use to assure they are stable in their

financial condition and are planning their spending based on their projected revenues.

Most of the budget figures for this section have been taken from this Sustainability Plan as it

looks at multiple years of spending and revenues.


Total City Revenues for Major Funds

The following table indicates the amount of revenue generated by the major city funds for the

2012 to 2015 budget years.

Table 53: Total City Major Fund Revenues 2012 to 2015

Revenue Fund Name 2012(Actual) 2013(Actual) 2014 Budget 2015 Budget

General $13,519,212.01 $12,551,381.97 $13,281,329.00 $14,139,714.99

Motor, Vehicle, Highway (MVH)

$694,450.24 $764,988.23 $851,561.00 $1,064,763.00

Park Fund $1,566,528.21 $1,190,636.63 $1,248,709.00 $1,548,757.00

Comm. Econ. Dev. Fund $68,422.34 $72,046.99 $72,000.00 $72,000.00

Total $15,848,453.91 $14,579,053.83 $15,453,599.00 $16,825,235.59 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The City revenue increased about 6% from 2012 actual to the budgeted in 2015. In both 2013

actual and 2014 budgeted the projected revenue had a decrease from 2012 revenue.

Total City Tax Expenditures

The following table indicates the amount of expenditures for the 2009 to 2011 budget years.

Table 54: Total Annual City Appropriations 2012 - 2015

Appropriations Fund Name 2012(Actual) 2013(Actual) 2014 Budget 2015 Budget

General Fund $13,249,376.08 $12,211,500.85 $13,867,945.00 $14,347,278.00

Motor, Vehicle, Highway (MVH)

$652,162.99 $639,037.67 $935,825.00 $1,093,817.00

Park Fund $1,644,827.74 $1,304,993.47 $1,477,019.00 $1,500,000.00

Comm. Econ. Dev. Fund $23,373.67 62,110.66 $133,306.00 $0.00

Total $15,589,740.16 $14,217,642.65 $16,414,094.00 $16,941,095.00 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The City has had rather modest increases in expenditures with an 8.66% increase from 2012

actual budget to the 2015 budgeted amount. The general fund appropriations increased about

8.28% from the 2012 actual budget to the 2015 projected budget. The general fund is the fund

that this fiscal section will focus on as it is used to fund the fire and ambulance services.


The following table reflects the percentage of the total city general fund budget required to fund

the fire, ambulance and police departments for the years indicated:

Table 55: Police and Fire Department Budgets as a Percentage of Total City Budget

Department 2012

Actual

% of General

Fund

2013 Actual

% of General

Fund

2014 Budget

% of General

Fund

2015 Budget

% of General

Fund

Fire $2,925,752 21.64% $3,010,772 23.98% $3,100,742 23.34% $3,309,710 22.97%

Ambulance $1,869,499 13.82% $1,909,180 15,21% $2,054,808 15.47% $2,098,134 14.56%

Police $4,052,035 29.97% $3,893,272 31.01% $4,272,733 32.17% $4,410,622 30.61%

Total City General Fund Budget

13,519,212 65.43% 12,551,382 70.20% 13,281,329 70.98% 14,408,788 68.14%

Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The above information reflects the fact the City of Shelbyville spent an average of approximately

67.92% of the total City General Fund budget for Fire, Ambulance and Police services for the

years 2012 (actual) budget to 2015 (budgeted) budget.

The following table reflects the total amount of spending and the percentage of the City General

Fund budget for Fire and Ambulance Services for each year from 2012 to 2015.

Table 56: Total Dollars and Percentage for Fire and Ambulance Services - 2012-2015

Department 2012 Actual % of

General Fund

2013 Actual % of

General Fund

2014 Budget % of

General Fund

2015 Budget % of

General Fund

Fire $2,925,752 21.64% $3,010,772 23.98% $3,100,742 23.34% $3,309,710 22.97%

Ambulance $1,869,499 13.82% $1,909,180 15,21% $2,054,808 15.47% $2,098,134 14.56%

Total $4,795,251 35.42% $4, 919,952 39.19% $5,155,550 38.81% $5,407,844 37.53%

Total City General Fund Budget

$13,519,212 $12,551,382 $13,281,329 $14,408,788


The above table indicates that the total dollars spent for fire and ambulance services each year

from 2012 to 2015 ranged from 35.42% to 39.19% of the total City General Fund Budget.


Other Fire Department Revenue

Ambulance Service Fees

The City of Shelbyville does have a City Ordinance that allows for the collection of ambulance

service fees by the Shelbyville Fire Department. The Ordinance and fees covered under the

Ordinance include a mileage charge of $2.50 per one tenth of a mile for all transports. The

majority of City of Shelbyville Fire Department ambulance transports are to the Major Hospital

located in Shelbyville.

The following table indicates the ambulance fees allowed by the City Ordinance for both

residents and non-residents of Shelby County:

Table 57: Shelbyville Ambulance Fees

Shelby County Residents

Type of Call Fee

Basic Life Support (BLS) $1,105.00

Advanced Life Support (ALS) I $1,355.00

Advanced Life Support (ALS) II $1,645.00

Loaded Mileage $2.50 per one tenth mile

Non-Residents

Type of Call Fee

Basic Life Support (BLS) $1,230.00

Advanced Life Support (ALS) I $1,480.00

Advanced Life Support (ALS) II $1,770.00

Loaded Mileage $2.50 per one tenth mile

The City of Shelbyville had an agreement with William S. Major Hospital to perform ambulance

billing service for the Shelbyville Fire Department. This original agreement was signed on or

about December 8, 1992. In February 2014, the William S. Major Hospital notified the City of

Shelbyville with a written notice that they agreed with the Fire Chief’s recommendation to enter

into an agreement with a private ambulance billing service to complete the ambulance billing and

collection services for the City of Shelbyville. The hospital agreed with the Fire Chief’s

recommendation in the belief that the new arrangement would prove to be beneficial to both the

Shelbyville Ambulance Service and Major Health Partners.


The hospital also stated that if the new ambulance billing and collection service did not meet the

expectations of improved financial benefits then the hospital would agree to reestablish the

current billing service between the time the new billing service was implemented and December

31, 2017.

Major Hospital also agreed to commit to provide the Ambulance Department all pharmaceutical

and medical supplies at no charge to the City or County in the amount not to exceed $50,000

annually. The hospital also agreed to provide the required Medical Directorship at no charge to

the City or County for the duration of the contract.

On August 1, 2014, the City of Shelbyville Fire Department entered into a contract with Med-

Bill of Indianapolis, IN to provide ambulance billing and collection services for the fee of five

(5) percent of the monthly ambulance fee collections. The agreement also included the fee to be

paid to Med-Bill of 25 percent of all collections received on accounts placed in collection status

that had aged at least 120 days.

The agreement was for a period of two years starting August 1, 2014 with automatic renewal for

two year increments. Either the City of Shelbyville Fire Department or Med-Bill could terminate

the contract by written notice to the other party not less than 60 days prior to the termination date

of the contract.

The consultants utilized the Recovery/Budget Analysis to obtain the actual and projected

ambulance service fees for the year 2012 to 2015. Major Hospital was collecting ambulance fees

for all of 2012 and 2013. In 2014, the hospital was billing for ambulance service until August 1,

2014. At that time, Med-Bill starting billing for ambulance fees. The City of Shelbyville Fire

Department has projected higher collection rates with the new billing service. At the time this

study was being conducted the final ambulance fee revenues for 2014 were not finalized. It is

expected that the final amount of ambulance fees collected for 2014 and 2015 will increase

significantly above the 2012 and 2013 collection numbers.


The following table reflects the actual amounts of ambulance fees collected for the years 2012

and 2013 and the projected ambulance fee revenue for 2014 and 2015.

Table 58: Ambulance Service Fees 2012 to 2015

Year Hospital Med-Bill

2012 Actual $860,320.56 N/A

2013 Actual $859,223,64 N/A

2014 Budgeted N/A $1,200,000.00

2015 Budgeted N/A $1,300,000.00 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The consultants were not provided with information in terms of the amount billed on an annual

basis compared to the amount collected. In most communities the average amount collected is

usually between 70% and 75% of the total amount billed on an annual basis for ambulance

service fees. The fees collected by the City of Shelbyville for ambulance services are reflected

as City Revenue and not as Fire Department revenue, but obviously the funds are used to offset

the ambulance operating costs, which will be explained in this section.

Recommendation Ambulance Fees

The City of Shelbyville should monitor the amount of dollars invoiced for ambulance service fees compared to the amount of revenue actual collected on a regular basis. The

ambulance billing service most likely can produce the reports for the City. Priority 2

Shelby County Ambulance Service Revenue

The Ambulance Service budget is funded by the City of Shelbyville and Shelby County on a

50%-50% basis. The Ambulance Budget is based on 22 personnel that are on the Shelbyville

Fire Department being allocated to the ambulance service. In addition to the salaries and

benefits of the 22 personnel Shelby County shares the cost of general operating supplies, utilities,

phone and insurances.

On a quarterly basis the City of Shelbyville determines the operating expenses for the

Ambulance Service. The amount of ambulance service fee revenue is then deducted from the

quarterly operating expenses. The balance of the ambulance service operating costs is then

divided between the City and the County. The city then adds the County’s share of the following

expenses to determine the cost to Shelby County for the Ambulance Service for the quarter.


On August 20, 2014 the City of Shelbyville and Shelby County signed an agreement for the

allocation of the following ambulance service cost sharing formulas in addition to the 50%-50%

sharing of the salaries and benefits.

Utility expenses for Station #1 and Station #2 will be split with the City of Shelbyville

Fire Department paying 67% and the Ambulance Service paying 33% of the costs. The

33% is then split between the City and the County.

All utility invoices must be provided to the County.

All general supplies for the Fire Department will be split with the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department paying 67% and the Ambulance Service paying 33% of the costs. The 33%

is then split between the City and the County.

Annual Phone will be split with the City of Shelbyville Fire Department paying 67% and

the Ambulance Service paying 33% of the costs. The 33% is then split between the City

and the County.

All general insurance costs are divided with the county on a 50%-50% basis.

All medical insurance costs for the 22 personnel are divided with the county on a 50%-

50% basis.

The following table is a sample of what a quarterly billing for ambulance service was for the first

quarter of 2014.

Table 59: Sample Quarterly Shelby County Ambulance Service Fees

Total First Quarter Operating Costs Salaries, Benefits $371,223.24

Ambulance Fee Collection by Hospital Reimbursement

Revenue ($230,915.51)

Final Costs Total $140,307.73

Shelby County Share 50% $70,153.87

Electricity - $3,292.63 County Share $ 1,646.32

Gas - $2,458.37 County Share $ 1,229.19

Water - $254.09 County Share $ 127.05

Sewage - $152.07 County Share $ 76.04


Total First Quarter Operating Costs Salaries, Benefits $371,223.24

Stormwater - $110.88 County Share $ 55.44

Telephone – Per quarter County Share $ 651.75

Medical Insurance – Per Quarter County Share $ 36,206.55

General Insurance – Per Quarter County Share $ 6,944.50

Total County Share with Utilities $ 117,090.71

The following table reflects the annual payment from Shelby County for Ambulance Service for

2012 to 2015 as reflected in the Recovery/Budget Analysis. The years 2012 and 2013 are actual

costs. The years 2014 and 2015 were projected annual costs.

Table 60: Annual Revenue from Shelby County for Ambulance Service 2012-2015

Year Shelby County

2012 Actual $488,805.47

2013 Actual $378,784.51

2014 Budgeted $375,000.00

2015 Budgeted $375,000.00 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The Financial Advisor Services group recommended in the Recovery/Budget Analysis report

that they consider a better allocation of actual expenses for the Fire Protection and EMS

Contracts and the consultants agree with this statement, but the City of Shelbyville and the Fire

Department will need to improve the collection of data.

In the Recovery/Budget Analysis report the Financial Advisor makes a statement that “The City

Fire Chief indicated he expects a total of 4,000 runs in 2013, with 50% inside the City and

50% outside the City.” The consultants had the same number, but data (although known to be

inaccurate) indicated the 50% figure for runs outside the City of Shelbyville was not even close

to being an accurate number.

Recommendations - Shelby County Ambulance Service Costs The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department need to improve their collection of data

in order to better track the actual costs for providing ambulance service within Shelby

County, but outside the City of Shelbyville. Priority 2

The City of Shelbyville should consider renegotiating the ambulance service contract

with Shelby County. Currently costs are most likely not being allocated properly. A

contract that is based on a set amount annually with an annual increase for fees would be


easier to manage. The Fire Department probably spends a great deal of time and effort

tracking costs and may not be tracking costs accurately. Priority 3

The costs for providing ambulance service to Shelby County should not just include the operating costs as there is value to having the resources available to respond to calls.

The City has many resources available in terms of staffing, vehicles, communications,

etc. and whether the resources are used or not there is still a cost to the City of

Shelbyville that currently is not collected from the County for these resources. It could

be compared to an insurance policy. Priority 3

Fire Protection Contracts

The City of Shelbyville does contract with three Townships to provide fire protection services to

each of the communities. The contract requires that the City of Shelbyville respond to all fire

calls in each Township with at least one fire engine staffed with three personnel. The City of

Shelbyville also provides ambulance service to each of these three Townships as part of the EMS

services provided to Shelby County.

The following table reflects the annual payment made by each Township for the fire protection

services provided by the City of Shelbyville for the years 2012 to 2014 according to information

provided the Fire Department:

Table 61: Annual Townships Fire Protection Contract Revenues

Township 2012 – Amount Paid 2013 – Amount Paid 2014 – Amount Paid

Shelby Township $11,020.80 $11,020.80 $11,020.80

Marion Township $18,546.74 $18,546.74 $18,546.74

Addison Township $36,798.00 $36,798.00 $36,798.00

Annual Totals $66,365.54 $66,365.54 $66,365.54

It should be noted that the analysis of the General Fund Report indicated the following revenue

for Fire Protection Agreements for the years 2012-2014:

Year 2012 - Actual 2013 - Actual 2014 - Budgeted

Fire Protection Agreements Revenue

$48,966.54 $91,274.94 $92,000.00



The consultants have no answer as to why the amounts shown for revenue are different as

provided by the Fire Department and from the General Fund Analysis developed by the Financial

Advisor.

Recommendation - Fire Protection Contracts The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department need to improve their collection of data

in order to better track the actual costs for providing fire protection services to the three

Townships. Priority 3

Racino Funds

The City of Shelbyville receives from the Indiana Grand Racing and Casino on an annual basis.

The purpose of the funds received from the organization, referred to as Racino Funds, is to offset

the costs of various City of Shelbyville department operations including the Shelbyville Fire

Department.

The Shelbyville Fire Department receives about $150,000.00 annually from the Racino funds.

The funds are used by the Fire Department to offset the costs of fire engines, staff vehicles,

tactical equipment, computers and software, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), thermal

imaging cameras, new ambulance cots and other equipment.

Recommendation - Racino Funds The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department should have some new discussion about

the need for any additional fire protection and ambulance services expected by the

Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. If the expectation is for additional services, discussion

should be initiated as to the expectations for funding the additional services and the

reality of how the services could be funded. Priority 2

Fire Alarm Fees

The City of Shelbyville does have an ordinance that requires property owners to pay a fee

depending on the number of false alarms the property owner has per year. The following table

reflects the fees imposed for false alarms according to the city ordinance:


Table 62: Fire Alarm Fees

Number of False Alarms Fee

General Occupancies

1 to 3 Alarms No Charge

4 and 5 Alarms $100.00 Each

6,7 and 8 Alarms $150.00 Each

9 Alarms or More $150.00 Each

According to the City of Shelbyville ordinance, each January the Fire Department shall bill

alarm system owners for false alarms in the preceding year. The ordinance states that money

collected for the false alarm runs shall be deposited in the Fire/EMS Training account.

The City of Shelbyville Annual Budget indicates $525.00 in funds were collected for False

Alarms in the 2012 budget and no funds were collected in the following years.

Recommendation - Fire Alarm Fees Over the three-year period of 2012-14 the City of Shelbyville Fire Department responded

to an average of almost 113 false alarms annually based on the data provided. The Fire

Department should improve their actual collection of data regarding their response to

false alarms to accurately bill the property owners on an annual basis. Priority 2

Fire Grants

The City of Shelbyville Fire Department has applied for grants under the Assistance to

Firefighters Grant (AFG) program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency

each year from 2012 to 2014, but was not successful in being awarded a grant from this program.

The Shelbyville Fire Department also allied for grants for dry suits from the Indiana Department

of Homeland Security Foundation in 2013 and did receive a grant. The department applied for

another grant from this organization in 2015, but has not received a notice of the status of the

application as of this date.

Recommendation - Fire Grants The City of Shelbyville Fire Department should continue to apply for fire grants under

the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP) and other sources as they become

available. Priority 3


Fire Department Budget

The Shelbyville Fire Department operates with two different budgets. One budget is for the

operation of the Fire Department and the second budget is known as the Emergency Ambulance

Service. The primary reason to have two separate budgets is because in reality the Fire

Department and Emergency Ambulance Service are still considered two different departments.

The other reason is currently the amount of dollars paid by Shelby County for the emergency

ambulance service is based on a percentage of the separate ambulance service budget.

The consultants made a decision to utilize the budget numbers for this study from the

Recovery/Budget Analysis document dated November 14, 2014 instead of the budget numbers

provided by the Fire Department which were different in many instances. The consultants

considered the fact that the Recovery/Budget Analysis was developed by the Financial Advisor

Firm hired by the City.

Fire Department Operating Budget

The total annual operating fire department services budget for the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department for the years 2012 to 2015 is shown in the following table:

Table 63: Annual Fire Department Services Budget 2012 to 2015 Year Total Fire Department Services Budget

2012 Actual $2,935,752.00

2013 Actual $3,010,772.11

2014 Budgeted $3,100,742.00

2015 Budgeted $3,309,710.00 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The above table indicates the fire department services budget increased about 12.73% over the

four-year period, which equals just over 3% annual average increase.

The total annual operating ambulance service budget for the City of Shelbyville Fire Department

for the years 2012 to 2015 is shown in the following table:

Table 64: Annual Ambulance Service Operating Budget 2012 to 2015

Year Total Ambulance Service Budget

2012 Actual $1,869,498.99

2013 Actual $1,909,180.49


2014 Budgeted $2,054,808.00

2015 Budgeted $2,098,134.00 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The above table reflects an increase of about 12.22% in the ambulance services budget over a

four-year period from 2012 to 2015. This averages to about a 3% increase on an annual budget.

The total annual operating fire department services and ambulance service budget combined for

the City of Shelbyville Fire Department for the years 2012 to 2015 is shown in the following

table:

Table 65: Annual Fire Services and Ambulance Service Operating Budgets 2012 to 2015

Year Total Fire Department

Services Budget Total Ambulance

Service Budget Total Fire and

Ambulance Budget

2012 Actual $2,935,752.00 (61.09%) $1,869,498.99(38.90%) $4,805,250.99

2013 Actual $3,010,772.11(61.19%) $1,909,180.49(38.80%) $4,919,952.00

2014 Budgeted $3,100,742.00(59.64%) $2,054,808.00(39.52%) $5,198,844.00

2015 Budgeted $3,309,710.00(61.20%) $2,098,134.00(38.79%) $5,407,844.00 Source: City of Shelbyville Recovery/Budget Analysis

The above table indicates the total fire department services and ambulance service budgets

combined increased about 12.54% over the four-year period between 2012 and 2015 budget

years.

The following table indicates a detailed analysis of the Fire Department budget for the last four

years:

Table 66: Total Annual Fire Department Services Budget

Appropriations 2012 Actual 2013 Actual 2014 Budgeted 2015 Budgeted

Salaries $2,251,089.89 $2,275,612.93 $2,334,932.00 $2,468,626.00

FICA & Medicare $30,698.48 $31,360.75 $37,164.00 $37,164.00

Indiana Fire Pension $395,969.40 $377,185.27 $406,838.00 $406,838.00

Clothing Allowance $15,452.62 $14,795.16 $15,600.00 $23,400.00

New Employee Clothing $0.0 $5,000.00 $5,080.00 $7,803.00

Replacement Clothing $2,344.21 $16,800.00 $18,900.00 $18,900.00

Stationary & Printing $493.97 $870.29 $1,400.00 $700.00

Office Supplies $840.36 $952.89 $1,400.00 $700.00

Computer Supplies $1,754.45 $653.07 $2,800.00 $5,000.00

Fire Investigation $516.45 $2,543.94 $7,000.00 $5,500.00

Fire Prevention Supplies $624.42 $1,930.00 $2,800.00 $2,400.00

Investigation Education 0.00 0.00 0.00 $1,500.00

Vehicle Fuels $28,468.13 $29,665.77 $31,183.00 $35,450.00



Oil and Additives $1,800,74 $7,784.81 $7,955.00 $7,955.00

Tires and Tubes $7,918.00 $7,727.90 $11,026.00 $11,026.00

Sanitation Supplies 0.00 $1,510.25 $3,000.00 $3,000.00

Mechanics Tools 0.00 $6,016.75 $4,450.00 $4,450.00

Mechanic’s Education 0.00 $485.00 $2,500.00 $1,500.00

Repair Parts $12,071.00 $27,556.28 $12,000.00 $25,000.00

General Supplies $4,280.33 $3,195.19 $4,000.00 $3,000.00

Medical Exams $6,261.38 $4,955.00 $6,474.0 $6,474.00

Postage $544.73 $457.52 $520.00 $520.00

Travel Expense 0.00 $292.95 $300.00 $300.00

Telephone 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Radio & Communications $959.50 $1,452,80 $2,500.00 $2,500.00

Advertising 0.00 $1,500.00 $1,500.00 0.00

General Insurance $87,419.57 $89,424.63 $95,000.00 $95,000.00

Electricity $20,393.05 $29,001.95 $18,220.00 $48,289.00

Natural Gas $3,944.08 $4,588.25 $7,550.00 $20,029.00

Water $2,378.55 $3,095.42 $2,520.00 $4,009.00

Sewage $1,156.62 $1,449.53 $1,080.00 $2,040.00

Storm Water Utility $1,086.00 $1,417.68 $1,050.00 $2,021.00

Equipment $23,195.48 $17,795.13 $12,000.00 $12,000.00

Building Repair $7,202.41 $10,881.96 $10,000.00 $15,000.00

Subscription & Dues $392.50 $966.00 $1,000.00 $1,000,00

Miscellaneous $15,447.21 $19,108.01 $16,000.00 $15,616.00

Instruction $11,769.00 $12,939.03 $15,000.00 $15,000.00

Total $2,935,752.03 $3,010,772.11 $3,100,742.00 $3,309,710.00


It should be noted that the cost of health insurance for the fire department services employees is

not included in the Fire Department budget as there is a separate line item budget account that

reflects the cost of health insurance for most of the city employees as a group. The inclusion of

the health insurance costs not being included in the fire department budget is based on a

recommendation by the financial advisor for the City. There are a number of employees that are

not included in the total health insurance costs as a single line in the budget. One exception is

the ambulance service employee’s health insurance costs are included in the ambulance service

budget as a line item.


Fire Department Services Budget - Salaries and Benefit Costs

The following table indicates the cost of salaries & pension on an annual basis as a percentage of

the annual fire department services budget.

Table 67: Salaries and pension as a percent of annual fire department budget


Salaries $2,251,089.89 $2,275,612.93 $2,334,932.00 $2,468,626.00

FICA & Medicare $30,698.48 $31,360.75 $37,164.00 $37,164.00


Salaries & Pension Total $2,677,757.29 $2,684,158.95 $2,778,934.00 $2,914,628.00

Total Budget $2,935,752.03 $3,010,772.11 $3,100,742.00 $3,309,710.00

Salaries & Pension Annual Percentage

91.21% 89.15% 89.62% 88.06%


The above table reflects the costs of fire department services salaries and pension average

between just over 88 percent to just over 91 percent of the total fire department services budget

over the four year period between 2012 and 2015. The costs of salaries and pension costs

increased about 8.84 percent over the four year period. Again, it should be noted the health

insurance costs for the employees of the fire department emergency services budget are not

included in these costs and are included in a separate line item budget. The health insurance

costs for the ambulance service employees, which include 22 employees, are budgeted at an

amount of $248,053.00 for 2015. This averages the cost of health insurance at about $11,275 per

employee.

To take this average amount and calculate the cost of about 38 employees in the fire department

services budget would add an additional cost of about $428,450 to the fire department budget.

Recommendation - Fire Department Services Budget - Salary and Benefit Costs The City of Shelbyville should consider placing the costs of employee health insurance

into the fire department services budget. The placement of the health insurance costs

within the budget reflects more accurate costs of the City of Shelbyville Fire Department.

Priority 2


Fire Department Services Budget Overview

The Fire Department budget has been relatively stable during the past four years with the

majority of the budget increases related to salaries and pension. This is expected since the

salaries and pension contribute to almost 90% of the operating budget.

The other accounts that have had significant increases have been for electricity which has

increased by about 236% from $20,393.05 in 2012 to the budgeted amount of $48,289.00 in

2015.

The natural gas account has experienced the same type of increase going from $3,944.08 in 2012

to a budgeted amount of $20,029.00 in 2015, which is an increase of about 507% in four years.

Emergency Ambulance Services Operating Budget

As stated earlier in this section the Emergency Ambulance Services has its own budget. The

following table indicates a breakdown of the Emergency Ambulance Services budget for the last

four years with 22 personnel and the Fire Department Secretary from the Fire Department

included for salaries and benefits:

Table 68: Total Annual Emergency Ambulance Services Budget


Ambulance Personnel $1,180,520.34 $1,197,977.12 $1,253,774.00 $1,325,653.00

Secretary $32,141.20 $32,141.21 $34,332.00 $34,322.00

Medicare $18,503.61 $18,732.18 $21,000.00 $21,000.00

PERF $3,887.94 $3,894.13 $4,800.00 $4,800.00

Medical Insurance $165,000.00 $165,000.00 $248,053.00 $248.053.00


Clothing Allowance $8,232.26 $8,190.99 $8,400.00 $12,600.00

New Employee Clothing

0.00 $2,810.31 $5,080.00 $7,803.00

Replacement Clothing $4,720.00 $13,668.77 $13,500.00 $13,500.00

Stationary & Printing 0.00 $675.16 $1,400.00 $700.00

Office Supplies $1,148.96 $1,310.93 $1,400.00 $700.00

Computer Supplies $896.95 $1,656.05 $2,000.00 $5,000.00

Vehicle Fuels $23,897.69 $24,706.01 $25,220.00 $27,273.00

Oil and Additives $998.62 $1,932.00 $1,932.00 $1,932.00

Tires and Tubes $1,837.01 $5,406.95 $6,000.00 $6,000.00



Sanitation Supplies $3,003.63 $2,463.09 $2,500.00 $3,000.00

Mechanics Tools 0.00 $4,519.19 $4,450.00 $4,450.00

Mechanic’s Education 0.00 $504.41 $2,500.00 $1,500.00

Repair Parts $4,129.48 $9,654.26 $8,500.00 $5,000.00

Other Supplies $5,634.41 $3,904.26 $4,000.00 $4,000.00

Physical Exams $3,321.00 $2,795.00 $3,456.00 $3,456.00

Postage $184.99 $153.23 $400.00 $250.00

Travel Expense 0.00 $157.00 $400.00 $250.00

Telephone $11,444.82 $11,557.85 $10,507.00 $10,507.00

Radio & Communications

$130.76 $5,993.07 $2,500.00 $2,500.00

Printing & Advertising 0.00 $97.29 $1,500.00 0.00

General Insurance $98,000.00 $93,571.81 $56,737.00 $56,737.00

Electricity $21,359.63 $19,245.15 $25,000.00 $16,005.00

Natural Gas $4,128.51 $8,184.04 $7,550.00 $8,022.00

Water $1,168.65 $1,208.09 $2,520.00 $1,264.00

Sewage $592.01 $626.45 $1,080.00 $562.00

Storm Water $576.00 $598.32 $1,050.00 $400.00

Equipment Repair $10,485.00 $12,302.92 $8,000.00 $5,000.00

Service Contracts $28,011.66 $24,600.35 0.00 0.00

Building Repair 0.00 $14,488.46 $7,500.00 $7,500.00

Subscription & Dues $187.50 $190.00 $300.00 $300.00

Miscellaneous 0.00 0.00 $37,500.00 $37,500.00

Instruction $22,142.07 $8,757.88 $21,000.00 $15,000.00

Total $1,869,498.99 $1,909,180.49 $2,054,808.00 $2,098,134.00

Emergency Ambulance Services Budget - Salaries and Benefit Costs

The following table indicates the cost of salaries & pension on an annual basis as a percentage of

the annual fire department services budget.

Table 69: Ambulance services salaries and pension - Percent of annual budget with health insurance costs



Secretary $32,141.20 $32,141.21 $34,332.00 $34,322.00

Medicare $18,503.61 $18,732.18 $21,000.00 $21,000.00

PERF $3,887.94 $3,894.13 $4,800.00 $4,800.00

Medical Insurance $165,000.00 $165,000.00 $248,053.00 $248.053.00


Salaries & Benefits Total $1,613,267.38 $1,623,261.20 $1,760,026.00 $1,852,895.00

Total Budget $1,869,498.99 $1,909,180.49 $2,054,808.00 $2,098,134.00


86.29% 85.02% 85.65% 88.31%


The above table reflects the costs of emergency ambulance services salaries and benefits average

between just over 85% to just over 88% of the total emergency ambulance services budget over

the four-year period between 2012 and 2015. The costs of salaries and benefit costs increased

about 14.85% over the four-year period. Again, it should be noted the health insurance costs for

the employees of the emergency ambulance services budget are included in these costs. Again,

the health insurance costs for the ambulance service employees, which include 22 employees, are

budgeted at an amount of $248,053.00 for 2015. This averages the cost of health insurance at

about $11,275 per employee.

The following table reflects the cost of the emergency ambulance services department without

health insurance costs being included as a percentage of the total budget.

Table 70: Ambulance services salaries and pension - Percent of annual budget without health insurance costs



Secretary $32,141.20 $32,141.21 $34,332.00 $34,322.00

Medicare $18,503.61 $18,732.18 $21,000.00 $21,000.00


Salaries & Pension Total $1,444,379.44 $1,454,367.07 $1,528,163.00 $1,579,042.00

Total Budget $1,869,498.99 $1,909,180.49 $2,054,808.00 $2,098,134.00


77.26% 76.17% 74.37% 75.25%

Emergency Ambulance Services Budget Overview

The emergency ambulance service budget has been relatively stable during the past four years

with the majority of the budget increases related to salaries and pension. This is expected since

the salaries and pension contribute to almost 88% of the operating budget including health

insurance costs. Health insurance costs increased from $165,000 annually in 2012 to

$248,057.00 in 2014 and 2015, which is a 50% increase.

The other accounts have had minor increases, but considering the high percentage of total fire

department emergency calls are for ambulance service the consultants could not see any issues

with the ambulance operating budget. The only issue is whether or not all of the costs for the

ambulance service are being allocated to the operating budget for the ambulance service

properly.


Fire Department Capital Budget

The Shelbyville Fire Department does not have a capital improvement budget within the Fire

Department budget. When the purchase of capital equipment or projects are made the costs are

normally funded by the Cumulative Capital Development Fund, funds from the Indiana Grand

Racing and Casino annual payment to the City of Shelbyville or through a lease purchase

program.

Recommendations – Capital Budget A five-year capital outlay plan should be developed for the Fire Department in order to

be better prepared for the long-term expenditures required. Priority 2

A fire apparatus purchase plan should be developed that realigns with the consultant’s

recommendations for future vehicle purchases and with realistic cost estimates. Priority

2


Summary of Recommendations

Priority Section Recommendation

1 Facilities

Station #3 should provide a secondary means of egress from the

second floor in the event of an emergency. The door to the second

floor stairwell should be two-hour rated and the hole between

floors repaired.

1 Human

Resources

Change the Kelly Day practice to ensure that the Kelly Day falls

within the pay cycle of the longest work days. Employees should

not be allowed to work the Kelly Day as it defeats the purpose.

1 Human

Resources Payroll should be based on the hours worked and time off within

the 28 day cycle; not equally divided by the 26 pay periods.

2 Apparatus Equipment

Records should be maintained for all annual pump testing and

aerial ladder and ladder testing.


Once the two new engines are delivered in fall 2015, the current

Engine 1, a 2005 Pierce, will become Engine 4. Strong

consideration should be given to operating Engine 4 out of Fire

Station #2 as the primary fire response vehicle, except for target

hazard occupancies. This is known as cross-staffing vehicles and it

is common in many fire departments the size of Shelbyville.


The need to permanently maintain two aerial ladder apparatus in

the City of Shelbyville fleet is not necessary based on the size of the

community. We are not recommending taking the 1993 Sutphen

Ladder #1 out of the fleet inventory at this time, but if it becomes a

major problem due to maintenance costs then it should be removed

from the fleet.


The City and Fire department should consider the possibility of

remounting the three ambulances on new chassis when the vehicles

are due for replacement. The costs savings would benefit the city

and the taxpayers. With the buyout at the end of the five-year lease

purchase there is a strong possibility the ambulances could be used

for another couple of years before remounting is completed.


When the lease purchase agreements end on the current

ambulances the City and Fire Department should purchase a new

ambulance on a lease purchase. With the current three ambulances

being purchased and eventually remounted there would then be

four ambulances in the fleet. If the goal of the city and the

department is to have three ambulances in service, it will be

necessary to have four ambulances in the fleet.



2 Emergency Activities

The department leadership should query data fields outlined in this

report on a monthly basis, for utilization in all of the above listed

categories in the department’s management.


Fire department leadership should implement a data quality

control/assurance program overseen by the Battalion Chiefs and

submitted to the Deputy Chief monthly.


The Fire Department should seek additional training from ESO-

Solutions™ on data entry and retrieval procedures.


The department leadership must ensure that all future data from the

City’s and County’s CAD systems and that from their own data

management system provide identical numbers. This is best

accomplished through monthly quality/assurance meetings with the

PSAP directors and the department leadership.

2 Facilities

The consultants are recommending that a new fire station not be

constructed at this time to serve the Northeast area of the City, but

as the area develops and as the number of emergency calls in this

area increase, then the need for a fire station can be reevaluated.

2 Facilities Fire Station #1 and all new and existing fire stations be equipped

with fire suppression (sprinklers) and fire alarm systems that are

monitored by the PSAP.

2 Facilities Station #1 should install a direct pipe to the outside of the building

to supply intake air for the air compressor used to fill the self -

contained breathing apparatus bottles.

2 Facilities Station #2 should have their sprinkler and alarm system monitored

by an off-site central alarm company.



2 Facilities Station #3 should have a fire alarm system installed. This system

should include smoke and carbon monoxide detection.



2 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

On-duty shift personnel should be assigned to develop pre-plans

while conduction company inspections. Each shift should be

assigned the inspectable occupancies in which to inspect and

develop pre-plans.

2 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

The Fire Department needs to implement an aggressive pre-fire

plan program that over time will create a pre-fire plan for all non-

residential buildings.



2 Fiscal

The City of Shelbyville should monitor the amount of dollars

invoiced for ambulance service fees compared to the amount of

revenue actual collected on a regular basis. The ambulance billing service most likely can produce the reports for the City.

2 Fiscal

The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department need to improve

their collection of data in order to better track the actual costs for

providing ambulance service within Shelby County, but outside the

City of Shelbyville.

2 Fiscal

The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department should have some

new discussion about the need for any additional fire protection

and ambulance services expected by the Indiana Grand Racing &

Casino. If the expectation is for additional services, discussion

should be initiated as to the expectations for funding the additional

services and the reality of how the services could be funded.

2 Fiscal

Over the three-year period of 2012-14 the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department responded to an average of almost 113 false alarms

annually based on the data provided. The Fire Department should

improve their actual collection of data regarding their response to false alarms to accurately bill the property owners on an annual

basis.

2 Fiscal

The City of Shelbyville should consider placing the costs of

employee health insurance into the fire department services budget.

The placement of the health insurance costs within the budget

reflects more accurate costs of the City of Shelbyville Fire

Department.

2 Fiscal A five-year capital outlay plan should be developed for the Fire

Department in order to be better prepared for the long-term

expenditures required.

2 Fiscal A fire apparatus purchase plan should be developed that realigns

with the consultant’s recommendations for future vehicle purchases

and with realistic cost estimates.

2 Human

Resources In the next negotiations change the calculation of overtime to the

2,912 rate. Any potential savings could be used on the base pay.

2 Human

Resources Detailed time sheets – per employee – should be submitted to the

City payroll department for more accurate time reporting.



2 Information Technology

The City and Fire Department should work together in finding a

solution to the problem of the internet connection being

disconnected multiple times daily. The loss of the internet

connection causes problems for Fire Department operations and

recording of data.

2 Response Time

Dispatch

SFD has complete control of how long it takes for apparatus to

leave the station once they have been notified. SFD times received

were for EMS only; therefore, the NFPA standard would be 60

seconds. SFD times were 65 seconds or only 8.3% higher;

however, fire turnout times were not provided. The Fire Department leadership should begin to track turnout times and

although only slightly higher than NFPA standards; striving to

reach the NFPA standard.

2 Training

The department should develop and implement training competency testing for all members to be conducted a minimum of semi-

annually. Members showing deficiencies should receive remedial

training.

2 Training

The consultants recommend that all members who drive and

operate department pumpers, aerial devices, and EMS ambulances

be required to obtain and maintain the respective driver’s

certifications throughout their employment.

2 Training

Leadership needs to reassess if “other tasks” and no work on

Sundays is of greater value to the department than required

training. Nothing should diminish the safety of emergency

responders, and training offsets those dangers the best.

2 Training

The City and Fire Department members must realize the liability of

lack of training and lack of proper documentation of training.

Documentation of training is as important as the training itself.

The department would benefit from greater emphasis placed on

training and documentation.

2 Training All officers should be required to obtain a minimum of two hours

per month in addition to all other training requirements.

2 Training

There are significant opportunities to improve the entire training

program in the SFD; especially in “Facilities, and Use”, and “New Driver and Operator Training”. Greater emphasis on the part of

Fire Department leadership needs to be invested in the training

program.




As long as the City Financial Consultant approves of purchasing

fire department apparatus through the municipal lease purchase

program with the buyout at the end of the lease at a cost of $1.00, it

should be continued.


When the time comes to replace Ladder #2 it should not be

maintained in the fleet as a reserve aerial ladder as we are

recommending that only one aerial ladder be maintained

permanently.


The Fire Department vehicle replacement plan needs to be updated

on an annual basis and communicated with the Mayor, Public

Works and Safety Committee and the City Council so planning and budgeting for the future purchases can be accomplished.


The on-duty staffing should be re-allocated to allow for a third

ambulance to be placed in service on a daily basis. This will

require existing resource deployment changes (perhaps jump

company – individuals respond with the apparatus which best meets

the caller’s needs). The additional ambulance billing income (not

loss when a private ambulance is called) will help to offset the

operational expenses.

3 Facilities Three options give regarding fire pole - two recommend discontinue use.

3 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

The department should develop a company fire inspection program

where each of the three shifts would be assigned a given number of

occupancies each month to complete.

3 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

Training of shift personnel on how to conduct company inspections

should be done by the Fire Inspector. Issues found by the shifts that

exceed their training or are unique should be referred to the Fire

Inspector.

3 Fiscal

The City of Shelbyville should consider renegotiating the

ambulance service contract with Shelby County. Currently costs

are most likely not being allocated properly. A contract that is

based on a set amount annually with an annual increase for fees

would be easier to manage. The Fire Department probably spends

a great deal of time and effort tracking costs and may not be

tracking costs accurately.



3 Fiscal

The costs for providing ambulance service to Shelby County should

not just include the operating costs as there is value to having the

resources available to respond to calls. The City has many

resources available in terms of staffing, vehicles, communications,

etc. and whether the resources are used or not there is still a cost to

the City of Shelbyville that currently is not collected from the

County for these resources. It could be compared to an insurance

policy.

3 Fiscal The City of Shelbyville and the Fire Department need to improve

their collection of data in order to better track the actual costs for

providing fire protection services to the three Townships.

3 Fiscal The City of Shelbyville Fire Department should continue to apply

for fire grants under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

(AFGP) and other sources as they become available.

3 Human

Resources

The city needs to change the players at the negotiations table to

include the Fire Chief, Human Resources Director and a labor (or

City) attorney.

3 Human

Resources Develop a performance evaluation process that focuses on

professional development opportunities.

3 Human

Resources Within the next few years, consider instituting some succession

planning so that employees are prepared for a promotion.

3 Human

Resources Codify the promotional process so that the policy, contract, and job

descriptions align.

3 Human

Resources

Update job descriptions to include supervisory skills, training, and

experience required for the positions. A good employee does not

automatically equate to a good supervisor. Training and

experience should be required – from the lieutenant on up.

3 Human

Resources Work to involve the City’s Human Resource Department in the

recruitment and personnel function of the Fire Department.

3 Response Time

Dispatch

The City should investigate if there are technology improvements

that could enhance emergency caller’s information into the CAD

system that would shorten the “creation time”.

3 Standard of Response

The standards of response coverage is a worthwhile internal

assessment to address the all hazard risk potential impacting the

department. Within the next year the SFD should utilize this tool in

developing a strategic plan.



3 Training

All fire officers and those members that could fill-in for absent fire

officers (acting officers), should be required to obtain and maintain

as a minimum, certification as Fire Officer I, Fire Officer II and

Fire Officer Strategy and Tactics.

3 Training Members that have the responsibility of delivering training classes

should at minimum be certified as Fire Instructor I.

3 Training

The Deputy Chief should ensure that all members of the department

meet the EMS required hours as dictated by the Project Medical

Director, and meet the ISO newly established 210 hour of fire

training per member annually.

3 Training

The consultants encourage the emphasis placed on pre-fire plans as

it is a significant safety factor for responding personnel. These pre-

fire plans are best suited for electronic transmissions to the mobile data terminals in the fire apparatus.


Organize a cooperative effort for the City mechanics and Fire

Department mechanic to aid one another in a time of need under

the lead of the respective lead mechanic.


Records should be maintained for all vehicle preventive

maintenance and repairs.


The SFD could benefit from creating a better working relationship

with the surrounding volunteer fire departments.

4 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

The fire inspector should consider the “self-inspection” program

for businesses that have a proven track record of compliance with

all fire prevention codes and regulations.

4 Human

Resources Consider making a few changes in the employment application to

reduce the possibility of identity theft of the candidates.

4 Training

The department should establish certification goals and needs that

best serve the needs of the SFD. The department’s efforts should

encourage members to seek these certifications which would be

paid for by the City. Those not identified as primary certifications

would not be paid for by the City.

4 Training

The training calendar should be more comprehensive and designate

a time of day dedicated to training. Postponement or cancellation

of training at that time should be limited to emergency responses

only.

4 Training Training material created by instructors such as PowerPoints,

lesson plans, etc. should be kept in the training library for future

use either as a class or individual training.




We are recommending that Squad #2, a 1999 model which is the

Manpower/EMS vehicle and the 2001 model School station car

both be removed from the Fire Department fleet. It appears these

vehicles were in the Fire Department fleet and when they were

replaced with new vehicles the Fire Department just maintained

them in the fleet and redesigned their purpose.


The City should provide the needed resources to ensure that all

departments’ activities data reports are accurate and can be easily

validated without alteration to explain the numbers.


The Fire Department should investigate the ThinkMap® mapping

technology which could better illustrate the exact locations of

emergency incidents allowing department leadership to quantify the

use of existing resources and future needs of additional resources.


All parties would benefit from focusing on the opportunities for

improvements and work cooperatively with other agencies to ensure

a system of checks and balances is established; coupled with

implementation of a data quality/assurance program. As long as

the parties argue whose data is correct this opportunity will be

missed.

5 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

The pre-fire plans should be developed through the ESO Solutions®

software module incorporated in the data management system and

the plans should become part of the training curriculum.

5 Fire Prevention

Safety Education

The Fire Department should incorporate the NFPA and Lowe’s

Home Safety Council’s Risk Watch Program in conjunction with the

City Police and County Sheriff’s Department.

5 Human

Resources Evaluate the FLSA provision of sleep time if and when the City’s

budget becomes fiscally challenging.

5 Human

Resources Consider a number of the recommendations for changes in the

contract to bring a more balanced – employee and City – contract.

5 National

Standards

The City should not adopt NFPA 1710 standard. Adoption would

include the adoption of all OSHA and NFPA standards by reference

included in the document. However, a plan should be developed to

meet as many NFPA 1710 standards as possible in the future.

5 National

Standards The Fire Department leadership must ensure that the OSHA “two-

in/two-out” rule is practiced on all structure fires.

5 National

Standards

The Fire Department should not seek international accreditation

(CPSE) at this time; rather the CPSE should be used as a guide in

reviewing department operations and the types of documentation

needed.



5 National

Standards

Although NFPA standards are not mandatory, it is in the City’s best

interest to become aware of the components in the standards in

which the Department would be held accountable in the event of a catastrophic event.

5 Staffing

The consultants would not recommend any additional staffing for

the Fire Department until data collections methods improve to the

status that the justification for additional staffing is available and

accurate.

5 Staffing

The consultants would not recommend an additional staffing for the

Fire Department until the issues with allowing the granting of Kelly

Days has been addressed since the number of Kelly days being

provided to all members of the Fire Department now equal over six

full-time positions in equivalent time worked. The issue of Kelly

Days is further addressed in the Human Resources section.

5 Standard of Response

All future capital expenditures should be evaluated against the

SORC distribution, concentration, and reliability criteria.


Appendix A -Data Requested - Fire/EMS Component

Show each year data separately i.e. 2012, 2013, and 2014 – do not group them

We request data in an electronic format on a flash drive or disk

If an area does not apply simply indicate NA

Do not send this information. Once collected we will meet with you on site to review it.

Call if you have any questions – especially before conducting hand counts

General Information

Overview of the department

History

Overview of the area protected

District

City/Village

Population – Residents of Protection Area

In-flux or Out-flux of Daytime Population

Department’s Strategic Plan

Response District –

Map Of Coverage Area

Map Of the District

Map Of Area Of Concern For Relocation Of Station

Map Of Contiguous Surrounding Area Showing Department Stations Locations

Total Square Miles Protected

Square Miles Of Hydrant Area

Square Miles Of Non-Hydrant Area

Personnel Management/Human Resources

Current Roster Of Members

Personnel (information needed for all employees)

List of members (sworn and non-sworn)

Hire date

Age or date of birth

Organizational Chart

# of Career

# of Paid On Call

# of Paid On Premise

# of Volunteers

# of Other Employees (Include civilian)


Rank Structure (Number Of Employees In Each Category)

Current salary of each employee (name, rank, salary)

Spreadsheet – name, rank, current salary,

(if possible, a spreadsheet with the benefit breakout -health, pension, taxes, etc. for fiscal year of the study)

Labor agreement

Department’s By-Laws (if corporation)

Police & Fire Commission or Civil Service Regulations

Employee Policy & Procedure Manual (prefer electronic version)

Promotional Process – including forms utilized

History Of Turnover (All Employees Last 3 Years – Include Reason and/or Exit Interview Data)

Recruiting/Retention Programs

Hiring Process (all forms)

Application

Hiring packet

Reference questions

Interview questions

Etc.

Grievances/Discipline Issues

Performance Evaluation process and forms

Last year’s overtime by employee – include rank

FLSA pay cycle (if not in contract)

SOG/SOP Manual – prefer electronic copy – (sure to include HR policy section)

ESD and/or Department Employee’s Handbook

New employee Orientation Process – (packet and/or forms)

The Department

Department SOG’s

Department Rules & Regulations

Annual Reports – Last 3 Years

Current ISO Rating

Last ISO On-Site Evaluation (copy of point distribution sheet)

Accreditations – National Or State

Last On Site Evaluation

Others

Emergency Activities – Last 3 Years (All Sub-Sections)

# Of Emergency Responses

(NFIRS) Type of Responses: Structure Fires, Auto Accidents, Brush, Mutual Aid,

Fire Alarm Systems Both Commercial &/or Residential, False, Etc.

EMS Responses # of: ALS, BLS, non-emergency Transports/Transfers, etc.

Incidents By Time Of Day


Incidents By Day Of The Week

Incidents By Month

Calls Breakdown by Area (City, District, Town, Etc.)

Distribution by Shift

Distribution by Station

Response Times: (include documentation from dispatch)

Notification time

Turnout time

Drive time

Mitigation time

Mutual Aid – Auto Responses (Given & Received) – With Whom? – Copy(ies) of Written Agreement

Simultaneous (Overlapping) Call Data

Dispatch (PSAP)

Who provides dispatch

Cost

Dispatch data – time from receiving call to FD notification

Who answers 9-1-1

Who answers cellular 9-1-1

# of Employees

# of Shifts

Staffing per Shift (minimum & maximum)

EMD Program

Dispatchers/Call Taker Certifications

Fire Station(s) – include mailing address for each station – include City & Zip

Current Facilities

# Of Stations – Street Address

Square Footage – (Floor Plans for each if available)

Age

Future Facility Plans/Needs Documents

Apparatus & Equipment –

Type Of Apparatus (I.E. Engine, Ambulance, Utility, Truck – Include

Manufacturer)

Apparatus department ID number

Pump & Tank sizes

Mileage

Engine Hour Reading (if appropriate)

Vehicle VIN Number

Age Of Apparatus

Manufacturer


Replacement Schedule

Special Teams Apparatus

Specialized Equipment: Haz Mat, Water Rescue, etc

Radio, Type And Frequencies

Computers (Number of, Type, Age, Replacement Plan)

In Apparatus?

Software Programs

Training

Training Records (Last 3 years) for each member

Training schedule

Training hours per month per employee

Training Curriculum & Lesson Plan

Instructors qualifications

Training Manual

Certifications Categories (state)

Special Teams – certifications

All current employees certification level

Fire Prevention –

Number of inspectable occupancies

History Of Inspections & Re-Inspections (Last 3 Years)

Identification of Codes Adopted

Safety Education

Public Safety Education Programs

Public Safety Education Data (Last 3 Years)

Fiscal

Past three years of audited year financial statement

Current year audited financial

Past three years budget

Operating – include all revenue and expenses

Capital - include all revenue and expenses

Financial policies and procedures

Purchasing policies

Equipment or Capital reserve fund ledger

Overtime records

Ambulance information –

Ambulance revenue current year and two previous years

Ambulance billing contract

Copy of ambulance rates charged and authority for those rates i.e. ordinance


Identification of all accounts for the department

Account details for each of the above accounts – last three years

Revenue

List of grants applied for and/or received for current year and two previous

years

List 2% fire dues received current year and two previous years

List and explanation of any other department revenue received i.e. inspections fees, permit fee, etc.

Other information needed:

Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) if multiple communities for all

Resource Hospital

Project Medical Director contact information

Involvement level with resource hospital

Breakdown of where patients are transported (3 year period)

Any Additional Information Deemed Important

Revised: January 2015


Appendix B – SFD 2014 Data Correction Process

March 26, 2015

Chief,

To create the ESO vs. Cad Spreadsheet that I created, I pulled a run report from ESO. I

researched the operation of the CAD and worked with a knowledge of databases. I found all

tables that might contain fire runs, pulled and sampled a small collection of data to determine if

my suspicion was right. Finding that my suspicion was correct, I then got exports of the two

major parent tables and had those exports sent to Excel. I marked each report as to where the

data came from. Then, I copied the data from all three reports into a single spreadsheet. I had

the spreadsheet highlight all duplicate numbers. Next, I sorted the data by CAD number, so that

it could be seen that each Cad number resided in ESO and a specific CAD table. I then removed

the spare data from the CAD tables, to make the document something that could actually be

scrolled through. I also had the spreadsheet count the columns and numbers to verify the number

of CAD numbers that had an exact duplicate. I also had it provide a count of non-duplicated

number of CAD numbers just to see what did not verify against each other. I think this small

number of runs contains typos or there might be another table that I might be missing.

To create the overlapping runs report, I used our 4406 runs per ESO data. I built a report from

ESO, to pull the CAD numbers with the corresponding time of dispatch and time of call

completion. I then exported that data to an Excel spreadsheet. In Excel, I wrote a formula that

said to look at the dispatch time of a run, then look at the call completion time of the previous

run. If the dispatch time of the call is less than the call completed time of the previous run, the

computer recognized that it was an overlapping time, and it inserted the word overlapping. If the

inverse was true, it inserted the word typical. From there, I wrote another formula that searched

the column with the words typical and overlapping. If the word overlapping existed it added a 1,

if the word typical was there it inserted a 0. At the end of that column, I inserted a sum

calculated by the computer, thus all the number ones add up to the total overlapping calls.

My Shelbyville Fire pageout table is the result of contacting the Nixle Company and asking that

they pull a report from their database of all pages sent from the S.F.D. account. From there, I

simply removed any pageout that was not about overtime or backfill. This was a function that I

had to manually, since I could not find value to ask the spreadsheet to automatically handle.

To create a true an accurate document, which shows how many responses were dispatched in

each station geographic response area, regardless of which apparatus took the run; I again took

our 2014 ESO data, exported the response address to an excel spreadsheet, then imported that

spreadsheet into our ThinkGis system. Once in GIS, I had GIS plot those locations to the county

map. Due to typos and the way the two programs store information, there will be a small margin

of errors in this report. However, based on the number of runs which were plottable, the margin

will be less than 5%. From there, I was able to search the appropriate E.S.N. layer for the

number of responses within that E.S.N. For the Consultants, an E.S.N. is the layer of the map

which contains the geographic area covered by all emergency services in the county. Each

service has specific geozones within the layer. After pulling each station's response addresses by


geozone, I then simply had the spreadsheet count the number of entries per geozone. This

document is labeled ThinkMap Plotted Data.

In addition to ThinkMap plotted data, I went in to ESO and pulled the number of responses by

apparatus to show how many runs each department apparatus took. This number does and

should add up to a total larger than 4406 as many calls get more than one apparatus. This

apparatus response report reflects the actual number of calls taken by each apparatus, and shows

all corresponding cad number responses to substantiate the total call volume for each truck.

While I was in ThinkMap pulling data, I also created a datasheet pulling runs from the E.S.N. at

the Casino and immediately adjacent to that building in the small geographic area associated

with the casino annexation. This report is labeled as Northwest area.

Shane Scott


Appendix C – PSAP 2014 Data Correction Process

The PSAP provided 12 months of revised data in which they believe they were able to come

within 45 calls of that provided by the fire department. One month sheet is illustrated below:

Figure 36: PSAP Correction May 2014 FD Calls

Pag

e 2

of 2


Although the figure above had to be reduced to fit into the report it is readable enough to

determine there are three total calls for the month of May. The first is “MAC.FIRE.SFD.SFD

EMS”: 364. This number represents the total EMS calls the fire department responded in May.

The second total call number is “MAC.FIRE.SFD.SFD FIRE” 239. This was explained to be the

number of incidents in which a fire apparatus responded.

The third total call number is “Total Incidents”: 384. This is defined as the most accurate

activity of the fire department for May 2014.

The challenges are numerous by first reading the categories which make up the total “MAC”

total = 364. It was explained that if a call began as a police call and the fire department was

dispatched in conjunction with the police the fire department data became part of the police CAD

entry and therefore all of the police categories listed involved the fire department.

The second total number of “MAC” total = 239 would be fire calls not involving EMS if the

EMS categories were subtracted. However, the consultants have been repeatedly told the SFD

policy is to send both an ambulance and fire engine/quint on all EMS calls; therefore, fire and

EMS calls should be the same number in that category.

The third total “Total Incidents” mostly aligns with the fire departments data. The challenge is

mathematically the consultants are unable to come up with the 384 number by subtracting any

combination of the May’s listing unless picked arbitrarily.

The PSAP supervisor spent considerable effort in finding the most accurate data but the process

in which she had to utilize would be unachievable to anyone without the expertise of the CAD

system such as she possesses. The supervisor did not make these number up; rather she took the

time to examine a sampling of records that didn’t make sense such as the category “theft” and

remove all “test calls”. The results of this efforts is illustrated in the table below:


PSAP FD Difference

Jan 384 383 1

Feb 318 314 4

Mar 390 391 -1

Apr 326 324 2

May 390 375 15

Jun 367 358 9

Jul 364 359 5

Aug 376 370 6

Sep 403 403 0

Oct 367 361 6

Nov 374 367 7

Dec 410 401 9

Total 4,469 4,406 63

The explanation included that the dispatchers are human and will make entry errors and without

a quality control program these errors can go uncorrected until they have to be verified. Being a

dispatcher is a very high pressure job and when dispatchers error in the side of getting help more

quickly to the person in need over perhaps a CAD entry mistake, it is unfair to blame the

dispatcher. The system must be reexamined to determine if it is designed to eliminate entry

errors to the fullest degree. One should not have to attempt to subtract incidents from a police

report to determine the number of fire department incidents.

Without a doubt the PSAP supervisor illustrated her desire to identify the CAD issue and rather

than attempt to defend the data differences or the position of finding fault; rather demonstrated

her desire in finding solutions that would correct the problem.


Appendix D: City Employee Handbook Review

In discussions with the Human Resources Director, the consultant conducted a review of the

City’s employee handbook. The following are suggestions for future editions.

Introductory letter: Add genetic testing to the list of non-discrimination.

Notice: Suggest adding the difference in employee groups – bargaining unit and at-will

employees.

Personnel File: Indicate where the employee’s official personnel file is located. It should be in

the Human Resources Department – not in each department. Develop a process of how

employees can view their file – notice; number of days to respond; someone from HR has to be

present; and the ability to get copies.

Hourly and Salary Employees: Define what is a salaried employee – able to receive overtime;

and salary – does not receive overtime and works the number of hours necessary to complete the

job.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Need to add the new Genetic Information

Nondiscrimination Act – GINA policy to this section.

Standards of Conduct: Suggest moving to later in the handbook. Look at the flow of

employment – hiring, pay, benefits, policies, discipline, layoff, termination and place polices

within this flow. Easier to read and find.

Department Heads: Department heads should be considered exempt employees and not earn

compensatory time. Suggest changing to a flexible schedule policy to account for the various

off-hour meetings.


Wage & Salary Policies: Add a section that establishes the official work week for payroll

purposes. For example, Sunday at midnight through Saturday at 11:59. This is required under

the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Excessive Absenteeism or Lateness & Record of Absence or Lateness: Considering moving

to the policy after Attendance – would flow better.

Sick Leave: The sick leave payout needs to be calculated as a liability on the City’s budget, so

hopefully finance is taking care of that. Consider raising the maximum of 30 days and have the

balance put in a health retirement account to pay for medical expenses at the time of retirement.

FMLA: Update the policy to include the military family leave entitlements

Page 40 – font changes to bold

Insurance Premium During Leave of Absence: Since the City provides such a lucrative leave

policy – 100% of pay for 90 days – consider changing this language to the City continuing

insurance while in a paid status. In the event it goes beyond three months, it would force

employees to use accumulated leave. Also suggesting either here, or in the Leave section, what

an employee is required to use first to get to 100% pay – so for example; after 90 days of 100%

pay, the employee must use accrued but unused sick leave until exhausted; then vacation.

Worker’s Compensation: Consider adding a light duty section where employees are

encouraged to return to a light duty assignment.

Missing Policies:

American’s with Disabilities Act

Immigration Law Compliance

Weapons in the Workplace

Computer Network, Cell/Smart Phones & other Communication Devices

Camera Phones & Other Recording Devices

Social Media


Use of Vehicles for City Business

Pay Period & Pay Days

Overtime and Calculation of Overtime

Workplace Violence

Drug and Alcohol Policy

Overall, well done and easy to understand. Considering putting the date in the footer so

employees know they have the most recent version.