AGENDA #4

February 27, 2002
Chapel Hill Fire Department
Initial Budget Presentation to the Mayor and Council
2002-2003

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Chapel Hill Fire Department is to protect life, property and the community environment from the destructive effects of fire, disasters or other life hazards by providing public education, incident prevention and emergency response services.  Our priorities are:  (1) Safety; (2) Service; and (3) Morale

Brief Services Description:

§         Fire Suppression

§         First Responder – Emergency Medical

§         Vehicle Extrication and Basic Rescue

§         Fire Code Enforcement through an Inspection Program

§         Disaster Management and Emergency Operations Center

§         Public Education through In-house and Out-Reach Programs

§         Fire Cause and Determination Investigations

§         Contact Department for Citizens’ Inquiries/safety and environmental

§         Development of Domestic Preparedness Capability

Departmental Revenue Estimates:

Departmental Base Budget Cost Estimates:

Administrative Division

Emergency Operations Division

Life Safety Division

Fire Department Totals

Recent Budget History:

§         Building Station #5 and adding 12 personnel to staff it

§         Adding 6 personnel and squad to address Federal OSHA 2 in – 2 out and to reduce the call volume on Tower unit

§         Improvements to rescue and special hazards capability

§         Award of $184,000 U.S. Fire Administration grant to replace breathing apparatus

Programs Going Well:

§         First Responder – Increased the survival rate of patients due to cardiac arrest from 5% to 25% due to the semi-automatic defibrillators carried on all fire trucks.  Program affords residents experiencing medical and traumatic emergencies trained firefighters on scene in less than four minutes in greater than 95% of the calls. Ensures rapid response of medical aid prior to Orange County Emergency Medical Services arrival.

§         Public Education - Demand for public education services has continued to increase over the past year. Our programs, like the child safety seat program have become very popular and new parents continually drop by the fire stations to have seats properly installed. Public education program demands in the schools have also increased. We are still working with Risk Watch in schools on a limited basis and hope to continue to expand that program in the near future.

Programs That Could Be Improved:

§         Training – Quantity of training provided good but quality and consistency needs improvement indicating need for a Training Officer. Burn Building repairs need completed so that facility is fully useable.

§         Operational Staffing – despite recent increases, staffing levels are still below comparable size communities and communities with comparable hazards.

Proposed Reductions

§         Because of the extreme budget constraints this year, all Department heads are preparing recommended reductions for consideration by the Manager.