Administrative BriefVolume 32, No. 27
September 9, 2010
ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF FROM CHIEF LARRY MULLIKIN
FIRE DEPARTMENT
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On August 27, the Salina Fire Department (SFD) was honored to accept the nomination award for
the from the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) in Chicago. The
“Award of Excellence”
award process involved the selection of the seven best programs
or initiatives underway within the fire service world-wide. All of
the nominees received an award for the nomination itself and a
$500 prize. Pictured is the award being presented to the City of
Salina’s Fire Department by the IAFC CEO and U.S. Safety Fire
Technologies President, along with many fire chiefs from across
the nation and foreign countries. The nomination for the award
is the highest organizational recognition bestowed upon fire
departments. Co-sponsored by the IAFC and U.S. Safety Fire
Technologies, this award recognizes innovations and
achievements in managing resources to reduce the loss of life
and property from fire and other emergencies.
This prestigious honor was conceived in 1989 by the current IAFC President, Chief Ronny J.
Coleman, and sponsoring partner, Wayne Boyd, president of U.S. Safety Fire Technologies. Over
the years, nominations have come from nearly every program area such as management, fire
prevention, personnel accountability systems and minority hiring pr actices. The following is a
description of the finalists.
Allen (TX) Fire Department - SimLab: The Allen Fire Department has worked with a computer
software company to create a multiple-participant simulated environment where firefighters can
practice suppression, communication and incident command decision making skills without risk
to personal safety or company equipment. This virtual world allows training staff to immerse
personnel in a highly realistic simulated environment that responds to the actions of those
entering it. Used in combination with an effective curriculum, SimLab has proven to enhance the
skills of incident commanders.
Fairfax County (VA) Fire & Rescue Department - Fire Alarm & Sprinkler System Training
Lab (FASST): The lab provides hands-on training with all types of fire protection systems and
simulations for real life scena rios. The variety of fire prot ection systems in the FASST Lab
enhances the training available not only to fire service and fire protection industry personnel, but
also to building engineers and property managers and owners.
Kansas City (MO) Fire Department - Citizen Assist Program (CAP): The CAP is an
innovative community partnership that allows firefighters to marshal community resources
needed to address citizen problems encountered in the field. Social workers and nurses provide
assessment, intervention planning and system advocacy to make needed services work
effectively for those unable to adequately access and use them without assistance and support.
Its unique structure allows access to and use of non-tax funding sources not ordinarily available
to fire departments.
Commission Information Memorandum
Page 2
Salina Fire Department - Performance Analysis: The Performance Analysis process requires
fire captains to present performance data relating to emergency fire, medical calls, fire-
prevention activities, target hazard preplanning and risk analysis and projections of growth or
alarm loading to the SFD chief officers, city manager, and county administrator. The formal
presentation by the captains is followed by a Q&A session where the captains respond to
questions on performance and efficiency. The process is patterned after the Compstat process
started in New York and Boston with one important exception: the analysis takes place at the
execution level involving captains and is not targeted at chief officers.
North East Fire Collaborative: This was formed by four fire chiefs representing five suburbs of
Cincinnati in southwest Ohio. This Collaborative is unique as it brings together fire personnel
from municipal, township and private fire departments. Imagine, in this economy, being able to
provide safer and better managed fire grounds while improving overall department efficiency
through jointly contracted services, common specifications, purchasing and training and policy
standardization. This answers the demands from the community for more fiscal responsibility
while increasing the ability to more efficiently meet NFPA 1710, saving taxpayer dollars.
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District - Information-Led Management (ILM): ILM is a
district pioneered framework that defines the organizational processes necessary to ensure
statistics in key organizational areas are collected, compiled and made available to managers
and supervisors in time for effective use. ILM emphasizes high accountability at all organizational
levels; reinforces a culture of quality through an accountability system that provides relevant,
accurate and timely work product informati on; educates managers and others on how to
effectively use compiled statistics; and establishes performance benchmarks that translate into
organizational improvement. ILM also incorporates union leadership in a way that engages and
motivates the membership to create a culture of sustainable quality and outstanding service
delivery.
Wilson (NC) Fire/Rescue Services - Fire & Life Safety Adventure House (F&LSAH): The
F&LSAH is an educational center devoted to addressing everyday living situations where there
may be an existing hazard or fire- and life-safety threat typically found in residential settings.
F&LSAH has been implemented to facilitate, capture and validate specific, measurable
knowledge-based change in the visitors who come through educational life-safety programs. The
targeted educational emphasis throughout the house, coupled with the ability to adjust programs
and develop new ones that address changing issues, significantly aids the safety interest of the
Wilson-area community.
The top award ultimately went to the Kansas City Fire Department for their “Citizen Assist Program.”
However, for the City of Salina and the SFD to be on the national stage and receive this kind of
recognition is a testament to the quality of service, the quality of officers, and quality of leadership
from the City Commission, City Manager’s Office, and SFD. The only other department to receive an
award nomination was the Dodge City Fire Department in 1994, for the “Esto Es Fuego Program.”
MONDAY’S MEETING
Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has questions or cannot attend the
meeting, please contact me.
Jason A. Gage
City Manager