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Home My WebLink AboutFIN 2019-07-22 Item 2D - Discussion - Fire Marshal's OfficeCity of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor TO: INFOR ATIONAL E ORANDU Finance Council Committee FROM: Vicky Carlsen, Finance Director Jay Wittwer, Fire Chief Ben Hayman, Fire Marshal CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: July 17, 2019 SUBJECT: Fire Marshal Office Discussion ISSUE Review responsibilities of the Fire Marshal Office (FMO) including current services provided, options for providing services, required minimum levels of service, and liability associated with providing and/or not providing services. BACKGROUND The Fire Marshal Office currently provides several public safety services including: - Plan review and associated inspections (inspections for new and existing businesses are not currently being done) - Limited code enforcement - Fire investigation The office is staffed as follows: Position FTEs Notes Captain 2 Inspectors Fire Marshal Battalion Chief 1 Senior Fire Project Coordinator 1 Plan Reviewer Admin Support Technician 1 Staffing levels for this office have remained at five since 2011. Prior to 2011, the staffing level was six FTEs. Budget The Fire Marshal's Office is a division within the fire department and the process to develop the budget is the same as for the fire department. Finance staff drafts the budget for personnel costs and fire staff provide budget requests for supplies and services. In addition to the expenditure budget, revenues generated by departments are also budgeted and revenue backed expenditures are trued up at a department level. For example, if a department expects to receive a grant for $10 thousand, the revenue is budgeted and expenditures of $10 thousand are also budgeted so that the net effect on the total general fund budget is zero. The chart below shows revenue received specific to the Fire Marshal's Office. The chart also gives the total overtime budget and demonstrates that total revenue generated by this division 65 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 exceeds the total overtime budget. It should be noted that not all overtime is considered to be reimbursable and not all revenue generated is a result of overtime costs. Revenue Generated by Fire Marshal's Office Actuals Budget 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Operational Permit Fees $ 76,836 $ 44,175 $ 24,825 $ 12,400 $ 10,507 $ 21,400 Plan Review Fees 52,363 45,973 66,895 74,103 76,628 75,000 Reinspection Fees 1,000 300 300 100 2,000 $ 130,199 $ 90,448 $ 92,020 $ 86,503 $ 87,235 $ 98,400 Overtime Expenditures $ 79,661 $ 61,330 $ 62,638 $ 89,875 $ 88,356 $ 61,143 Actual and Projected Budget for Fire Marshal's Office - Prevention and Investigation Actuals Budget 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Prevention & Investigation $824,862 $815,137 $826,468 $864,692 $907,865 $834,653 Revenues and Fees for Services As can be seen above, the actual revenues and fees for services from the Fire Marshal's Office do not balance with the expenses. Recently, the fees associated with the fire department have been reviewed and research shows that Tukwila's fees have not kept pace with the market. The charts below show a few fees and how they compare with our neighboring cities. There is a recommendation to update these fees to be competitive with our neighboring cities. Some of the fees listed below are increases to existing fees and others are new fees that other cities charge that Tukwila currently does not charge. It should be noted that the fees listed below are approximate and would vary depending on size and scope of each project. Small Restaurant - Fire Protection Fees $6,370 $3,308 Small Restaurant - Fire Protection Fees $2,833 $2,886 $2,840 $2,074 $1,822 $1,511 $1,295 $1,136 Kent Kirkland Bellevue Tukwila Lynnwood SeaTac Covington Renton VRFA Tukwila Proposed Current The current Small Restaurant fee for Tukwila $1,136, whereas the neighboring cities range from $1,295 up to $6,370 for this similar service. A proposed increase to $2,886 would still be within the average range for these fees. 66 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 Fire Protection Fees — 5-Story Hotel $19,241 $12,594 Fire Protection Fees- 5 story hotel $6,509 $6,490 $6,202 $5,356 $4,913 $3,860 $3,192 $2,961 Kent Lynnwood Kirkland Proposed SeaTac Bellevue Renton VRFA Current Covington Tukwila Tukwila Fees The current 5-Story Hotel fee for Tukwila is $3,192, whereas the neighboring cities range from $2,961 up to $19,241 for this similar service. A proposed increase to $6,490 would still be within the average range for these fees High Pile/Rack Storage — Operational $338 $321 $300 High Pile/Rack Storage- OPERATIONAL $268 $258 $200 $200 $175 $175 , .......... . ...................... $155 $150 c'sc (2,6 „.,•<&" oc‘b 2P6 N.O‘ • k --Q c (C‘ CS OC'e CC' (2s C,c) • 'b s L34 • - • .$) $125 The current High Pile/Rack Storage fee for Tukwila is $150, whereas the neighboring cities range from $100 up to $338 for this similar service. A proposed increase to $300 would still be within the average range for these fees. Recommendation: Update current fees and permit schedule to current market standards and averages. To act on this recommendation, staff will need to produce a list of current and proposed fees and an ordinance to implement the new fee schedule. Staff would continue the review of our fees and comparison with our surrounding neighbors. Current Workload The following table outlines the main responsibilities of the Fire Marshal's Office, this includes 67 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 Construction Permit Review, Plan Reviews and Construction Permit Inspections. The Fire Marshal isrequired by statute eund' K8C2.24.O2Obzreport all fires Ufcriminal, suspected criminal, or undetermined origin to the State Fire Marshal. 2014 2015 2016 2017 2010 Construction Permit Plan Reviews: Land Use, Public Works, and Mechanical Permits 566 531 542 555 633 Plan Reviews: 8ohnk|er, Fire Alarm, Kitchen Hood, and UL3O0 Construction permits 264 216 259 250 238 Construction permit inspections 703 824 789 744 737 Fire Investigations Conducted 111 66 83 87 OO 900 800 700 600 soo 400 300 zoo 100 0 Reviews and Investigations 2014-2018 2015 _ Construction Permit Plan Reviews: —,—Plan Reviews: --, Construction permit inspections Fire Investigations Conducted Current Services Provided As mentioned earlier, the Fire Marshal's office has several duties that need to be reviewed and evaluated as to which services should remain within the Fire Marshal's office, which services and programs need to be stnaan1|ined, which areas can be provided in a different fashion (e.g. contracted oraa part of regional servioo), and which areas need to be nyphoriUzed. These will beaddressed more fully otalater date. Services which could bedone outside the Fire Marshal's Office Some of the current services provided bythe Fire Marshal's office could bedone by other parts of the organization or are already being done by other departments. Specifically, these include: 1)City Addressing —This is currently being coordinated through Technology Services/G|8and 68 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 5 2) New Business License Reviews — The Finance Director is responsible for reviewing our current review process for new business licenses and with the change to State Licensing it may be an opportunity toreevaluate the need and priority for the Fire Marshal's Office review. 3\ Special Event Permit Coordination — Historically, the Fire Marshal's Office has been the project manager for all special event permits, e.g. Boeing Celebration and major events. This involves working across several City departments. The City will be reviewing where h8at to have this function reside with the Fire K8arohe|\a office providing input, but not being the lead agency. The result of these three changes would be to provide more capacity toour Fire Marshal's Office to meet other higher priority services. Other Services Inspections ofNew and Existing Businesses and Plan Review Inspections for businesses include annual business inspactione, inspections for new buoineeses, and follow-up on confidence teat reports. Confidence test reports are reports received by this Office that show deficiencies or malfunctions within o business's fire sprinkler or fire alarm systems. Previously, inspections were provided bvon-duty suppression crews but this began bachange h7 2014. The change was mainlydue tonew training requirements and standards set bvthe South County Fire Training Consortium and was also o policy change because these inspections may not have been the most efficient use of personnel. This change has left many inspections not being done at this time. /\ key policy question is how best to balance the requirements for inspections, the need and then the cost recovery options for these inspections. According to the Fire Marshal, there are over 1.700 existing businesses in need of inspections and approximately 700openationa| permits for activities such as explosives, hazardous nnpderio|e storage and prUduotion, carnivals and expoeitiono, underground tank ramovm|, compressed gases, hot work, propane tank installation, and other activities that are deemed hazardous by the Fire Marshal that should be inspected for compliance. Enforcing critical life safety fire codes in aChoo|e, apartment bui|diOgs, shopping nla||a` hotels, and large industrial businesses are considered by the Fire Marshal to be high priority. The following chart shows historical fire preventiondata including inspections performed the last few years and who performed the services. Asnoted inthe chart, suppression crews performed many inspections 2014 through 2016, but have not been involved inspections since 2017. Life Safety and Operational Permits 2014 2015 2016 2817 2018 Life Safety Inspections — ` Completed by Fire Suppression Cnavvo 1.388 S±H 458 Life Safety inspeotiono— Completed by Fire Marshal's Office 3 2 OoeraUona|Pernnit|nspeoUono— Completed by Fire Suppression Cn*vvs 770 461 229 There are ways iAwhich vVecan h ritize which buildings are necessary Uuinspect, and how often 69 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 6 balance the workload. For instance, suppression crews could be assigned to do certain inspections, which did occur in 000t years. This vvQu|d raise situational awareness of the structures when crews respond to emergencies. Staff will provide an updated list of types of businesses and ooUoDa on hnyv best to provide this service and recover costs for these services. New Business and Confidence Test Reports Per this Offioe, there are approximately 150 new businesses that should be inspected to ensure that new operations are operating safely. Additionally, the Office receives approximately 500 confidence test reports each year that show deficiencies or malfunctions with fire sprinkler or alarm systems. The Fire Marshal believes it is important to follow up on these reports to ensure that the needed repairs are completed. Code Enforcement Code enforcement issues are forwarded to the Fire Marshal from suppression crews or other city etof[ per the Fire W1oraho|, due to the current staffing nnode|, the office is unable to follow up on the majority offire code issues. Additional data on what types of code enforcement issues and volume ofwork will be presented at a later date. General Requirements — Fire Code Official The International Cod is amodel code that regulates minimum fire safety requirements for new and existing buildings, facilities, gtoroge, and processes. The |FC addresses fire prevention, fire protection, life safety and safe storage and use of hazardous materials in new and existing buildings, facilities, and processes. |naddition hzthe |FC. Revised Code ofWashington . the Tukwila Municipal Code.10.1O adopted and amended the 2015 IFC. Pub|icOutv Doctrine As stated above, some services currently provided by the Fins Marshal's Office are authorized while other services are required to be provided. In discussing services provided by this office, it is important to keep in mind what potential liability the City could face in changing service levels or processes. Under the public duty doctrine, when anit«sduty isowed bothe public at large | fire suppression and inspection duUesl, an individual who is injured by an alleged breach of that duty has novalid claim against the City orits officer Oremployees. There are certain exceptions to the public duty doctrine, such as in cases where a special relationship is created (such as when anofficer or employee makes direct assurances to a member of the public under circumstances where the person justifiably relies on those assurances); or when an officer or employee, such as a building gff/da|, knows about an inherently dangerous condition, has @ duty to correct it (i.e. |ovv says that the City "shall" correct the condition), and fails to perform that duty. Taylor v. Stevens County, 111VVn.2d159.171-72.759P.2d447(1988)` |ngeneral, however, governmental entity will not be liable to o private party for failure to perform duties that that are owed solely to the general public (a duty to all is duty to no one). RECOMMENDATION 70