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Home My WebLink AboutFIN 2019-08-12 Item 2B - Discussion - Fire Marshal's OfficeCity of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor TO: INFOR ATIONAL EMORANDU Finance Council Committee FROM: Vicky Carlsen, Finance Director Jay Wittwer, Fire Chief Ben Hayman, Fire Marshal CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: July 17, 2019 Updated after July 22, 2019 Finance Committee meeting 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: a. Plan review and associated inspections (inspections for new and existing businesses are not currently being done) b. Limited code enforcement c.Fire investigation The office is staffed as follows: Position FTEs Notes Captain 2 Inspectors Battalion Chief 1 Fire Marshal Senior Fire Project Coordinator 1 Plan Reviewer Ad in 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. 17 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 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 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 byFire Marshal's /Office Actua|s Budget 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Operational Permit Fees $ 78.836 $ 44.175 $ 24.825 $ 12.400 $ 10.507 $ 21.400 Plan Re\�evwFees 52,363 46.973 66.895 74.103 78.628 75.000 ReinopectionFeee 1.000 300 300 100 2.000 $130.198 $ 80.448 $ 92.020 $ 86.503 $ 87.235 $ 98.400 Overtime Expenditures $ 78.861 $ 61.330 $ 82.838 $ 89.875 $ 08,356 $ 61.143 Actual and Proiected Budaet for Fire Marshal's Office — Prevention and Investiqlation ' Actuale Budget 2014 2015 2018 2017 2018 2019 Prevention & Investigation $824.802 $815.137 $828'408 $864,092 $907.865 $834.853 Revenues and Fees for Services As can be seen above, the actual revenues and fees for services from the Fire Marshal's Office donot 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 o few fees and how they compare with our neighboring cities. There is m recommendation toupdate these fees tVbe competitive with our neighboring cities. Some ofthe 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 onsize and scope ofeach project. Small Remtaurart—Fine Protection Fees $6,]7O SnmaURestauran%-FineProtectionFees $2,833 $2,836 $2,840 �7o74 ~. .,. -_' $1,511 $1,295 $I'I]§ Kent Kirkland Bellevue Tukwila Lynnwood 3eaTac Covington Renton VRFA Tukwila Proposed Current 18 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 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. 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 SeaTat Bellevue Renton VRFA Current Covington Tukwila Fees Tukwila 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 o4?" cog High Pile/Rack Storage- OPERATIONAL $268 $258 $200 $200 • • ••• ••••"••••'• ••••'• • „ ........., $175 $175 $155 $150 oc,6 a c,° 44\\ •&- •SN) $125 $ID) 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. 19 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 Current Workload The following table outlines the main responsibilities of the Fire Marshal's Office, this includes Construction Permit Review, Plan Reviews and Construction Permit Inspections. The Fire Marshal is required by statute and TMC 2.24.020 to report all fires of criminal, suspected criminal, or undetermined origin to the State Fire Marshal. Current Workload 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Construction Permit Plan Reviews: Land Use, Public Works, and Mechanical Permits 566 531 542 555 633 Plan Reviews: Sprinkler, Fire Alarm, Kitchen Hood, and UL 300 Construction permits 264 216 259 250 238 Construction permit inspections 703 624 789 744 737 Fire Investigations Conducted 111 66 83 87 68 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Reviews and Investigations 2014-2018 MEAMEMMUM. .VAIMIMMOMMUMMOVML 2014 2015 2016 Construction Permit Plan Reviews: -Plan Reviews: 'Construction permit inspections Fire Investigations Conducted 2017 2018 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 streamlined, which areas can be provided in a different fashion (e.g. contracted or as part of a regional service), and which areas need to be reprioritized. These will be addressed more fully at a later date. Services which could be done outside the Fire Marshal's Office Some of the current services provided by the Fire Marshal's office could be done 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/GIS and could be more streamlined to not have the Fire Marshal's office as the lead agency. 20 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 maybe an opportunity to reevaluate 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 pmrnn|te. e.g. Boeing Celebration and major events. This involves working across several City departments. The City will be reviewing where beat to have this function reside with the Fire Marshal's office providing input, but not being the lead agency. The result of these three changes would be to provide more capacity to our Fire Marshal's Office to meet other higher priority services. Other Services -HiOh Services Inspections ofNew and ExistinqBusinesses and Plan Review Inspections for businesses include annual business inspections, inspections for new businesses, and follow-up on confidence teat reports. Confidence teat 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 bv suppression crews but this began tochange in 2014. The change was mainly due to new training requirements and standards set bvthe South County Fine Training ConaonUUOn and was also a policy change because these inspections may not have been the most efficient use of Suppression 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 t0the Fine Marshal, there are over 1.700 existing businesses in need of inspections and approximately 700 expired operational permits for activities, orthe sto[aQe of, -such as explosives, hazardous materials storage and production, carnivals and expositions, underground tank removal, compressed gases, .crVoqenic fluids, LP,gases,hot work, propane tank installation, and other activities that are deemed hazardous by the Fire Marshal International Fire Code that should be inspected for compliance. Enforcing critical life safety fire codes in achoo|s, apartment bui|dingo, shopping nna/|e. hotels, .and large industrial or nnaMufacturinq businesses are considered .bythe Fire Marshal to be a high priority. .but due tothe .current staffing nnndei the office is unable toPerform= The following chart shows historical fire preventiondata including inspections performed the last few years and who performed the services. Asnoted hlthe 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 2017 2018 LifeSafetv|nepectiono- Completed bvFire Suppression Crews 1.388 859 458 Life Safety inapaotions- [|o[np|ehad by Fire Marshal's Office 3 2 Operational Permit Inspections - Completed by Fire Suppression Cravvo 770 461 228 21 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 6 There are ways in which we can prioritize which buildings are necessary to inspect, and how often the inspections The^—'orit« of the occupancies need to beinspected bv certified inspectors, due to the complexitV of manv business operations and the proper application of the fire code. There are also staffing considerations that can be considered to balance the workload. For instance, suppression crews could be assigned to do certain inspections, which did occur in past years. This would raise situational awareness of the structures when crews respond to emergencies. Staff will provide anupdated list of types of businesses and options on how best to provide this service and recover costs for these services. New Business and Confidence Test Reports Per this Office, annually there are approximately 150 new businesses that should be inspected to ensure that new operations are operating safely and complyinq with applicable life safetv codes. Per the Fire Marshal, due to the current staffinq model, the office is unable to inspect these businesses. 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 oOmp|ated7 Code Enforcement Fire Code enforcement issues are forwarded to the Fire Marshal from suppression crews or other city staff. Per the Fire Marshal, due to the current staffing model, the office is unable to follow up on the majority offire code issues. Additional data on what types of code enforcement issues and volume of work will be presented ate later date. Genera|Requirements—FlroCodeOfficio| The International Fire Code ) is a modelcod that regulates minimum fire safety requirements for new and existing buUd|ngo, faoiiiUeo, etorage, 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. In addition to the|FC, Revised Code of Washington the Tukwila Municipal Code, 16.1O adopted and amended the 2Q15|FC. Public Duty Doctrine As stated abuve, some services currently provided by the Fire Marshal's Office are authorized while other services are required tobeprovided. |ndiscussing services provided bvthis office, it is important to keep in mind what potential liability the City could face in changing oen/iva levels or processes. Under the public duty doctrine, when oobx'sduty iaowed bzthe public adlarge fire suppression and inspection duties), 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 aawhen eOofficer oremployee makes direct assurances toamember ofthe public under circumstances where the person justifiably relies on those assurances); or when an officer or employee, such as mbuilding official, knows about aM'inherently dangerous condition, has aduty tUcorrect it(i.e.law ooy8 that the City "shall" correct the condiUon), and fails to perform that duty.Tay|orv. Stevens 22 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 7 County, 111 Wn.2d 159, 171-72,759 P.2d 447 (1988). In general, however, governmental entity will not be liable to a private party for failure to perform duties that that are owed solely to the general public (a duty to all is a duty to no one). 23 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 8 Revised Fee Schedule At the July 22. 2018 Finance Committee nneetinq, a discussion was held on the current fee schedule for the fire department. |twas noted that there isanimbalance between actual revenues and fees for services for the fire nnmreha|'o offioe, and that m review ofthe fees phovvn that the current fees have not kept pace with the market and noiqhborinqcities. Staff indicated that they would return to Committee with GM updated fee schedule. An updated fee schedule has been prepared and included onthe oqendafor Auqust12.2O19. Policy Decision hoRemove Life 8afetyInspections from Suppression Crews At the July 22nd Committee meetinq, it was stated that suppression crews previously provided life - safety inspections. Staff was requested to provide additional information as to why suppression crews stopped perforn1inqthese inspections. Per fire department ataff, mupAnsoakJn orevva were doinq inspections duhnq the day but were suspended due to the increased amount of time needed to meet the Firefqhter tr@inimq requirements of the VVashinqton Administrative Code (UV/\C), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Additional troininq by the TraininO 'Consortium is raquirad, some of the c|oaaee are considered best prmoticeS, vvhi|o othartuaininq is recommended to heepfirefightera safe while porfornninq the duties oftheir iob. Prior toioiningthe TcaininQ CUnoortiunn, suppression crews were not nnaetinQ the tnainiOq r8qUirmonants, but were doinq conduotinq life safety inspections. CaUvo|unlea|eoincneaoedeiqnUfioantlybmtween2O14and2O17VxithrnoetoftheinoreaoeincoU volume attributed to EK8G oa/ka. Total number of oaUo in �-13 vvon4.7Q9 but by 2017. total call volume was 5.851. o qrovth of22Y6 in three years. With the increase in traininq requirements coupled with the increase in call volume, the workload presented by the inspections was not sustainable. Options h2Address Current Workload A phased approach toaddresoinO the current workload situation in the Fire K8areha|.o Office is proposed. Near -Term 1. /\ddreaanO: To effectively streamline and automate the add[eoojnq pnooeas. TlS and [)C[} will be vvorkinQ jointly with the FK8{]hotransition this work from FW1{]tmT|G. Key elements of the transition include thefo||ovvinq: a. DCD will be responsible for initiatinq additions and chanqes to all addresses. b. T|G\wi||. based on the type ofaddrees'ng requent, make the chenqea tothe sinq|esource addreaoinq laver, and will work with an external supplier to verity emergency access points. T||Swill also send out automated communications to KinO County, E911. Valley ConnnnunioaUona, applicable utility services and US Postal Service. c. Fire Marshal's Office will approve ennerAenoy access points and confirm that the new address makes sense for emenlenoyresponders. 2. New Business License Application Reviews: The current process for ravhexvhlq business 24 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page VVithatremnnUninQ the add prooeno. the business license application process can also be streamlined. The Fire Marshal's Office will classify the business occupancy type.. 3. Special Event Permits: Staff iecommitted torevevvnq this process and daVe|o[inOaprocess that meets the needs ofall departments involved with this process. Staff will beconveninQa meetinq to improve this process. Mid -Term In early 2019. the Fire K8arohm|G from both the City of Tukwila and PuQst Sound ReOiona| Fine Authority (PGRFA)started discussion onthe Possibility ofashared services model. Discussions on a shared service model occurred in the pasd, as early as 2016. but did not qaintngction until early this year. Both the City and P8RF8 perform s|nn||or services to oonln]un|t|oa /n this region and both aqenoiaa deal with similar |eoumo. Both the Qty's fire department and P8RFA believe that oonnbin1nq efforts could meet the needs in both communities. The Fire Chiefs from Tukwila and PSRFA are discussing details reqardinq a shared services model and both are in full support of this concept. Staff recommends this approach and will be returninqwith anirtedoca|aqneementoutlininq the details of service levels to be providod, total costs, and benefits of o shared services model. RECOMMENDATION 25