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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSS 2021-08-02 Item 1C - Discussion - Fire Marshal's Office Alternativesof Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Fire Chief Jay Wittwer BY: Deputy Chief Norm Golden Fire Marshal Ben Hayman Finance Director Vicky Carlsen CC: Mayor Ekberg DATE: July 27, 2021 SUBJECT: Fire Marshal's Office Services ISSUE The Community Services & Safety Committee has asked for information on what services the Fire Marshal's Office (FMO) currently performs, and what services are currently not being provided. The Council will need to determine the appropriate service, costs and staffing. Current Services: The Tukwila FMO, like all Fire Marshal Offices provide four main services, Fire Investigations, Development Review, Fire Inspections and Other Services (mainly public record requests). The FMO has focused on Development Review to support the development process. This area is closely tied with the Department of Development and supports the city desire to attract development. 23 Provided Not Provided Fire Investigation Substantial Fires X Minor Fires X Development Review Fire Construction Review X Non -Fire Construction Review X Land Use X Fire Construction Inspections X Fire Code Enforcement Life Safety Inspections X Operational Permits X New Business Inspections X Impaired Systems Follow Up X Code & Safety Violations X Other Public Records Requests X Address Management X Lock Box Management X Records Retention X 23 24 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 Fire Investigations: (YES) Substantial Fires - 60 — 75, 12-14 monthly (YES) Minor Fires — 120-140 Annually, 10-12 monthly All fire investigations are being performed at this time. We have two certified Fire Investigators in the FMO. They will do all fires requiring a certified fire investigator and as many of the Minor Fires as circumstances allow. These are unplanned events that occur at any time. The Certified Fire Investigators are also the Certified Fire Inspectors and maintain a full schedule of Development Review (and inspections) duties. These schedules are interrupted by fire investigations and cause disruption in the other duties. Note: Origin and Cause is required for all fires and can be done by Fire Captains, Battalion Chiefs, and/or Certified Fire Investigators. They can be done by Tukwila Fire staff or, when no Tukwila staff is available, King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) Backlog — None, all fires are being investigated for Origin and Cause by either Tukwila Fire staff or KCSO. Minor Fires are not being investigated by Certified Fire Investigators due to the amount of time this would take and the impact to their other work supporting Fire Development Review Services. Fire Development Review Services: (YES) Fire Construction Permit Plan Review — 200-300 Annually, 17-25 monthly (YES) Non -Fire Construction Permit Plan Review — 400-450 Annually, 33-38 monthly (YES) Development Land Use Permit Review — 60 - 70 Annually, 5-6 monthly (YES) Fire Construction Permit Inspections — 350-400 Annually, 29-33 monthly The FMO currently applies all available staff to this area. The city encourages and supports development and growth. Contractors seek streamlined permitting/inspection services when looking for areas to do a project. The FMO works in conjunction with the Department of Community Development (DCD) to provide these services. Backlog — None. Turnaround times will vary with workload, complexity, and staff availability. Fire Code Enforcement Services: (NO) Business Life Safety Inspections — 2,500 (varies based on frequency 50-200 monthly) (NO) Operational Fire Permit Inspections — 400-600 Annually, 34-50 monthly (NO) New Business Fire Inspections — 200 Annually, 17 monthly (NO) Follow Up on Impaired Fire Protection Systems — 500 Annually, 42 monthly (YES) Follow Up on Known Fire Code and Fire Safety Issues — 75 Annually, 6 monthly The FMO does not have the staffing to conduct/follow up Life Safety inspections, issue Operational Permits, or conduct New Business inspections. An automated system (BRYCER) notifies the FMO of impaired fire protection systems in the city. The FMO does not have the staffing to follow up on these notifications (to get the system back up to code/functioning). The FMO will follow-up and correct any known fire/life safety issue that is identified. This will cause a disruption in the schedule as life -safety issues require immediate action. This is reactionary, and the best practice is to be proactive to prevent the issue for occurring. Backlog — These are not being done currently https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Fire/FMO Workload Memo 7-21-21.docx INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 Other Administrative FMO Services: (YES) Fire -related Public Records Request - 150 - 200 Annually, 13-17 monthly (NO) Address Management — 75 Annually, 6 monthly (NO) Lock Box Program Management— 1,100 boxes in the city (YES) Records Retention (EMS records, Fire Investigations, Training, etc.) Public Records Requests have a specific protocol for the city to follow in responding to a request. There are specific timelines to follow and failing to properly respond subjects the city of potential penalties/litigation. The FMO identified this area as a high-priority and shifts administrative time to address all the requests. FMO input into address assignments for construction projects is important for continuity and to ensure the system "makes sense" for first responders. Having a rubric such as odd number addresses on the north and west sides of the streets, and even number addresses on the south and east sides of the streets is an example. It helps first responders predict the location of emergency calls. The Lock Box program is for occupancies that have fire protection systems such as automatic fire sprinklers, or a monitored fire alarm system. An access device (card, key, code, etc.) is secured in the Lock Box and the fire department has the key to access the Lock Box. This allows entry to the inside of an occupancy to be inspected by responders without them having to force entry (and damage the property). The FMO creates records that are required to be retained by the city. Some of these records are in "hard copy" and stored in boxes. A plan to digitize the records would be beneficial in many ways. Digitize records are significantly cheaper to store, locate, and provide to requestors. Currently, the FMO is retaining the records, but there is not staff to undertake the digitization plan. Backlog — Some Public Records Requests are delayed by the lack of staff to respond to the request. All requests are acknowledged with the specified time and a projected time to produce the records is given to the requestor. The delay in producing the records will depend on the current workload of the staff (mostly the Administrative Technician). Some records must be reviewed by Legal before being released. DISCUSSION The level of service provided is a policy choice of each jurisdiction. The level of service and cost of staff will need to be balanced versus other high priority issues within the Fire Department, such as suppression services, with other services provided by the City, such as police and public works, and with the available revenues to support ongoing service levels. The following proposed scheduled outlines a process to methodically review these service options and costs and provide a roadmap for these policy decisions to be discussed at the Council committee and with the full Council. The proposed timeline takes into account the current Fire Advisory Task Force schedule which contemplates adding in broader community input into the Fire Service discussions. This schedule would allow these options to be provided to the Task Force to ensure a comprehensive view of all Fire Services, including the Fire Marshal Office. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Fire/FMO Workload Memo 7-21-21.docx 25 26 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 Proposed Schedule July/August — o Community Safety and Services Committee Meeting on July 19 and August 2 - outlining current services of FMO office and high-level options for possible service alternatives. • August/September o Review service levels in surrounding communities (Renton, PSRFA (Kent, SeaTac), VRFA (Auburn) o Review options for restarting Fire Code Enforcement Services — low, medium, high • October o Review Pricing/Staffing Options for services o Provide information to Fire Advisory Task Force for consideration • November o Possible budget amendments/contracts for services • December o Execute options • January 2022 o Agreed upon new service level begins Throughout there would be Council Committee and full Council of the Whole deliberations. Fire Advisory Task Force The Fire Advisory Task Force will start their process in September 2021 reviewing all Fire Service Options and this information could be combined with the Task Force and/or be a separate work plan. REVIEW OF SERVICE LEVEL OPTIONS As mentioned previously, a key policy issue for the City Council is what service levels does Tukwila want to provide in these four areas? Below is a high level review of the four main areas of service and possible options for high, medium to low level of services for staff to analyze further. Review of Zone 3 Service Levels Renton RFA, Puget Sound RFA, Valley Regional Fire Authority (VRFA), and South King Fire & Rescue all provide FMO services in Zone 3 as outlined in all four areas. The frequency and degree of service varies and could be adjusted for the City of Tukwila to fit our specific needs. The following is a primer of the levels of service typical of Zone 3. A range from "High Level" (Gold Standard) to "Minimum Level" is used to bracket the options. Fire Investigations: High Level = All fires are investigated by certified and experienced fire investigator Minimum Level = Origin and Cause is determined by someone that responded to the fire (usually a company officer (Captain or Lieutenant) that is not certified. Fire Investigation is variable in how investigations are conducted and the certification of the investigator. The common practice in Zone 3 is to have all Substantial Fires investigated by a certified fire investigator. Some departments also follow up suspicious fires in the Minor Fire https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Fire/FMO Workload Memo 7-21-21.docx INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 5 category with certified fire investigators. Some departments will use company officers on the responding fire engines to investigate minor fires and simply determine origin and cause. Criminal fires are handed off to local law enforcement. Fire Development Review Services: These services can be billed under the city approved fee schedule with the goal of being cost neutral. High Level = On -staff Fire Protection Engineer (FPE), all plans reviewed by certified and experienced staff. Short turnaround times. Minimum Level = FMO staff reviews plans and offers input to building officials. Turnaround times that are longer based on staffing. Most FMOs in our area focus on providing a high level of service in this area. Certified and experienced staff will be integrated into the permitting process to streamline the process for the client. One relevant measure of service level in this area is "turnaround time" which is the time needed to process a set of plans from the intake day to the approved plans. This is generally measured in weeks, and most developers would consider a 4 -week turnaround time to be acceptable. Some plans require a FPE to review and stamp the plans prior to approval. This can inject considerable time into the turnaround time and delay a project. The VRFA has one of their certified fire plan reviewers pursuing their FPE certification to keep this process in-house (thus shortening turnaround time). Fire Code Enforcement Services: These services can be billed under the city approved fee schedule with the goal of being cost neutral. High Level = Using certified fire inspectors to conduct inspections on all occupancies under the most frequent Washington State Ratings Bureau (WSRB) criteria. NOTE: The WSRB rates fire services based on established criteria for insurance companies to use in determining fire insurance premiums. Minimum Level = No inspections are performed or performed by non -certified staff. This is an area with a lot of variability and scalability. Most inspection programs focus on the medium and high hazard occupancies and their related operations that require an Operational Permit to conduct. A certified fire inspector can conduct an inspection of the occupancy on a frequency determined by the desired level of service. One of the functions of the WSRB is to evaluate FMO inspection programs. The highest rating is given to programs that inspect Ultra- high hazard occupancies quarterly, and all other occupancies at least annually. Most systems in Zone 3 will inspect high hazards annually to every 18 months, and medium hazard occupancies from annually to every three years. Some systems will also inspect low hazard occupancies from annually to every three years, or not at all. Some systems use a Company Inspection program that sends non -certified, but trained crews to conduct inspections of low hazard occupancies as time allows during their normal shifts. These inspections are rarely pre -scheduled and sometimes interrupted by emergency calls. While the https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Fire/FMO Workload Memo 7-21-21.docx 27 28 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 6 WSRB does not recognize these types of inspections as far as insurance ratings go, there are many benefits to these inspections. Crews get familiar with local occupancies, meet local business owners/staff, and recognize common fire code violations that could potentially harm the business or a person. Inspections will produce additional work in the record keeping and need for follow up inspections. Company Inspections as well as inspections by certified fire inspectors will create the need for follow up inspections as violations are discovered. Sometimes a company inspection will discover an occupancy that is no longer considered a low hazard and will shift this occupancy to the FMO for a certified fire inspector to conduct the inspection. Other Administrative FMO Services: High Level = Highly automatic processes for 24/7 scheduling and access. All records are digitized, and most processes are online/automated reply (Outdoor Burn Permits, inspections, records requests, fire codes, other reference materials). Administrative Technicians available to answer questions, follow up, and troubleshoot issues. Minimum Level = Paper records, longer turnaround times for record requests, some services are not performed. Most FMOs in Zone 3 have administrative staff that do scheduling, public records requests, and records management. This staff will also triage general emails and distribute for action as needed. The variability in this area is dependent on technology as well as the number of dedicated staff. An example is the automated process some FMOs use to reply to public records requests. Some systems post the information online for a "self -serve access" to common information such as adopted codes, standards, and fee schedules. Other records are vastly easy to access in a digital format. CPSM Report In March 2021, the Council received a third party review of all fire services including Fire Marshal Office services. The following is short summary of the recommendations pertaining to the Fire Marshal Office. Section 8. Essential Resources — Fire Prevention and Code Enforcement The CPSM report recommends integrating prevention as a core value throughout the organization. The report goes on to recommend the following: • In-service company inspection program (Outlined above) • Pre -fire plans created and accessible on the Mobile Data Terminals on the engines • Perform a Community Risk Reduction Assessment • Non -certified Company Officers perform fire investigations • Replace uniformed staff with civilian staff (Fire Marshal, and both Deputy Fire Marshals) FINANCIAL IMPACT This can be more accurately calculated once desired level of service has been determined. RECOMMENDATION Continue discussion on Fire Marshal Office services using the proposed timeline for reviewing and analyzing the issues. Staff will provide information to the Council to facilitate direction on service level for the Fire Marshal's Office. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/mayorsoffice/cc/Council Agenda Items/Fire/FMO Workload Memo 7-21-21.docx