ALBEMARLE COUNTY FIRE/EMS BOARD FEMS BOARD MEETING COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING, MCINTIRE ROAD ROOM 241 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016 1800 HOURS A meeting of the Albemarle County Fire/EMS Board was held on Thursday, December 1, 2016, at 1800 hours in Room 241 of the County Office Building, McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. The following members were in attendance: Dan Eggleston, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue Alex Belgard, Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad Mike Boyle, Crozet Volunteer Fire Department Todd Richardson, Earlysville Volunteer Fire Company Calvin Butler, East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Company George Stephens, North Garden Volunteer Fire Company Mike Grandstaff, Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department John Waits, Scottsville Rescue Squad Brian Kester, Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department John Vivodich, Stony Point Volunteer Fire Department Kostas Alibertis, Western Albemarle Rescue Squad Others in Attendance: Kim Brown, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue Tom LaBelle, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue Howard Lagomarsino, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue Scott Lambert, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue John Oprandy, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue David Puckett, Albemarle County Fire & Rescue Larry DeVewrt, Charlottesville Volunteer Fire Department Lanny Moore, East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Company Chuck Pugh, North Garden Volunteer Fire Company I. Call to Order Chief Alibertis called the meeting to order at 1808 hrs. A. Moment of Silence Attendees observed a moment of silence. B. From the Board: Matters not Listed on the Agenda i. Update from Chiefs matters of importance from stations ii. Addition of Agenda Items C. From the Public: Matters not Listed on the Agenda
II. Approval of Consent Agenda MOTION: Chief Stephens moved to approve the Consent Agenda as modified. Chief Richardson seconded the motion, which passed unanimously (10-0). Chief Kester was not present for the vote. III. Committee Updates A. Executive Committee Chief Alibertis stated that they had gone into executive session to discuss financial matters, particularly TJEMS strategic reorganization and budget issues including moving their office to Martha Jefferson. He stated that they reviewed the services provided to Albemarle County and the contribution made to TJEMS, and it has not been completely fleshed out, and it would eventually come before the FEMS Board. He noted that the committee agreed not to meet in January, but would meet on December 12, with a February meeting at the conference. B. Training Committee Chief Lambert reported that the committee had talked primarily about scheduling for 2017, including start dates and generic schedules for the Fire and EMT academies, ancillary classes, and the regional school. He stated that they also provided an update for the MSA training process and were hopefully bringing that to conclusion, with that winding down just in time to kick off the Image Trend process. Chief Lambert noted that participation those trainings had been light, and he encouraged members to do so before the go-live date of December 12, which was approaching quickly. He said that while it was not extremely challenging, there would likely be frustration on the part of users if their first login was for an actual call. Chief Lambert also offered to come to individual stations to deliver a custom session to help members with the transition. C. Operations Committee Chief Puckett apologized for not including a copy of the report in the FEMS Board packets, stating that the committee reviewed one working incident a structure fire on Harris Street and there was nothing else outstanding from the review. He stated that the next project they would be working on would be revisions to the previous policy on ACFRAB and modified response, with some updates needed. Chief Alibertis asked if there was anything compelling related to the policy that FEMS should discuss as a group, as they would miss modified response season by the time this was done. Chief Puckett responded that most of the policy mirrors what was in the ECC protocols, although there is one section in ECC that is not in ACFR s Modified Response Plan 2, which the ACFR policy does not mention but could use. He said that MRP-2 was when Fire went with all EMS responses, and he cited the previous winter with three feet of snow as an example. Chief Puckett stated that the only other items they talked about
were storm mode and trees down on lines, and how to approach that. He said that once the EOC opens, the decision is handled there so it is strategically done as a system. D. Recruitment & Retention Committee Chief LaBelle distributed a thank-you note for all of the stations from all of the chiefs, and asked that FEMS Board members sign it. He reported that the Recruitment and Retention Committee would like to do another open house, with two dates suggested as Sunday, January 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. and Saturday, January 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the theme focusing on the health and wellness and fitness aspects offered by participation in fire and rescue. Chief LaBelle said that the committee would circulate an email Doodle Poll to solicit feedback from the chiefs as to which date is better. Chief Alibertis mentioned that there was a basketball game on January 14, but it was an away game. Chief LaBelle stated that they were aware of the sports schedules and were trying to avoid those and other events, noting that if they moved it past January as a timeframe, it would likely not happen until March. Chief Butler noted that he had training on January 14 and 15. Chief Belgard pointed out that the students were not back by January 14, as classes start the Tuesday after that. Chief Alibertis also suggested an alternative date in the event of inclement weather. Chief LaBelle stated that the majority of the Health and Welfare Report focused on the efforts of the Recruitment and Retention Committee, and it was felt that having more information from the other members would be helpful. Chief LaBelle reported that the committee was starting the planning process and considering June 4 or June 5 for the system-wide picnic, to be held at the Elks Lodge, noting that the turnout in 2016 had been very good. He stated that the committee members would be reaching out to individual stations about the event. Chief LaBelle also mentioned that the committee would be doing gift baskets again this year, putting the together on December 20 for pick up on December 22 or 23, and distribution on December 23 or 24. Chief LaBelle asked the chiefs to review the lists of members for tax credits, noting that there were mistakes last year, and stated that there had already been questions and comments about this from some stations. He stated that ACFR would be sitting down with the Finance Department to discuss tax credit options for other family members, as there are some members who do not own their own vehicles. Chief LaBelle mentioned that the forms were needed back no later than January 31.
E. Quartermaster Committee Chief Puckett stated that there was no report from the Quartermaster Committee. F. Apparatus Committee Chief Moore stated that there had been no meeting since the last FEMS Board meeting. Chief Alibertis reported that Greg Frazier would be representing Stony Point on that committee, and John Vidovich introduced himself as the representative for tonight. IV. Unfinished Business A. ACFR Volunteers Recruitment and Retention Plan Chief LaBelle stated that there was no report. B. CAD Update Chief Puckett stated that he had no report, adding that there were still some issues and there had been slow progress. Chief Eggleston reported that he had spoken with Tom Hansen about having a closeout of the project, to see what features everyone was comfortable with and which might come later on, and he wanted to reach consensus in terms of what they would finally accept. He stated that there were a lot of things they were using in this system that the manufacturer had not even used before. C. Image Trend Update Chief Oprandy reported that the Image Trend go-live date and time would be Monday, December 12, at 10 a.m., which meant the CAD feeds should stop into Fire RMS and reports should no longer be accessible there. He stated that the reports would still appear in patient care, but they would need to be reentered into Image Trend, and they would try to do some reconciliation reports in terms of CAD report numbers, etc. Chief Oprandy emphasized that the next phase would focus on how to recreate those reports, and RMS would be maintained for reports and the training division would be using it for certifications, the fire marshal would still use it for inspections, etc. because those modules were not ready in Image Trend yet. He noted that there was information on the new system available at albemarle.org/imagetrend, as well as a users guide, which was updated frequently as things changed and the company improved its product. Chief Oprandy mentioned that there also might be short video clips uploaded to address specific items such as training changes. Chief Oprandy reiterated the desire to have members log into the system ahead of time, as Chief Lambert had stated, and mentioned that they expected there to be a few problems the first week. Chief Oprandy noted that they needed a list of people who were members of multiple agencies, as there was a certain procedure and setup in order for them to access multiple agencies. He mentioned that he would be distributing information about the users group being put together, as a lot of the benefits of buying their own system is the customization and report improvements including saving clicks and thus saving time but it required user feedback in order to make those
improvements. Chief Oprandy said that the group would likely have its first meeting a week or two after the system goes live. D. SCBA Go-Live Chief Puckett reported that the rip packs were being finalized and should be pushed out within the next one to two weeks, and there would likely be a video available to show how they were organized. He noted that they would also be picking up the old SCBA units in the next week or two, then it would be inventoried and auctioned from the county auction site. Chief Puckett stated that there would be a joint press release with the city issued on December 5 at 10 a.m., with an associated media event at Station 11. Chief Puckett stated that compressors would likely be installed in January, as they were still trying to get a date with Hazmat 47. Chief Grandstaff asked if there was a mask issuance protocol. Chief Puckett responded that stations could work directly with Philip Burkett, and they may be able to come by on multiple shifts for fit testing and masks. V. New Business A. Diversity Report Chief Eggleston reported that the county s goal is to have an employee group that represents the diversity of the community served, but fire and rescue is different in that it really doesn t reflect the community. He stated that ACFR has been working with HR on diversifying the applicant pool but it is mostly white males who apply, similar to the fire service in general. Chief Eggleston said that they are considering several options to try to change this, including having a recruit school whereas someone who is interested can join that way, and this would be part of the recruitment and retention plan. He stated that they are looking at the career hiring process and what they can do differently. B. 2017 Schedule Chief LaBelle referenced the schedule included in the FEMS Board packets, with the February meeting to be held at the Virginia Fire Rescue Conference; the April meeting may be in a different location as Room 241 would be in use right up until 6 p.m. Chief Grandstaff recalled that they had discussed having schedules for all the committees, and wondered if that was still going to be done. Chief LaBelle responded that he would be working with ACFR staff on reaching out to the committees for their schedules, with the intention of planning around events occurring at stations and the information should be available in January if not before. MOTION: Chief Vidovich moved to accept the 2017 calendar as presented. Chief Boyle seconded the motion, which passed unanimously (11-0).
Chief Eggleston reported that the Pantops station groundbreaking would take place on December 13, 2016 at 10 a.m. to 12 noon, and an official invite would be coming from the County Executive s office. He extended holiday greetings to members. Chief Eggleston mentioned that Chief Oprandy s brother had been injured in a fire in Richmond on November 30, but was doing all right. Chief Oprandy confirmed that he was doing well and appreciated all of the well wishes. VI. Adjournment MOTION: Chief Boyle moved to adjourn the meeting. Chief Stephens seconded the motion, which passed unanimously (11-0). The FEMS Board adjourned their meeting at 1833 hrs.