2020 ANNUAL REPORT

1 LAFD 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

2 LAFD TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Message from Fire Chief Troy Hughes 5 Command Staff 7 Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals & Core Values 8 DOE, NNSA & LANL Partners 9 Organizational Structure 11 Administrative Services 16 Administrative Staff 18 Accreditation 21 Emergency Medical Services 23 Financial Resources 27 Fire Marshal’s Office 31 LANL Training 34 Fire Suppression & Special Operations 37 Operations A-Shift 39 Operations B-Shift 41 Operations C-Shift 42 Physical Resources 45 Safety 49 Security & Labor Relations 50 Service Delivery 54 Training 56 Wildland 57 IAFF Local # 3279 59 Technical Rescue Team 60 Public Education Team 61 Hazmat Team

3 LAFD MESSAGE FROM The year 2020 must be described as “WOW”! Never in our FIRE CHIEF TROY history have we been faced with the unique challenge of ope- HUGHES rating during a worldwide pandemic. “WOW” would also be used to describe the efforts of LAFD responders who, in spite of the pandemic, showed up for work everyday and insured Los Alamos County and Los Alamos National Laboratory were adequately protected. Our administrative staff found ways to get the work done necessary to support these awesome responders, in spite of the offices being essentially closed for most of the year. LAFD is blessed to have so many great people contributing to our success. This year, two in particular lead our efforts to keep our staff safe from COVID. Safety Division Chief Baca and Emergency Medical Services Chief Bartlett were both outstanding in their efforts to insure LAFD responders had the proper protective equipment, supplies, and direction to keep them safely operating during the pandemic. These guys went beyond just keeping LAFD safe, they also worked with others to support Covid vaccination clinics in Los Alamos and Espa- nola. The leadership provided by these two chiefs deserves recognition. We are hopeful that LAFD and New Mexico are moving towards the end of the current pandemic and looking forward to being able to once again closely interact with our citizens and each other. In spite of the restrictions placed upon us by the pandemic, you will see in this report that LAFD continued to do what was necessary to insure we could respond to calls for help in the same top tier manner our citizens and national laboratory have come to expect. Specifically, LAFD was able to cross two giant milestones this year. We achieved international accreditation for the fifth time and continue to be the only New Mexico fire department and only fire department that serves a national laboratory that has achieved this status. We also achieved the Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of Class 1. Again, we are the only fire depart- ment serving a national laboratory to achieve this rating and one of only three cities in New Mexico (Las Cruces, Albuquer- que) to achieve the ISO Class 1 rating. If you have any questions regarding this report, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Troy Hughes Fire Chief Los Alamos County Fire Department

4 LAFD “Thank you to all of LAFD for continuing to deliver emergency services in spite of great personal sacrifice... We often use the term “brotherhood” to describe our work family, now we must live “brotherhood” and do what we can to take care of each other. Thanks again for sacrificing for the good of our commu- nity and continuing to provide great emergency services.“ -Fire Chief Troy Hughes

5 LAFD COMMAND STAFF Troy Hughes Steve Dawald Fire Chief Deputy Fire Chief Kelly Sterna Wendy Servey Joseph Baca Wildland Division Chief Fire Marshal Safety Division Chief Chris Bartlett James Thwaits Todd Forsythe EMS Division Chief Training Division Chief LANL Training Division Chief

6 LAFD Ben Stone Steve Saiz Micah Brittelle A-Shift Battalion Chief B-Shift Battalion Chief C-Shift Battalion Chief Howard Hall Norma Valdez Security & Administrative Sr. Managment Analyst Services Manager Beverly Purtymun Xavier Anderson Managment Analyst Management Analyst

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8 LAFD James Streit Tammy Dominguez Los Alamos National Lab Los Alamos National Lab Engineering Service Program Manager Division Leader DOE NNSA LANL PARTNERS Jordan Arnswald Patricia Parrish DOE DOE Cooperative Agreement Grants Officer Program Manager

9 LAFD ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Citizens of Los Alamos County Fire Chief Los Alamos County Council Troy Hughes Los Alamos County Manager Harry Burgess Deputy Fire Chief Steven Dawald Operations Training LANL Training EMS Safety Fire Marshal Wildland Administrative Safeguards/ Services Admin Svcs. Ben Stone (A) James Thwaits Todd Forsythe Christopher Joseph Baca Wendy Servey Kelly Sterna Steve Saiz (B) Bartlett Sr. Mgt. Analyst Manager Micah Brittelle (C) Howard Hall Norma Jean Valdez Captain (24) Training Captain Recruit EMS Training AWA Sr. Fire & Life Business Budget/Finance 8/shift Aaron McNiff Academy Captain Xavier Anderson Training Safety Coordinator Operations Driver Officers Manny Pacheco Engineer (24) (from shift as needed) Stephen Rinaldi Bev Purtymun 8/shift SOS - Training & Technology Firefighter EMS Specialist (79) 26/shift Louisa Martinez Ana Martinez Payroll & Admin SOS-Physical Res Specialist LeeAnn Salazar Wildland-Pub Ed SOS - HR & Marisol Padilla Safety SOS-Senior Office Specialist Marisha Ballew SOS-Senior Office Specialist

10 LAFD ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TEAM WORKING REMOTELY The Administrative Services Team worked remotely since March 18, 2020. Daily virtual huddles through Microsoft TEAMS served to keep the team connected. Creative and innovative strategies of sharing in- formation gave team members an opportunity to showcase their facilitation skills through Motivational Monday, Tips-Tricks ‘n Tools Tuesdays, Wisdom Wednesday, Thrive Thursday, and Follow-up Friday pre- sentations.

11 LAFD ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES LAFD Administrative Services Team (AST) members benefit the department in numerous areas by applying each member’s valuable knowledge to each task they embark on; all with a high level of customer service. The varied areas that AST support are assigned based on in- dividual skill sets and needs of the department. Areas of direct support by AST are procurement, payroll, finance, budget, travel, staffing, compliance monitoring, mapping, accreditation, etc. 2020 was an unusual year in many ways; not just in that staff began teleworking on March 18th but also in de- veloping innovative ways to communicate, accomplish workflow approvals, conduct meetings, meet project ex- pectations, and numerous other things previously thought of as routine or standard procedures. On March 18th, first day of teleworking, AST initiated the morning huddle in a virtual Teams format that continued Monday through Friday throughout the remainder of the year. Enhance- ments were made to the huddle format beginning the last week of July. Each day of the week was designated with a topic or theme and the staff were assigned, on a rotating schedule, dates to provide a brief presentation on the theme of the day: Motivational Monday; Tuesday Tips, Tricks, and Tools; Wisdom Wednesday; Thrive Thursday and Follow-up Friday. These changes to morning huddle provided opportunities for members to learn professional shortcuts and tips, to practice presentation preparation and skills, and to listen to personal stories of motivation, wisdom and things that make us thrive in and out of the workplace. AST also holds weekly meetings on Thursday afternoons and those too were enhanced with a weekly Deep Dive assigned on a rotational basis to each member. These Deep Dives provided the opportunity to delve deep into functional processes, individual duties, and office pro- cedures. The exercise is intended to help staff develop innovative and new ways to accomplish tasks, identify process improvement opportunities and gain a better un- derstanding of current work expectations. Furthermore, one Thursday a month was set aside for guest speakers. AST has benefitted from knowledge and advise provided by Kat Brophy, Benefits and Pension Manager for Los Alamos County and Charlotte Beaty, LPCC, from The So- lutions Group.

12 LAFD Message on Motivational Monday. Additional initiatives employed during the telework period included issuing each member a Surface Pro laptop and a cell phone to maintain effective communication. Staff was encouraged to prepare their home-work environ- ments as efficiently and effectively as possible by either moving small office equipment, such as keyboards, mo- nitors, copiers, etc. from the office to home or purchasing low-cost items for use during the current pandemic. In August 2020, Marisol Padilla received a promotion from Senior Office Specialist to Payroll and Administrative Spe- cialist. This opportunity was well earned by Marisol as she is the Executime and payrollSME The Finance Depart- ment has depended on and benefited greatly by Marisol knowledge and work ethic. Additional duties included in her new position are oversight and coordination of the production of all biweekly payrolls for fire, ensures quality of data entry of all payroll and timekeeping records for fire personnel, liaison between payroll and personnel, performs internal payroll and time audits, updates or mo- difies work schedules in Executime, participates in testing of upcoming Executime upgrades, etc. This is a huge undertaking, but as always, Marisol is excelling at these tasks and making LAFD proud. Throughout 2020 the administrative team worked diligent- ly to finalize the self-assessment accreditation documents and prepare for a site visit from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). As with most aspects of business and life, the site visit was met with delays and struggles, but ultimately was held October 5th through the 7th. The peer assessor team of Team Leader, Fire Chief Dennis Light of Prescott, Arizona; Brynne Burrough of the Department of Defense stationed in Okinowa, Japan; Candy Fontecchio of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and John Brad Hall of North Carolina. The peer assessors held the site visit with a mixture of in-person and virtual interviews, including all interviews held by Bryn Burrough being virtual from Japan. LAFD was thrilled to learn at the end of the site visit that we would be recommended for re-accreditation. The administrative services teams acknowledged from the beginning of the teleworking environment that this was no more than a change of station because the work the team performs daily is important and necessary to serve and protect the crews. The goal was to continue to work as if we were all together, in the office, and meeting the needs of the department and community.

12 13 LAFD As part of continuing to serve and protect the community Xavier Anderson, Management Analyst led the prepara- tion for the department’s Insurance Service Office (ISO) inspection. In August of 2020, Los Alamos Fire Depart- ment was evaluated by the ISO. The evaluation of the fire department looks at all aspects of fire response to estab- lish the Public Protection Classification (PPC). During each evaluation, ISO looks at building codes, water resources, emergency communications and fire department resour- ces. Currently Los Alamos Fire Department holds an ISO Class 2 PPC rating and is striving to be reclassed to an ISO 1. The department is currently awaiting the results from the evaluation and expects notification in 2021. AST found some common ground during the pandemic and consequent remote work through numerous virtual meetings, group activities and virtual conferences. The team was very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the 2020 Global Leadership Conference, via a virtual plat- form, on August 6th and 7th. This incredible conference was not just informative but gave the team a sense of partnership and family. We all look forward to the 2021 Global Leadership Conference. Annually, Los Alamos County holds an Employee Appreci- ation luncheon in conjunction with the Halloween holiday. The only differences this year was the costume contest was held virtually and the luncheon could not be provi- ded. AST prides ourselves in our planning and prepara- tion of our departmental costumes and this year was no different. We met the costume virtual contest head-on with the team dressed as AST members on a virtual call. The “Zoomies” won first price in our division. Throughout the year AST continued to work on projects that impacted both the department and other County departments. Examples of ongoing projects include the Request for Proposal and subsequent contract negotia- tion of a new Inventory and Asset Management System and a new Learning Management System. The selected Target Solutions Check It system will replace the aging unsupported BACON system. The Learning Management System will act as a continuation of our current system. An additional project, FireWatch roll-out, requiring many hours of planning and work by Louisa Martinez, F&LS Technology Specialist, was the migration of departmental intranet content to a new Sharepoint site. The new and improved FireWatch page was successfully migrated in July and continues to be enhanced.

14 LAFD On June 3rd Sharyl Hofer began her Also, in May 2020 LAFD was pleased retirement from LAFD. The monu- to welcome Howard Hall and the new mental event was celebrated with Security and Administrative Services a drive-by parade with participants Manager. Howard was previously from throughout the department and the Training Manager for Los Alamos several County departments. Depart- County and our department was mental vehicles were decorated with fortunate to have Howard join our signs and balloons in celebration of team. Howard and the department Sharyl’s retirement. Chief Hughes and benefitted from and hands-on training Chief Dawald presented Sharyl with and passing of knowledge from Sharyl her retirement Nambe piece from the Hofer to Howard prior to Sharyl’s reti- County as well as gifts and cards deli- rement departure. vered throughout the parade.

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16 ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF LAFD Aaron McNiff Manuel Pacheco Stephen Rinaldi Howard Hall Training Captain EMS Captain Sr. Fire & Life Safety Security & Administrative Coordinator Services Manager Norma Valdez Beverly Purtymun Xavier Anderson Marisol Padilla Sr. Management Analyst Management Analyst Management Analyst Payroll & Administrative Specialist Marisha Ballew Ana Martinez LeeAnn Salazar Louisa Martinez Sr. Office Specialist Sr. Office Specialist Sr. Office Specialist Technology Specialist

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18 LAFD ACCREDITATION Los Alamos Fire Department is Awarded International Accredited Status for the Fifth Time The Los Alamos County Fire Department has received Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) for meeting the criteria esta- blished through the CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program. The Los Alamos Fire Department is one of 281 agencies in the world to achieve Internationally Accredited Agency status with the CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Inc. (CPSE). The Commission on Fire Accreditation International is dedicated to assisting the fire and emergency service agencies throughout the world in achieving excellence through self-assessment and accreditation in order to provide continuous quality improvement and the enhancement of service delivery to their communities. The CFAI process is voluntary, and provides an agency with an improvement model to assess their service delivery and performance internally and then works with a team of peers from other agencies to evaluate their completed self-assessment. Fire Chief Troy Hughes stated that the department “is a premier emergency response agency, not only in the State of New Mexico, but one of the premier emergency response agencies in all of the United States. We not only protect and serve one of our nation’s most valuable assets, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, we also protect and serve our nation’s brightest people who live and work in Los Alamos County.” He said, “while some may see this process as intrusive, LAFD sees it as an opportunity to improve and provide the exceptional service we promise to our customers.” In a report submitted on behalf of the CFAI, it was noted that, “The peer assessment team observed a strong commitment by the department to the CFAI accreditation process and the institutionalizing of the process in particular.” Norma Jean Valdez, Accreditati- on Manager said the support and involvement from the community stakeholders and members from all levels of the department is key to this achievement. She recognized the core team of division chiefs, specialty program teams and administrative services staff as the backbone of the process. On December 15, in a virtual format, Fire Chief Troy Hughes, Deputy Fire Chief Steve Dawald, Accreditation Manager Norma Jean Valdez, IAFF Local 3279 President Bertram Quintana, Los Alamos County Council Vice-Chair Randall Ryti, Los Alamos County Manager Harry Burgess, Los Alamos County Dispatch Manager Katherine Stoddard and Management Analyst Xavier Anderson appeared to answer questions from the 11- member Commission about LAFD’s strategic plan, community risk assessment-standard of cover and self-assessment process. In 1997, Los Alamos Fire Department became one of the first five fire departments in the world to achieve Internationally Accredited Agency status. Today, Los Alamos is the only fire department serving a Department of Energy national laboratory that is accredited and the only department in New Mexico to achieve this honor.

19 LAFD December 15, 2020 Hearing: Commission on Fire Accreditation International

20 LAFD ISO- PUBLIC PROTECTION CLASSIFICATION Los Alamos joined the ranks of the top 1% nationally in attaining the Public Protection Classification (PPC) Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating 1. In August of 2020, the Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) was evaluated by the In- surance Services Office (ISO). ISO is an independent company that serves insurance companies, communities, fire departments, insurance regulators and others by providing information about risk. They analyze the relevant data and assign a Public Protection Classification (PPC) grade, a number from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents an exemplary fire suppression program and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire suppression program does not meet minimum criteria. This standard evaluation is conducted every four (4) years. The evaluation of the fire department gauges all aspects of response to establish a fire department’s PPC rating. ISO’s PPC program evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria, incor- porating national recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Asso- ciation (NFPA) and the American Water Works Association. The PPC grade depends on needed fire flows, emergency communications, fire department resources, geographic distribution of fire companies, community risk reduction and water supply. Points are scored in each of these areas using a 105.5 total point scale. The more points that are scored, the better the ISO fire rating. LAFD has had an ISO PPC class rating of 2 since December 2006. The department’s commitment to continuous improvement over the last fourteen (14) years has led to an upgrade in classification, enhanced service delivery, and community coverage. In January of this year LAFD was notified that our efforts were successful in achieving an ISO PPC Class 1 designation. LAFD is the only fire department that protects a Department of Energy facility with an ISO PPC rating of 1. LAFD joins Albuquerque Fire & Rescue and Las Cruces Fire Department as the only departments in New Mexico with an ISO-1 PPC rating. In addition to being one of only 3 agencies in New Mexico with an ISO PPC rating of 1, the department joins the top 1% nationally in their PPC. Communities whose PPC improves may get lower insurance prices. PPC also provides fire departments with a valuable benchmark and is used by many departments as a valuable tool when plan- ning, budgeting and justifying fire protection improvements. Below are scores from the evaluation which are also compared to peer departments, all departments nationally and statewide averages: Overall:

21 LAFD FIRE DEPARTMENT POINTS WATER SYSTEM POINTS

22 LAFD COMMUNICATION SCORES COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION SCORES

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2224 LAFD 21 EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

25 LAFD Christopher Bartlett EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES EMS Division Chief Los Alamos Fire Department Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provides 911 emergency response and non-emergency interfacility transport. Emergency medical care is available to anyone who calls regardless of their ability to pay. In 2020, LAFD Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) responded to 1,295 medical and trauma pati- ents. In addition to providing prehospital care for the community of Los Alamos, the EMS Division makes efforts to actively engage with local community residents and the healthcare community through outreach and training activities. With a renewed focus on enhancing the quality of our prehospital care, LAFD implemented a completely new set of Medical Direc- tor Protocols under the supervision of Chris Hammond, DO. These guidelines are adapted from the evidence and consensus-based National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines which are a standard of excellence in prehospital patient care and will continue to improve services delivered to Los Alamos. LAFD has made great efforts to ensure that our responders are knowledgeable, well equipped and protected during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this rapidly changing healthcare environment, updates in response guidelines, education, training and PPE acquisition were made priority. In addition, in partnership with the Emergency Manager and the New Mexico Department of Health, our EMTs were proud to begin delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to their co-workers and other healthcare providers beginning in December. The EMS Division has remained dedicated to supporting the state and local community while adapting to our current situation by offering Healthcare Provider CPR, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED training through a progressive, hybrid learning system developed by the American Heart Association. In addition, continuing educati- on and AHA instructor courses were delivered to area EMS and he- althcare providers through the restructured EMS outreach educa- tion program developed by our new EMS Training Captain, Manny Pacheco.

26 LAFD FINANCIAL RESOURCES

27 LAFD FINANCIAL RESOURCES The Fire Department operates with a budget which is developed in accordance with the 10-year Cooperative Agreement (CA) with the Department of Energy (DOE)/ National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). This agreement began on October 1, 2013 and expires on September 30, 2023. October 1, 2018 was the 3rd year of the Year-5 agreement. DOE/NNSA funds 77% of labor and benefits, and overhead costs while the Los Alamos County general fund covers the remaining 23%. The CA budget for FY 2021 is $27,739,192.10, with 76% coming from labor and benefit expenses, and 16% coming from indirect overheads. In addition to the CA, LAFD participates in the New Mexico Fire Protection Fund Distribution Act. The Department receives funding based on the number of stations protecting the jurisdiction which averages approximately $780,000 annually. In FY 2021, LAFD received a total of $782,208 from the distribution fund. These funds are used to purchase fire supplies and equip- ment ranging from fire hoses to firefighter training. LAFD also receives funding from the EMS Fund Act annually through the New Mexico Department of Health. The awarded amount for FY 2020 is $9,800. This grant is used to pay for paramedic stu- dents’ tuition costs.

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30 LAFD FIRE MARSHAL‘S OFFICE

31 LAFD FIRE MARSHAL‘S OFFICE Fire Code, Staff, Permits, Fire Plan Reviews and Life Safety The Fire Marshal’s office is responsible for the implementation, adminis- tration and enforcement of the County’s fire code. The code provides fire and life safety standards for buildings, activities and hazardous processes. This code aids citizens and visitors of Los Alamos County to protect people and property from the risks of fire, explosion or dan- gerous conditions where they live, recreate or conduct business. Fire code compliance also ensures firefighter and responder safety during emergency operations. In 2020, staff prepared ordinance and revisions to the County Municipal Code in preparation to adopt the International Code Council’s - International Fire Code 2021 edition. The office was involved in the fire accreditation process, were internal procedures and policies were re-structured to improve workflow in the areas of fire plan reviews, fire inspections and fire investigations. The office consists of three weekday staff of the Fire Marshal, Senior Fire & Life Safety Coordinator and administrative support staff. Office activity is supplemented by full-time firefighters, fire officers, and driver Wendy Servey engineers who are cross trained as fire inspectors and investigators, Fire Marshal otherwise known as the Fire Inspection and Investigations Team (FIIT). The FMO is service-oriented to provide technical information to business owners, event promoters, developers, archi- tects and contractors and often inter- faces with many of these professionals at joint meetings with County Building’s Safety Division. The Fire Marshal’s office provides in- formation to citizens of the community who file complaints or have questions about code violations that may exist. In 2020, the office investigated fire code (3) complaints. The LAFD-FMO issued a total of 33 permits to address special hazards such as open burning, fireworks, bonfires, and tents. The team attended over 500 hours in meetings to address the following: to advise on behalf of the fire code and code development; participate in professional organizations; fire accreditation process; meet with area fire agencies to set burn restrictions; to plan with contractors as needed. LAFD-FMO reviewed and approved plans and inspections for new construction and remodels focusing on fire department access, and installation of fire protection systems of fire sprinklers and alarms. In 2020, the COVID pandemic changed the way LAFD-FMO could conduct normal business and annual compliance inspections were stalled, however, inspections with stringent PPE requirements on current development pro- jects in Los Alamos continued to support developers and community growth within a difficult time. Some of the projects that moved forward or completed in 2020 were: Natural Grocers, Canyon Walk Apartments, and the Bluffs, and 557 Oppenheimer, as well as Los Alamos Townhouses. In 2020, 45 plan reviews were conducted with an average of 45-450 hours code research and review performed. Plans can require 1-10 hours of work depending upon complexity of project, re-submittals, revisions etc. In 2020, Fire inspectors completed over 312 hours of continuing education to main- tain certification.

32 LAFD Looking ahead in 2021: FMO plans Fire Investigations and Investigator Deployment to implement two new initiatives of: The Fire Marshal’s office is responsible initiating and con- ducting fire investigations to fire and or other hazardous Preventable Alarms 2021 Initiative: situations within the County that caused an emergency Each year the department responds response. All fire investigations follow the scientific to more than 233 preventable or method to develop hypothesis(s) in shaping the origin “false” alarms in Los Alamos County. and cause of every fire. Fires are further classified as ac- That is approximately 11.5 out of 2012 cidental, natural, arson or incendiary, or undetermined. calls where units are sent. Preven- In 2020, the FMO investigated the origin and cause of 21 table alarms take firefighters out of incidents; of these 11 were determined to be accidental; service, making them unavailable to 4 natural; 1 incendiary or arson; and 5 were left to be un- respond to fire and emergent medical determined. alarms. The intent of this imitative is to In July, five investigators were sent out of County to encourage maintained and needed assist the New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s office, medication of alarm systems and Belen Fire Department with an investigation of a fire discourage acts that result in uninten- that caused the destruction of the Belen Bowling Alley. tional alarm activations where no fire Valuable field training and experience were gained over is present. the course of two days. In 2020, Fire investigators completed over 520 hours of Systems Testing 2021 Initiative: continuing education to maintain certification. Sprinklers, fire alarms and suppressi- NFPA Pilot Program – Community Risk Reduction on systems are among the most im- In December 2020, on behalf of Los Alamos Fire Depart- portant components of any building ment the Fire Marshal’s office applied and was selected for saving lives and protecting pro- by the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) to perty in the event of a fire. However, participate in a pilot program to create “my sidewalk” too many buildings in Los Alamos from three years of past response data. The specialized County have untested or unrepaired snapshot will focus on Community Risk Reduction topics fire protection systems. This initiative created for Los Alamos. is aimed at ensuring the “responsible fire protection systems. This initiative is aimed at ensu- party” of a building is maintaining ring the “responsible party” of a building is maintaining their systems in good working condi- their systems in good working condition and tests their tion and tests their systems annually. systems annually.

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35 LAFD LANL TRAINING 2020 started off like every year. LANL training started off strong with competing all required LANL High hazard trainings. At the beginning of February LAFD had a 100% completion rate, and then the pandemic hit! 2020 has been extremely challenging due to COVID. In person drills, exercises, and tours were cancelled. When it became apparent that those contracted events needed to take place, LAFD and LANL came up with alternative ways to participate. LANL facilities started to use remote lear- ning with crews. We ended the year with virtual tours and virtual drills. This platform worked out well for all parties involved. 2020 was a challenging and drove us to think outside the box for the LANL Training Division. LAFD participated in 9 LANL Exercises. These included various tabletop, fun- ctional, and field play exercises throughout LANL. These exercises encompass numerous components including Todd Forsythe Incident Command, EMS, Fire, CBRNE, HazMat, Technical LANL Training Division Chief Rescue, etc. Prior to each exercise, LAFD participates in numerous planning meetings to assist in exercise de- velopment and scheduling. After each exercise, LAFD also participates in “Hot Washes” and exercise critiques to rein- force positive performance and identify and implement ways to improve customer service.

36 LAFD Hydrant Testing The Hydrant testing program also resides within this division. LAFD currently tests on an annual basis approximately 1900 fire hydrants located throughout the county and LANL. Field crews began testing in April and finished hydrant testing in November. LAFD is utilizing ESRI Survey 123, an GIS data gathering software, in order to collect hydrant testing data. Survey 123, can collect the hydrant testing data in real time, which will reduce overtime costs as personal will no longer be needed to manually enter data.

37 LAFD LANL Facility Tours In addition to exercise participation, LAFD continues to participate in various LANL facility tours and other LANL related training. LAFD attended three facility tours at various LANL facilities. The bench-mark for the attendance of each tour is set at 65% where the goal is to have at least 65% of all LAFD sworn personnel attending each tour. LAFD exceeded that benchmark for all 2020 tours Pre-Incident Planning Pre-Incident Planning (PIP) continues to play a strong role in operations. LAFD is responsible for 1600 PIPs which are con- ducted on a 3-year rotation depending on risk classification. Due to the pandemic again it was a challenge to schedule PIP’s because of the social distant mandate. To assist the crews in making this easier, they were able to do virtual meetings and phy- sical walk downs. These PIP assignments are distributed monthly to the crews per shift and station to help educate them during a potential emergency respon- se. 552 PIP’s were completed in 2020. Currently, LAFD is working with LANL on developing quick access plans for PIPs. These quick access plans will have the most critical, recent, and most commonly needed information such as floorplans and site maps that officers need in the first few minutes of an incident. These PIPs will be offered through an iPad making access quick and user friendly. Beta testing on the new devises will begin Summer of 2021 and full activation in Winter of 2021.

38 LAFD FIRE SUPPRESSION & SPECIAL OPERATIONS The Los Alamos Fire Department has maintained the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Class 2 Clas- sification once again for 2020. LAFD continues to pursue a Class 1 Classification by completing further assessments and evaluations. Results from 2020’s ISO audit are pending. Authorized shift staffing is currently set at 140 combat personnel that are trained to NFPA stan- dards for fire suppression, wildland firefighting, technical rescue, hazardous materials, and radio- logical emergency response. LAFD’s combat personnel respond out of five fire Steve Dawald stations that are strategically located throughout Deputy Fire Chief the county. A sixth station, which is currently not staffed, serves as the department’s training station. Features at the training station include a training tower, burn building, confined space and technical rescue props, a burn car, a roof ventila- tion prop, a classroom, and a fire pump test pit. LAFD saw a decrease of 9.5% in its total call HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2020 volume when compared to 2019 statistics. Calls • Further progress towards the for Emergency Medical Services decreased more than 11% while Fire calls increased by design and eventual construc- almost 24%. 63% of LAFD’s responses were tion of three fire stations, medical in nature. COVID 19 was a factor in the • Ordering of six wildland water decrease in EMS responses. tenders, LAFD congratulates Captain Matt Cionek and • A handful of promotions, Driver/Engineer Wes Walker • Multiple fire and rescue respon- and Safeguards and Security Manager Sharyl ses. Hofer on their retirements and thanks them for their service. LAFD is honored to provide services for the safety and welfare of the citizens and visitors of the county, LANL, and surrounding areas. The proud and dedicated members of LAFD are prepared and equipped to respond to all calls for service, day or night, 24/7/365.

39 LAFD LAFD OPERATIONAL RESPONSE FLEET • 10 Structural suppression vehicles • 14 Wildland/ urban interface suppression vehicles • 2 Rescue vehicles • 6 Ambulances • 1 Battalion Chief unit • 1 Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle • 1 Haz-Mat response vehicle • 1 Mobile command vehicle • Other support vehicles that protect the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) and the County of Los Alamos.

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41 LAFD OPERATIONS A-SHIFT 2020 proved to be dynamic and challenging year for all. A-shift was no Ben Stone exception. As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, LAFD had to rise A-Shift Battalion Chief and meet many different challenges. New policies and procedures were implemented and all of Operations ensured those changes reflected the best care for the citizens of Los Alamos. In addition to the stark global changes of 2020, A-Shift saw several members move on to new chapters in their lives. A-Shift saw the retirement of Captain Matt Cionek. Captain Cionek provided over two decades of service to Los Alamos and the Nati- onal Laboratory. Captain Cionek will continue to serve in Los Alamos as an Active Shooter Instructor with Centerra and will be missed. Another staf- fing change to A-Shift was the resignation of FF Michael Paxson. Michael found his passion in health care and is pursuing his degree as a Registered Nurse. We wish them both the best in their new endeavors. While there were many trying moments, the year had many celebrations. FF Matt Ortega saw his hard work and dedication pay off. He was accep- ted to paramedic school and joined the Technical Rescue Team. He will be greatly missed during his training but will come back with more knowled- ge, skills, and abilities to teach all of us. We would like to congratulate Captain Evan Pulliam and Driver/Engineer Robert Sanchez for their pro- motions this year. This was bittersweet because both were moved to other shifts to meet the needs of the department. In addition to these changes, we proudly welcomed new members to the team. We welcomed Captain Tony Garcia. Captain Garcia has proven to be a valuable asset to A-shift. He brings many years of confined space and training knowledge to our shift. We would also like to congratulate Captain Van Leimer on his pro- motion and welcome him to A-shift. Captain Leimer brings years of wild- land and fire investigation experience with him. Finally, Captain Timothy Johnson, FF Brain Palmer, and FF Rick Acedo re- turned from their temporary assignment at the LAFD Fire Academy where they trained Fire Cadet Class 28. We are happy to have them back in Operations. Fire Cadets Donovan Aguilar and Rudy Trujillo joined A-shift. Throughout the year they worked hard and were both successful in com- pleting their probationary tests. They have a bright future here at LAFD. While there were many challenges and changes throughout the year, we have all grown closer as a family and proved we can face any challenges. We are looking forward to what 2021 has to offer.

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43 LAFD OPERATIONS B-SHIFT Navigating the novel coronavirus pandemic this past year has been a tremendous task to all involved. We would like to thank every division for stepping up and doing their part to keep all members healthy and safe. We can say that our department was able to provide the same level of exceptional service that we have always provided during this time. We would like to recognize Van Leimer and Robert Sanchez for putting in countless hours preparing themselves to be successful in the promotional process. Van Leimer was promoted to the rank of Captain and transferred to A-shift. Robert Sanchez has been promo- ted to the rank of Driver/Engineer and received a warm welcome on B-shift. We as a department always strive to provide the best EMS service Steve Saiz possible by training our firefighters in the various levels of EMS licen- B-Shift Battalion Chief sure. This year we have 2 firefighters, William Lundquist and Ruben Padilla, attending Paramedic school. It is a rigorous year long program that prepares them to better serve our community. We can always count on sending our personnel to wildland fires during the summer months. Our firefighters were sent on deployments in state and out of state from May to October. Some of the members that participated were; Captain Daniel Devall, Captain Van Leimer, Firefighter’s Shannon Evans, Zane Frentheway, Randall Robles, Kenneth Martinez and Cory Miller. De- ployments are great opportunities for our personnel to learn valuable skills and to help our neighboring com- munities. A first this year, was a structure fire in which we had the homeowner’s security cameras assist with the fire investigation. The fire was nothing extraordinary, but what the cameras caught was quite interesting. The homeowners dog knocked over an ironing board onto an in-floor heater that started the fire. Without that footage, it would have been difficult to determine the cause. No one was hurt and the dog made it safely out of the house. One of the most undesirable, nerve recking medical calls that we could respond to is anything involving an infant or child. Our crews responded to an in-home birth in which the baby required cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). After receiving higher level care in the hospital, baby and mother returned to Los Alamos happy and healthy. It took an incredible team from the first responders to the nurses and doctors to ensure this child has a long and healthy life. This demonstrates the extraordinary level of service that our personnel provide. There have been many safety practices and res- trictions implemented that have made daily opera- tions difficult. We continue to learn, train and provide exceptional service to LANL, DOE, the citi- zens of Los Alamos and White Rock. It has been a year to never forget but we continue to look forward to the future.

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45 LAFD Micah Brittelle OPERATIONS C-SHIFT C-Shift Battalion Chief 2020 has come and gone, thank goodness. Although there has been struggles with the pandemic and the changes that came with it, there was light at the end of the tunnel; C shift was on duty for the first COVID vaccine shot clinic, where we got over 50% of the depart- ment for the first round of the vaccine. C-shift has truly set the example for COVID safe practices and hope for a healthy 2021. DE Wes Walker retired after serving 21.5 years at LAFD, his departure gave FF Robert Fuselier the opportunity to become a Driver Engineer. During 2020, calls were down slightly, al- though it would appear people were out recreating more, as trail rescues were up. Station 5 responded to the Apache springs trail several tours in a row to almost the same location, upper Frijoles canyon, to assist several different groups of lost hikers. On one of the TRT responses, we were engulfed in a sea of moths. Station 5 crews were also called to assist with a bear attack. Station 4 saw their share of trail rescues, with a high angle rescue on deer trap mesa, and a search for a lost hiker on Mitchell trail to name a few. Station 3 responded to several small wildland fires throughout their district. Station 1 ended the year with a fire in a semi-trailer full of trash at the eco-station. Through all the struggles, we stayed vigilant in our training. The crews built doll houses for fire behavior burns, participated in live fire evolutions, multiple EMS scenarios, and High angle rescue training.

46 LAFD PHYSICAL RESOURCES Changes in Stations: Stations 1 and 5 are currently in the process of being replaced. The intention is to replace station 5 first with the groundbreaking beginning in Fiscal Year 2022. The require- ments and criteria documents are being created to outline what these stations will need including layout, space, furnishings, etc. LAFD and Triad have been working on this process since Novem- ber 2019. The final estimate for station 5 should be completed in February and then solicitation and selection of an architectural team to create the final design will take place. Station 1 will follow the same process the following Fiscal Year. Station 1 will be split into two fire stations, stations 1 and 2. The designs will be similar and if it goes as planned, both stations will be built at the same time. One station will be in the TA 63 area on Pajarito road, and the other on West Jemez Road adjacent to Elk Ridge. If all goes as planned, we will have three new fire stations constructed over the next couple of years. Once this is complete, LAFD will then look into building a new training facility as well. Fire Administration: The Fire Administrative offices located at 999 Central Avenue; Suite 200 is in year 2 of a 5-year lease agreement ending on June 30, 2022. There have not been any upgrades to Fire Administration. We are however anticipating an install of Dish Network in 2021. This will allow the option to set up a tactical operations center if need be or use it to monitor current events. Fire Station 2: Training (owned by LAC): There we no structural upgrades to fire station 2. There were purchases to improve the efficiency of the station. For example, PPE lockers for the recruits were purchased and assembled, four conex storage containers were purchased for equipment storage, and the training tower was repaired to be tuned on at every floor of the tower. Fire Station 3: (owned by LAC): An Air Vac System was ordered for fire station 3. D.B.R Electric has completed the electrical work needed for the install. The Air Vac system installation was scheduled immediately after the electric work was completed. However, due to COVID the installation has been postponed to 2021. Fire Station 4: (owned by LAC): There we no upgrades to fire station 4 in 2020. However, the crews were due for a mattress replacement, and nine new mattresses were ordered and instal- led. Fire Station 6: (owned by LAC): In July 2020, the first of four Rytec high-speed doors was installed at fire station 6. Windsor Door completed the installation of the last three Rytec high- speed doors last Fall. Changes in Apparatus: Three new Tenders were ordered in 2020. They are expected to be in service by February 2021. Additionally, there will be three more Tenders to be ordered once we receive the first three end of January. Lastly, there is an order to replace all of the current GSA Leased Utility Vehicles, as well as, three Admin support vehicles (Chief 5, EMS 1 and Admin 1).

47 LAFD LAFD hosts the countys first COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Fire Station 3. Pictured above are Driver Engineer Bert Quintana and Driver Engineer Daniel Gandara.

48 LAFD SAFETY Joseph Baca Safety Division Chief Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) takes the health and safety of its members very seriously. To ensure members have a safe, long and healthy career, the Safety Division works through many hands ensuring a mission of personnel safety. In 2020, the Safety Division encountered new challenges due to COVID-19. Throughout 2020 LAFD continued to make changes and work efficiently to ensure the safety of all LAFD members and members of the community. LAFD personnel had no exposures due to patient contact. Furthermore, LAFD did not have any ex- posures among each other throughout the living quarters. Some preventative measures that were taken during the COVID pandemic were; constant updated information on COVID-19, cancelled all large group events and trainings, began informative virtual update meetings with all personnel, implemented interim guidelines for emergency response as well as in-station living routines to limit commingling among eachother, self- monitoring and disinfecting. In 2020, LAFD Safety Division continues to support LAFD Peer Fitness Team (PFT), Clothing Team, SCBA Team, and Peer Support Team. The teams consisted of members who all work efficiently to remain proactive in many different aspects of the department to promote new and safer fire trends, equipment, and procedures with the prio- rity of safety in a hazardous profession. LAFD strives to lead in measuring firefighter fitness and health. Health and fitness were a priority to maintain physical agility with all members of LAFD in 2020. As the year progressed with challen- ges due to COVID-19 it caused delays with physical testing, new equipment purchases due to high demand of workout equipment being purchased. Peloton bikes are still being implemented by our members. In 2020, a Peloton was purchased for Fire Administration to be utilized by administrative chiefs, administrative staff and alter- native work assignment members (AWA). New equipment continues to be purchased for all fire stations to updated outdated equipment. LAFD’s (PFT‘S) works with the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) Occupational Wellness and Health to integrate fitness and health education resonating from the individual and crew-based lifestyle levels, rather driven by policy. Safety division and PFT members worked with our Los Alamos Laboratory fitness coordina- tor in developing quarterly training and training material pertaining to physical fitness based off of seasonal hazards encountered in the fire service. Members: 2 members, 4 LANL Occupational Wellness staff. LAFD’s Peer Support Team consists of firefighter peers to listen and guide others to support individuals, specialists and/or agencies as needed in a confidential manner. These dedicated members not only serve LAFD internally, but also serve as a resource regionally through the Metro Peer Support Team. Members: 6 LAFD members.

49 LAFD LAFD’s Clothing Team continues to be involved in the selection and field testing of the finest safety clothing and equipment offered in the industry. In 2020, the clothing team tested and approved a new, NFPA approved, style of station pants, struc- tural bunker boots, and wildland helmet light. Our goal is for all of our firefighters to have a second set of bunker gear. In the Spring of 2020, we created an assignment in Target Solutions for all members to complete. The information obtained was the bunker gear coat and pant date of manufacturer, serial number, date of issues, and if they currently have one or two sets. Through this data we were able to see who is close to expira- tion on their current gear. Those who were close to expiration became a priority on the purchasing list. As a result, we were able to purchase a total of 40 sets of bunker gear. The Target Solutions assignment also required them to provide the date of issue on their current helmets and structure boots. We were then also to outfit these selected individuals with new helmets and boots. In addition, we plan to use the out of date gear for events such as, Firefighter for a Day, upcoming Academies, and for general training purposes. A storage container was all purchased 2020 for this gear so it could be secured from the outside elements. Nine members serve as shift representatives who can assist anytime for safety clothing and equipment needs. Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) team has con- tinued to upgrade their equipment. In 2020, LAFD purchased new 3M Scott Vision face pieces masks for all personnel. However, due to our current pandemic, there have been delays in receiving the upgraded equipment. The goal for 2020 along with the SCBA face piece purchase was to also order the SCBA Air Packs. The Air Packs were intended to be purchased over a three-year period, however the expiration dates on current SCBA’s would be getting close. We then applied for an As- sistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) unfortunately, the depart- ment was unsuccessful in being awarded the grant. Moreover, the department is in the process of purchasing the equipment this Fiscal Year and will continue to do so until the stock is replaced. Wildland Division Chief Sterna continues to lead the efforts of purchasing new upgraded equipment for the SCBA team. Members include: 15 SCBA Technicians, 3 stationary bre- athing compressors, and 2 mobile compressors. The Occupational Health and Safety Committee (OH&S), recruited new members from each shift that consisted of ranks from Firefighter to Battalion Chief. In 2020, there were quarterly meeting conducted virtually with each shift. In these meetings members provided input on safety concerns and input on new and upcoming technology that could be purchased to upgrade equipment within stations. Based off of the input from members a new air vac system at Fire Station 3 was purcha- sed and, however due to the pandemic the instillation is still pending. Members: The Safety Division looks continues to strive to improve the health, fitness and safety of all LAFD members.

50 LAFD Driver Engineer/ Paramedic Daniel Gandara prepares to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to Driver Engineer Ray Barela.