April 2019

City of Rochester Hills Fire and Emergency Services Monthly Report for April 2019

To: The Honorable Mayor Bryan Barnett and the esteemed members of the Rochester Hills City Council From: Sean M. Canto - Chief of Fire and Emergency Services Ladies and Gentlemen: The primary purpose of this report is to keep the officials of the City of Rochester Hills informed as to the activities and programs of the Rochester Hills Fire and Emergency Services Department. As a second purpose, this report will be shared with the Officers and all fire personnel in the organization to illustrate how their day-to-day activities benefit the citizens and the community of Rochester Hills. Call Data: Total Incidents April 2019: 629 (Approximately 35% of these incidents occurred in Senior Congregate Housing / Skilled Nursing Facilities) Total number of mutual aid coverage / requests: 2 - No Rochester Hills Fire Department units were available during these times. Total Incidents Year-to-Date: 2,520 Year-to-Date comparison 2018 to 2019: 2,354 (2018) 2,520 (2019)

Operations Bureau Deputy Chief - Todd Gary Shift Commanders - Bat. Chief Tim Quaine, Bat. Chief Rogers Claussen, Bat. Chief Jerry Yurgo Fire Suppression Division The Operations Division has begun to track on a more accurate basis the number of “Concurrent Incidents” that are happening. This graph details that out of the 630 incidents that occurred in April, 349 times (55 percent) additional incidents were taking place at the same time. As this happens the department’s resources are stretched thin, if not depleted. The department will continue to monitor this information closely. The growing number of incidents continues to cause our concurrent incident totals to rise once again. We pay close attention to these totals to ensure we can respond to simultaneous emergencies quickly enough and with enough personnel. Call concurrency examines the frequency of multiple calls occurring during the same time that units are still committed to a previous call. This situation affects the ability of the organization to commit additional resources to respond to additional calls as they occur.

Members responded to 82 calls for service. The Department responded to five (5) incidents that resulted in $228,150 in damages. On April 7, 2019, the Rochester Hills Fire Department was dispatched to 644 Lafferty Drive for a reported residential structure fire. Rochester Hills Chief 1 and Battalion 1 arrived to find a working fire in a one-story manufactured home. Prior to arrival, all occupants were able to evacuate the home safely. Rochester Hills Tower Ladder 4, Ladder 5, Rescue 1, and Alpha 23 arrived and began fire suppression activities. The fire was contained to the home of origin however, heat from the fire self-ventilating caused minor radiant heat damage to the neighboring structure. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. The City of Rochester and the City of Auburn Hills assisted at the scene. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Fire Investigation Unit also assisted in determining the cause of the fire, which is under investigation. 644 Lafferty Drive Residential Structure Fire

On April 11, 2019, the Rochester Hills Fire Department was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident- rollover with entrapment. Rochester Hills Alpha 24 was the first unit to arrive and reported a one-vehicle crash with one (1) patient having minor injuries. Rochester Hills Engine 1 and Battalion 1 arrived and assisted with vehicle stabilization. Once the vehicle was stabilized the crews removed the windshield of the vehicle to extricate the patient. The patient was transported to a local hospital with non-life threating injuries. Emergency Medical Services Division Division Head - Captain Tim Matz

Total number of EMS runs: 547 Total number of Cardiac Arrest: Five (5), the age range was 67 to 99. One (1) patient was transported for further treatment. Total number of times Narcan administered: Three (3), two (2) of the calls were for unknown loss of consciousness and one (1) was for altered mental status EMS Training Training in EMS for the month of April was a class on EMS response to bombings. Lieutenant Birchmeier attended this program earlier in the year and brought the information back to the department. He was able to discuss bombings, what they are made of, the injuries we can expect, and safety concerns when responding. This is part of our continued training with regard to terrorist incident preparation. Terrorist attacks, including mass shootings and bombings, have dramatic physical and emotional impact on a community. Terrorists often use inexpensive but deadly bullets and bombs to maximize the number of casualties and the lethality of injuries compared to conventional blunt trauma. Significant increased severity of injuries have been observed in terrorist bombing incidents compared to “conventional” casualty incidents. Penetrating trauma and blast injuries can kill rapidly. Therefore, accessing patients quickly and providing external hemorrhage control (e.g., tourniquets) and rapid evacuation to an appropriate trauma center to address internal injuries is critical to saving the most lives possible. Community Risk Reduction Division Division Head - Assistant Chief Bill Cooke The Community Risk Reduction Division highlights for the month of April 2019 included the following: Fire Safety Inspections: 19 Follow-up Inspections: 33 Plan Reviews: 12 FOIA Requests: 3 Professional Development (Training Hours): 25 hours Infant Car Seat Installation and Checks: 8 Burn Permits: 45 Public Education Activities Schools: 23 presentations totaling 656 individuals Daycares (Pre-K): 6 presentations totaling 150 individuals Camps/Scouts: 2 presentation totaling 22 individuals Station Tours: 2 presentations totaling 42 individuals Senior Programs: 3 presentations totaling 30 individuals During the month of April, the City of Rochester Hills and the Rochester Hills Fire Department Community Risk Reduction Division partnered with more than 100 Rochester College students and faculty who volunteered throughout the community for the Warriors Serve program. Our staff, along with assistance from the Rochester Hills Ordinance department, worked with over 20 Rochester College representatives installing much needed smoke alarms at the Avon on the Lakes mobile home park. During this smoke alarm campaign,

204 smoke alarms and 64 carbon monoxide alarms were installed in mobile homes that have not seen our services since 2008. This date is critical since the smoke alarms our organization provides to our citizens are a 10-year detector that has a sealed 10-year lithium ion battery. These units are much less likely to create false alarms and provide a much greater level of safety and insurance to the public. Staff along with volunteers were able to make contact with more than two thirds of the units in the park and have established the date of June 6 to return to the park to finish the task. The Division would like to give thanks to the State th of Michigan as the State Fire Marshal’s Office donated the smoke alarms to our city free of charge. State Fire Marshal Kevin Selhmeyer has identified a need in the installation of smoke alarms in our residential units throughout the State of Michigan. In 2018, a 33% increase in fire deaths took place comparatively to 2017. Fire Marshal Selhmeyer has helped to guide local fire departments in the direction of bringing this awareness to their communities. As of April 9, 2019, there has been 38 fire fatalities reported in the State of Michigan, which is a 29% decrease from this time last year. Thank you to our Division members for assisting in organizing this event and for their dedication in fire and life safety in our community. In addition, during the month of April the application process closed in search for the soon to be vacant Fire and Life Safety Educator position. “Firefighter Nancy”, as the community has become known to refer to her by, will be retiring from the fire service in May and will leave a tremendous hole in our department. We are grateful for her dedication to our community as she will certainly be missed, but not forgotten. We have received a number of excellent applicants for this position who have already been through a phone interview process and soon will be interviewed. This position will be filled in the very near future and we all look forward to meeting our newest member of our organization. Training Bureau Division Head - Captain Larry Gambotto During the month of April 2019, members of the Rochester Hills Fire Department received over 600 hours of Fire and EMS professional development. Year-to-date, members have completed nearly 2,500 hours of training. This month’s topics included Rescuing Downed Firefighters & Firefighter CPR, and the City’s De- Escalation Training. Other training our members attended included Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), Drone pilot training 1, the North American Active Assailant Conference (NAAAC) and Swift Water Rescue training in the Clinton River. Fire Training During this month’s Fire training, members received instruction and practiced locating, assessing and removing a downed firefighter from a commercial structure. Once downed a firefighter was removed from a structure, crews then transitioned to performing firefighter CPR. Unfortunately, the resuscitation of a downed firefighter presents a special concern as they are in full turnout gear with an SCBA (air pack). In essence, crews have an access issue. Before crews can initiate chest compressions, they must extricate the fallen firefighter from their gear and undirected attempts at removal of turnout gear is time consuming and chaotic. Therefore, FD-CPR.com has developed a simple technique to doff the gear from an unresponsive firefighter, which requires minimal training and no additional equipment.

Firefighter CPR Special Training During this month’s special training Fire Fighter/Paramedic Loren Mitchell, a certified Peer Fitness Trainer, delivered a lecture “Movement Matter! The seven (7) “Key” Movements”. These movements are key to proper form and functional lift of heavy objects and people firefighters encounter during the course of their duties. Fire Department Instructor’s Conference (FDIC) Firefighter/Paramedic Derek Gardner and Captain Larry Gambotto attended this year’s FDIC International in Indianapolis, Indiana. FDIC International offers 35,000+ Fire & Rescue professionals from 65+ countries around the world quality world-class instructors, classrooms, workshops, H.O.T. evolutions and the most innovative products and services available to the industry displayed by over 800 exhibiting companies. The FDIC experience is more than your traditional trade show, it’s about the learning and sharing with your peers formally and informally through hallway conversations, developing life-long friendships and recharging your passion for the industry. Simply put, there is no other event like FDIC International.

Ladder Operations Members of Stations 3 and 4 participated in OAKWAY’s Ladder Operations day at Oakland Community College’s CREST training facility. Ladders 3 and 4 perform search and rescue operations via ladder truck. Members also accessed roofs for ventilation; practice elevated master stream setup and vent-enter-search (VES) evolutions. The RHFD joined several of its OAKWAY mutual aid partners for this training at the CREST center. Drone Pilot Training Several members attend Drone Pilot training program held at Oakland Township Fire Department. The program is designed to prepare members to test for their Part 107 Pilot License to fly UAS (unmanned aircraft systems). These members will participate in a future practical training program specific for the RHFD.

Swift Water Rescue Training Firefighter/Paramedic Michael Littlefield attended a Swift Water Technician training at the Rochester Fire Department, along with members from surrounding departments. FF Littlefield completed the 40-hour technician-level training. He joins other members of the department as part of RHFD Swift Water Rescue Group. Additionally, several members of the RHFD Swift Water Rescue Group took advantage of the spring rains and higher water levels to practice their swift water rescue skills. North American Active Assailant Conference Captain Tim Matz, Lieutenant Jason Murray, Lieutenant Eric Maher and Lieutenant Nicholas Birchmeier attended the 4th annual North American Active Assailant Conference (NAAAC). This conference is intended for law enforcement, fire department, ambulance service, corporate security, hospital, and emergency management personnel and provides firsthand collaborative debriefs of some of the largest active assailant incidents in recent history from representatives of the lead law enforcement and fire service agencies involved. Presentations included information on what administrative and operational changes have been made in the aftermath of those tragedies. Administration Bureau On April 8, 2019, the Fire Department Administration and the Human Resource Department went before City Council for their approval of the Michigan Association of Firefighters Local 50 contract. This contract was approved unanimously. The Fire Department Administration would like to thank the members of the MAFF Local 50 Executive Board for their input and leadership in getting this contract accomplished.