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PLAINFIELD CHARTER TOWNSHIP 6161 BELMONT AVENUE NE, BELMONT, MICHIGAN 49306 PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MONDAY - SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 3:00 PM Public Safety Committee Meeting - 3:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Agenda items a. Consider minutes from b. Presentation by the Kent County Sheriff's Department on Plainfield Township law enforcement efforts 3. Public Comment 4. Adjourn Page 1 of 33

Transcript of Page 1 of 33 - CivicWeb

PLAINFIELD CHARTER TOWNSHIP

6161 BELMONT AVENUE NE, BELMONT, MICHIGAN 49306

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING

MONDAY - SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

3:00 PM

Public Safety Committee Meeting - 3:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Agenda items

a. Consider minutes from b. Presentation by the Kent County Sheriff's Department on Plainfield Township law

enforcement efforts 3. Public Comment 4. Adjourn

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PLAINFIELD CHARTER TOWNSHIP

6161 BELMONT AVENUE NE, BELMONT, MI 49306

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

JUNE 19, 2017

1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Tom Hendershot at 3:03pm. In attendance were Frank Pfaff,

Tom Hendershot, Tom Coleman, Bob Anaya, Cameron VanWyngarden, Heather Martin, Jim

Carr, Steve McKellar, Dale Pomeroy, Cathy Bottema, Dan Karnes and Becca Soderberg. 2. Agenda items

a. Consider minutes from March 20, 2017

The minutes of March 20, 2017 were approved. b. Review activity report from Community Policing Officer Ryan Guernsey

Deputy Guernsey was unable to attend. The written activity report was reviewed. The

committee will request that Deputy Guernesy provide details of the timeframe in which the

reported activities were completed. c. Presentation by Chief McKellar on current Fire Department services and implementation of

review recommendations from July 2016

Chief McKellar presented progress against the 10 recommendations, with some completed

and others underway. Key points included:

Recommendation 1: The service can sustain running Med-3 calls without compromising

emergency services, at this time.

Recommendation 4: The EMS Consortium has signed contracts with all three ambulance

service providers and is entering an 18-month data gathering / analyzing window.

Recommendation 5: There are no plans at this time to reevaluate County protocols regarding

Med-3 response types.

Recommendation 6: Two apparatus have been upgraded to the EMT level with one more

apparatus being upgraded in the near future. When the two new apparatus (QRVs) are

delivered they will be licensed at the EMT level. EMT training is underway for five

personnel. Benefits from this upgrade were seen within the first 48 hours. Chief McKellar

provided a summary of the differences in staff skills and treatment options resulting from the

upgrade.

Recommendation 7: MABAS box cards provide pre-arranged response plans for multiple

scenarios by geographic area ensuring a quick and efficient response, coordinated with

surrounding Townships.

Recommendation 8: Senior staffing structure has been streamlined to save financial

resources and present a more cohesive staff structure.

3. Public Comment

None 4. Adjourn

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The meeting adjourned at 3:49pm

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Fire Department ServicesCommittee Recommendations Update

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There were 10 recommendations stated in the report.

Several of the recommendations have been a work in process prior to the report.

Several recommendations have been met A couple of the recommendation are in the

beginning stages or are for future consideration.

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Evaluate responding to Med-3 calls due the population growth in relationship to the increased call volume.

There is a minimal cost to responding to Med-3 calls.

Policy has been developed to turn over Med-3 calls to ALS if both front line apparatus are assigned to a call.

At this time PFD can sustain responding to Med-3 calls without compromising emergency or non-emergency services.

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Reimbursement from private medical facilities for non-emergency medical calls.

• All medical facilities which are equipped with advanced life support equipment and trained staff have signed a “No First Responder Waiver Response”.

• All medical facilities with minimal staff and limited equipment for basic life support have been approached and have stated the need for PFD to continue to respond.

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Staffing levels during peak call volume.

• Approved to call back additional part time firefighters during predictable high call volume situations.

• Research on staffing an addition apparatus to support peak call times and hot call areas. This apparatus would be located out in the community during peak call/hot areas times; not in the station.

• Paid on Call Firefighters are required to schedule 4 to 6 hours of Individual Training Time (ITT) at the station to be the third person on the truck. They are required to do ITT at least 9 time annually.

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Work closely with EMS Consortium to gather data, analyze information and understand patient outcomes related to response times.

In the spring of 2017 the EMS Consortium agreement was finally signed by the Communities and the Ambulance companies

Beginning stages of determining how and what data to collect and analyzes.

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Additional distinctions to the non-emergency Med – 3 priority calls and the need for a response.

This recommendation is dependent on KCEMS. There is no plans at this time to revise or re-

evaluate Med-3 response types in county protocols.

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Upgrade department, apparatus and personnel to the EMT medical licensure.

The department and two apparatus licensees were upgraded to EMT January 2017

Equipment and Licensure costs = $1,900 In the process of training five personnel to the level

of EMT at a cost of $5,956 One more apparatus to be upgraded to the EMT

level in the near future. The 2 new QRVs will be equipped and licensed at

the EMT level when put in service.

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Collaborate with local units of government to maintain existing services.

Auto-aid agreement with the City of Grand Rapids Final stages of EMS training collaboration with

Alpine FD. MABAS Box Cards

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Use of financial resources for operational expenses and equipment.

In the past PFD has submitted for Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grants (SAFER)

Continuously write for smaller fire safety grants from area businesses.

Ability to use Part Time Firefighters to cover Fulltime vacancies through contract negotiations

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Investigate the full response time to a 911 call.

Through the Ambulance Consortium agreement this data will start to be collected and reviewed.

The data collection has just started and being reviewed on what data to collect.

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Regular reports to Township Board and Public Safety Committee be expanded to include types of calls for service, 3-year trends, and response times.

Types of calls are being reported in the FD’s monthly report to the Township Board

Response times are being tracked per each section of the Township

Annual report in the past has compared annual call volume.

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Committee Recommendations:Based upon the discussion, review, and analysis completed by the Public Safety CitizensAdvisory Committee the following recommendations are provided to the Township Board.

1.

10.

As the population of the Township grows, it is anticipated that the calls for service willcontinue to grow. Based upon these population numbers it is projected that between2014 and 2030 the number of calls for service will increase by 30% and that the largestgrowth of calls will occur in the area of medical calls for service. As a result, it maybehoove the PFD, in the future, to not respond to non-emergency Med—3calls to makeresources available to respond to emergency calls. This would avoid increasing staffingcosts by realigning resources to meet the projected growing demand for emergencymedical calls.The Township should explore opportunities to seek reimbursement (cost—recovery) fromprivate medical facilities which request services that are classified as non-emergencymedical calls.Nearly 50% of the calls for service that are responded to by PFD occur between 8AM-SPM and 68% between 7AM-7PM, it is recommended the staffing levels on all shifts bereviewed to ensure that resources are adequately utilized and balanced within theavailable financial resources to the extent possible.The Township could continue to work with the EMS Consortium to gather data, analyzeinformation, and to better understand patient outcomes as it relates to response times.It may be necessary to engage in some joint education of the public if response timesare changed. This may also impact and potentially reduce the need for Medical FirstResponders to respond to calls for service.Work with the Medical Control Authority to add additional distinctions to the non-emergency Med 3—priority calls, to assist is determining if the department shouldrespond to all non-emergency Med 3 calls for service.It is important that staff be well-trained for both Fire and Medical calls, and therefore,PFD should pursue appropriate medical licensing to provide the Basic EMT level ofservice.When planning for population growth, PFD should collaborate with local units ofgovernment to maintain the existing services.PFD should continue to examine the use of financial resources for operational expensesand equipment.Due to the challenge in not knowing the full-response time for Medical calls, theTownship could continue to work with the EMS Consortium and the Kent CountyDispatch Authority to identify and track the amount of time that it takes for a call to beanswered, assigned a medical priority, and then dispatched. This information shouldthen be aggregated with each call in order to show the full response time to a 911 call.Regular reports to the Township Board and the Public Safety Committee should beexpanded and include the type of call for service, comparison of 3-year trends, andresponse times and service level standards.

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Future Issues for ConsiderationPlainfield Charter Township continues to grow in population, and, as a result, there will beadditional pressures applied to all of the township services, including the fire department.

As the Committee reviewed and discussed the data and information, the services from the

Plain?eld Fire Department are meeting the current needs of the citizens. However, as future

pressures for service are working to be balanced with restricted financial resources, it will be

necessary to continually evaluate the level of service that is desired by the citizens. It is fair to

say, that currently, the Plainfield Fire Department provides a high-level of service. However, in

the future, the Committee suggests that when planning for future growth the Fire Department

should look to collaborate with neighboring municipalities to provide services.

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Monthly Report — May 2017

PFD Alarms

Type Station #1 Station #3 Totals

Medicals 65 71 136

Rescues 15 8 23

Good lntentl 18 14 32

Public Service; 8V 8 16

CO Alarms 2 O 2

Unauthorized Burns3 2 1 3

Structure Fires 0 0 0

Vehicle Fires 1 1 2

Grass/BrushFires 0 O 0

Outside of Structure 1 O 1

Fires;

Mutual Aid Given 3 3 6

Mutual Aid Receivedg 1 0 1

Total 115 106 221

llncludesSmoke Scares and False Alarms

zlncludesHazardous Conditions, Assists to Citizens, Police, & Ambulances

glncludes Controlled Burns

4IncludesRefuse/Dumpster Fires

glncluded in CallType Count

Alarms May 2016: 236

Alarms YTD 2016: 1153

Alarms YTD 2017: 1114

Department Concurrent Calls YTD2016: 163

Department Concurrent Calls YTD 2017: 165

Mutual Aid Provided for: Alpine FD, Grand Rapids FD, Rockford DPS,

Mutual Aid Received from: Algoma FD

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Kent County Dispatch Alarm Report

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Day of Week

20 30

Numbelof Calls

Callsby Day - YTD(May 2017)

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Day of Week

0 50 100 150 200

Numberof Calls

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CallsbyTimeof Day- May201712:00 am-2:00 am2:00 am—4:00am4:00 am—6:O0am6:00 am~8:00am

8:00 am—10:00am10:00 am—12:00pm12:00 pm-2:00 pm2:00 pm-4:00 pm

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12:00 pm-2:00 pm

4:00 pm—6:OOpm

6:00 pm-8:00 pm

8:00 pm—10:00 pm

10:00 pm-12:00 am

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1 - May response time is

higher than average of

previous 6 months.

J - May response time is

lower than average of

previous 6 months.

Plainfield Fire DepartmentMay-17

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21.6%. 3.3%’ 13.4% 1.9% f

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May 0.67} 1.3% 465% 1375/; $3.23/0 113797/Z;15.5% 16.3%1 16.5% ‘2'é1".é5/TY’Tb 2.6% 2 8% 4.6%; 9.2%‘ 8.3%, 1_3’.Aé_'3°?/1;14.1% 13.2% 16.1% 22'.:2‘°/0

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Concurrent

May 21 Calls YTD 165

Station Station

#1 2017 2016 #3 2017 2016

January 11 10 January 18 12

February 9 7 February 20 12

March 15 8 March 19 12

April 17 10 April 11 16

May 6 10 May 7 18

NOTE: You will not be able to add the Station #1 and Station #3 numbers together and get the number

of concurrent calls for the department because department concurrent calls count the number of times

a second, third, etc. call comes in while either station is on another call. Station concurrent calls address

the number of times an individualstation is on a call

and another call is toned for that station.

TRAININGACTIVITY0 Dept Training: Ropes & Knots

(37 People/69.5 Hours)

0 Dept Training: Medical/CPAP/PulseOx

(30 People/60 Hours)

0 Shift Training: Relay Nurse Pump

(5 People/7.5 Hours)

0 Shift Training: Relay Pump

(5 People/10 Hours)

o Shift Training: Water Rescue

(4 People/4 Hours)

0 Shift Training: Search & Rescue

(5 People/10 hours)

FIREFIGHTERACTIVITYPublic EducationjFire Prevention

0 Car Seat Installations (1)

0 Station Tours (4)

0 Ride Along (1)

0 Community Visits

> Fund Raiser at Tim Horton'sAttended Fire, Tornado, or LockDown Drill (#

of Visits)

> Assumption School of Belmont (1)

> Chandler Woods (1)

> North Oakview Elementary (1)

> Northview High School (2)

O

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o Fire Education/RiskReductionPresentation> MillCreekMiddleSchool (1)> Pine IslandElementary(1)Significant Events

0 Fire Suppression Personnelwere administeredthe PhysicalAbilityTest. Allpassed.0 Administeredthe Physical AbilityTest to an ApprenticeApplicant;he passed.

FIRESAFETYBUREAUACTIVITY

0 605.1 —ElectricalEquipment,Wiring, and Hazards— Abatementof ElectricalHazards0 605.5 — ElectricalEquipment,Wiring, and Hazards— ExtensionCords0 703.1 — Fire Resistance— Rated Construction— Maintenanceo 907.8 — Fire ProtectionSystems — Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance0 5004.2 — HazardousMaterials— GeneralProvisions— Spill Control for HazardousMaterialsLiquids0 605.6 — ElectricalEquipment,Wiring, and Hazards— Unapproved Conditions0 304.1 — General — Waste AccumulationProhibited0 605.4 — BuildingServicesand Systems — MultiplugAdaptors0 1011.3 — Means of Egress - IlluminationFire Loss

0 lncident17-0001071Property Loss: $ 2,500 Property Value: S2,500Contents Loss: S200 Contents Value: S 200

Property Loss: S30 Property Value: 5 566,000Contents Loss: $ 0 ContentsValue: S 283,000

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2016 Annual Review

PFDexperienced significant personnel changes this past year. On July 31, after serving PlainfieldTownship for twenty—three years as its Fire Chief, David Peterson retired. The leadership and guidancehe provided have played a significant part in the development ofthe Plainfield Fire Department into oneofthe most effective and respected Fire Departments in West Michigan. On October 18, Steve McKel|ar

was promoted to Fire Chief after serving as Interim Fire Chief since the retirement of David Peterson.Chief McKe|lar has been a member of PFD for 35 years. On July 7, RickVanHorn retired after 15 years ofservice to PFD. Kyle Svoboda was moved to a 24 hour shift to replace him.

PFD received Township Board approval to upgrade our medical license to Basic LifeSupport (BLS). ChiefMcKe||ar and District Chief Harkes worked diligently to prepare equipment and personnel for thischange. On January 20, 2017, their efforts were rewarded; PFD passed the State Inspection and our

medical license was upgraded to BLS.

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

Call Volume by Year

T 1 l.4

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

2016 Incident Types

Unauthorized

29

utual AidGiven

94

Public Service211

Burns \ I

Rescues233

This year there were 1,072 commercial properties inspected. Through the fire safety inspection process1,877 new violations were cited, and 1,999 re-inspections were performed over the year to gain

compliance with the Fire Code. There were 24 final occupancy inspections conducted for new

businesses within the township. Every year during the summer months, the Fire Safety Bureau willinspect an occupancy that does not normally get inspected on an annual basis; for example religiousfacilities, residential complexes, and education facilities. The focus during the summer of 2016 was

residential complexes. One focus of the residential complex inspections was to insure that the”firewal|s” were in place in the attic spaces of the residential complexes. A fire at the Valley Town

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Homes in December affirmed the importance ofthe inspections. Due to the attic firewalls being intact,

fire was contained to one building, rather than allowing the fire to spread to neighboring buildings.

2016 Inspections

Finaloccupancyinspections

24

PFD has a multi-faceted Community RiskReduction Program (RRP). PFD has one Lieutenant who is

certified to perform car seat installations. This year he performed 27 car seat installations for residents

at PFD. Additionally, he worked at three Helen DeVos Children's Hospital Safe Kids Car Seat Safety

Check Events held in the PFDTraining Center, helping to install 150 car seats. Fire Crews attended 15

community events, meeting with residents, displaying the trucks, and providing risk reduction

information. PFD also provided medical stand by at 3 local athletic events as well as hosting 18 station

tours.

There are over 9,500 students attending school in Plainfield Township. Each Full-Time Lieutenant is

assigned an elementary school to work with throughout the year. Kumon Math and Reading Center of

Grand Rapids and Applebee’s Restaurant have partnered with PFDfor our elementary school RRP;

Kumon provides safety materials and App|ebee's donates coupons for a rewards program. The

Lieutenants also teach CPR to middle school students, and hold accident awareness demonstrations for

high school students. In addition to teaching, the firefighters attend as many school fire and safety drills

as they are able. This provides additional interaction with the students as well as making PFD aware of

where students are during each type of drill, in case of an actual emergency.

There were two large maintenance and repair projects undertaken this year, both at Station #1. The Air

Conditioning Roof Top Unit was replaced after struggling in recent years. Six sliding doors were replaced

with new windows and a door to improve energy efficiency.

The Township Board approved the replacement of Car 3, a 2008 Ford F250, in 2015. After the order had

been placed with the dealer for a Chevrolet Tahoe, it was learned it could be months before GM would

accept the order from the dealership. The decision was then made and approved by the Board in

November to cancel the order for the Tahoe and purchase a 2016 Ford Expedition. The Expedition was

delivered in January 2016. The vehicle was outfitted with lights and sirens, and placed in service in April.

In June, the former District Chief vehicle was turned over to the Building & Grounds department to be

re—purposed.

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PFD purchased 40 new Sperian SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) in 2010 funded by a FEMAAssistance to Firefighters Grant. The new SCBA had an issue; the batteries were only lastingapproximately 6 months, far short of expectations. This was a problem industry wide, notjust withSperian. Unfortunately, the process to get replacement packs tested and approved for use took about 5years. During that time, batteries were provided at no charge to PFD by the vendor. The vendorreplaced our SCBA once the new units were available. The new units arrived in July; they were

inspected and prepared for use. The firefighters attended trainings to learn how to use the new

equipment. The old SCBAwas returned to the vendor.

This year, five of our personnel attended programs at the National Fire Academy in Emittsburg,Maryland. Lieutenant KyleSvoboda attended the second of the two year Managing Officer Program;

while Chief Steve McKe|lar completed the fourth and final year ofthe Executive Officer Program.

District Chiefs Jeff Drake and Patrick DuVa||, as well as Lieutenant John Denemy, attended NFA classes to

further their education.

At the end of 2016, PFD implemented an Acting Lieutenant Training Program. The training is for paid—on—call and part—time personnel that have a desire to fi|l—in for full—timeLieutenants when they are onvacation or sick leave. Qualified program candidates work at least six shifts with Field Training Officersand are evaluated on their performance. The benefits of the program include:

1. Reducing the overtime budget for full—timepersonnel2. Reducing the work load strain on full—timepersonnel

3. Graduates of the training program will be qualified to be hired as a full—timeLieutenant (withoutadditional training) in the event of an opening.

This was the first year we were required to track hours for the Affordable Care Act. It was a learningexperience. Each time we thought we were on track, we learned a new piece of information, anddiscovered, we were not where we needed to be. Three part—time firefighters were forced to give upseveral weeks of regular shifts in order to keep under the 1,560 hours allowed per year. It was afrustrating process, but we are much better prepared for scheduling in 2017.

August 1, 2016, the Township Board approved a new burn ordinance. The new ordinance is much lessrestrictive than the previous guidelines. PFD worked with TexCom and we now have a link on theTownship website which allows our residents to request a burn permit on line. Additionally, permits arenow good for the entire burn season, September 1-June 30.

Rob Holland, pastor of LifelineCommunity Church in Wyoming, continues to lead our team ofthreeChaplains. Rob and Don Harkes are firefighters as well as members of the Chaplain Team, while FrankRothfuss is a retired pastor from our community. In January, Rob Holland held a Chaplain’s appreciationlunch. It was an opportunity for the Chaplain’s to review the program to date and plan for the future.After 5 years as a member of the Chaplain’s team, Pastor Aaron Werner resigned because he moved outof the area. The Chaplains responded to five requests for a Chaplain last year for residents who suffereda loss in their family due to an emergency.

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