Fire Commission — Burlington, VT
Date: 2024-08-13
Time: 08:30

MEETING OF THE BURLINGTON FIRE COMMISSION

 AGENDA

 Tuesday, August 13, 2024
 8:30 am

 Fire Station #1
 136 South Winooski Ave
 Burlington, VT 05401

 Join Via Zoom Option:
 https://zoom.us/j/96416164773?pwd=HAw50g04xX6gSz0NOWaxXIcNWQc1fS.1
 Meeting ID: 964 1616 4773
 Passcode: 515896
1) Call to Order

2) Agenda – Motion to amend/adopt agenda

3) Public Comment

4) Review and Accept Minutes from previous Commission Meetings.

5) Chief’s Oral Report

6) Old Business/New Business

7) Adjournment




 ___________________________
 Michael LaChance
 Chief Engineer
 cc: Fire Commission Union President Command Staff
 All Stations Clerk/Treas. Office
 AGENDA AVAILABLE IN ALTERNATIVE MEDIA FORMS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. FOR DISABILITY
 ACCESS INFORMATION CALL THE BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT AT 864-4552 (TTY # 865-7142).

BURLINGTON FIRE COMMISSION
 Minutes of the Meeting
 August 13, 2024

These are the minutes of the August 13, 2024, Meeting of the Burlington Fire Commission. The meeting
convened at 08:30 hours via Zoom and in person with Commissioners Bond, Perkinson, Chapman, Sheehey,
and McLaughlin. Chief LaChance, Deputy Chief Curtin, and Administrative Assistant Meghan Sweeney were
also present.

Call to Order
Commissioner Bond called the meeting to order at 08:30.

Motion to Adopt Agenda
Commissioner Bond made a motion to add agenda items:
Old Business:
  Discuss the bonding vs. budgeting for vehicle replacement
  Reappointment of Commissioner Perkinson
New Business:
  Commissions being held for the awards ceremony
  New mental health facility at 1 South Prospect Street
  Discuss the Chair position of the commission.

Agenda changes approved by movement of Commissioner Mclaughlin and seconded by Commissioner
Sheehey.

Public Comment
No members of the public were present.

Review and Accept Minutes from the June Meetings
Commissioner Bond asked if there were any questions or comments on the minutes submitted for June's
meetings. With no changes, Commissioner McLaughlin moved to accept the minutes, which Commissioner
Sheehey seconded.

Chief’s Oral Report
Chief Lachance’s report (attached) was previously emailed. Additional discussion of topics included:

Personnel—Chief LaChance updated that the City Council approved the lateral transfer process at the
08/12/2024 meeting. This will allow us to post positions in October and schedule interviews in January. The
lateral recruit class will be four to six weeks.
Battalion Chief Valyou oversees the Fit 4 Fire committee and has been given additional money for mental
health initiatives. The committee plans to offer a seminar similar to the Lessons Learned seminar supporting the
Rainy-Day Fund. More information will be available in October.

Buildings – The generator at Station 2 has been replaced. The RFP for the Station 2 apparatus floor has been
posted. The floor replacement project is expected to start in October.

Commissioner Chapman asked if there was any data about the residency of the people we are responding to
who are suffering from OUD. Chief LaChance looked at this data a year ago; the data found that most identified
as being from Burlington. Often, accurate demographics are difficult to assess from this population.
Commissioner Perkinson asked why lift assists were not included in the non-transport charges. Chief LaChance
doesn’t want people who need help off the floor to feel that they can’t call because of a fee. This may need to be
re-evaluated later, but at this time, he feels it should not be charged. He is considering charging lift assists at
residential facilities with staff for these services.
Chief LaChance identified that the fire department received a grant award from AFG for firefighter training,
including live fire training. This grant has a two-year performance period. Commissioner Perkinson thinks grant
funding is something we will need to rely on for the foreseeable future to cover unique training opportunities.
Chief LaChance said some of the previous purchases we relied on grant funds for (air packs) are now being
built into the capital plan and will have budgeted funds for the future.

Old Business/New Business
  Fleet purchasing was discussed. The issue of bonding vs. budgeting for these purchases requires more
 study. Currently, there is no plan to purchase future fleet vehicles. With the expanded delivery times (3-
 5 years), a fleet plan is necessary to ensure department functions are not sacrificed. The Commission
 views this as a priority and would like a presentation from the city administration on how the city plans
 to purchase fire department fleet into the future. Commissioner Chair Bond will draft a letter for this
 request.
  Commissioner Perkinson has been renewed for another term on the Commission.
  Commissioner Bond updated the commission that there has been a proposal to do the commissions for
 officers in the department at the awards ceremony night instead of during regular meetings throughout
 the year. She thinks this is a great idea and supports this plan. No commissioners disagreed with this
 decision.
  Commissioner Bond spoke about the new mental health facility at the UHC campus, which will begin
 services on November 1, 2024. Commissioner Bond is involved with the startup of this program and is
 happy to answer any questions she can about it. She explained that the program would not be for the
 ambulance to drop off, but the CRT could assist someone there, or if on the scene with street outreach,
 they could coordinate transport to someone who needs services.
  Commissioner Bond asked if anyone else was interested in acting as commission chair. No one else
 showed interest, so Commissioner Bond remains Chair.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned by motion from Commissioner McLaughlin and seconded by Commissioner
Sheehey at 09:45.
August 13, 2024
Chief’s Report to the Burlington Fire Commission


Personnel: We currently hold two vacancies. DC Derek Libby has retired. His last duty
day was August 11. He is moving to Montpelier to serve as their new Fire Chief. Recruit
Benjamin Collier submitted his letter of resignation in July.
Michael Curtin was promoted to Deputy Chief of Operations and will begin his new
position on Monday, July 12. We will interview candidates for Battalion Chief-Shift
Commander on Friday, August 23. Once that vacancy is filled, we expect to promote one
Captain and one Lieutenant to fill the remaining vacancies. Our lateral hiring process is
working through Board of Finance and City Council approvals. Once approved, we will
release a recruitment video ahead of an October job posting for lateral FF positions. BOF
approval was received on 08/05; C.C. is expected to review it at their 08/12 meeting. Our
Fit 4 Fire committee meets quarterly to discuss new ideas and programs. Some ideas the
group is working on:
- Movement clinic
- Physical Assessments and obstacle course
- Behavioral Health
- Standardized equipment for each station and Maintenance
- Website design (For Fit4Fire)
- Deep end fitness
- IHMS increase
- Support members athletic organizations (Softball/hockey)
- Peer fitness instructors
- Peer Support Training with a class scheduled for December.




 1
Responses: As of July 31, 2024, the fire department had reached incident number 6,228.
During the same period in 2023, we reached incident number 6,081, a 2.41% increase
over the same time last year.




Overtime: June 01, 2024 – July 31
 2023 2024
 • Minimum Staffing Overtime: 2150 hrs 1170 hrs
 • Mandatory Minimum Staffing Overtime: 210.25 hrs 145.5 hrs

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The above data shows a 45.58% decrease in Minimum Staffing Overtime and a 30.80%
decrease in Mandatory Minimum Staffing Overtime during the same period last year.
Overall, the minimum staffing overtime burden on the employees and city budget
decreased by 44.26%.
Note: The above overtime burden on the staff accounts for Minimum Staffing Overtime,
giving us the 22 people required to meet minimum staffing levels. This does not account
for extra duty jobs, dispatch extra duty or CRT overtime. In the same period, our staff
committed to the following extra duty, dispatch extra duty, and CRT overtime:
 • Extra Duty: 239 hrs
 • Dispatch Extra Duty: 483 hrs
 • CRT Overtime: 271 hrs
In a full fiscal year review, in a year-over-year comparison between FY23 and FY24, we
see the following:
 FY23 FY24
 • Minimum Staffing Overtime: 11,139 hrs 8,400.5 hrs
 • Mandatory Min Staffing Overtime: 1,287.75 hrs 1,497.25hrs

 The above data shows a 24.59% decrease in Minimum Staffing Overtime and a
 16.27% increase in Mandatory Minimum Staffing Overtime during the same period
 last year. Overall, the minimum staffing overtime burden on the employees and city
 budget decreased by 20.35% in FY24.


FY25 Budget: The Fire Department's FY25 budget has been approved and is in
operation. This budget significantly increases our operational functions, including EMS,
training, and building maintenance. It also adds new funding to our Fit 4 Fire committee
in the area of mental health care. We thank the citizens of Burlington for their continued
support of the fire department.
The Board of Finance and City Council have approved a new cost structure for
ambulance services. This includes implementing billing for calls that do not result in
transport. At this time, we will not be billing for lift assists. This new fee structure will




 3|Page
reduce the liability on the City’s general fund to fund the Fire Department's operations.
The approved fee structure is below.




Fleet: Funding for fleet replacement continues to be a priority for the city’s fleet
committee. Ensuring fleet repair requests are addressed promptly and coordinated with
the shift commanders to reduce response disruptions is a primary concern for the DC of
Operations. New Ladder 4 is in service and operating well. The old L4 is now L6 and
will be utilized as a spare ladder truck. It will also be available to the training division to
train with and allow other frontline apparatus to remain in service during training
sessions. A new A4 has arrived and is currently being fitted with equipment and radios.
Old A4 will become A6 and serve as a 2nd reserve ambulance for out-of-service and
extra-duty support needs. We expect delivery of two fire apparatus to the Fire
Department in September. Four organization members will travel to Florida from August
19-21 for the final inspection. With the three-year build schedule for new ambulances and
a five-year delivery timeline for new fire trucks, a priority should be placed on a
sustainable fleet purchasing plan.


Buildings: We are working through the implementation of PM service contracts for our
bay doors, Plymovent systems, drain systems at Central, and HVAC systems. PM
contracts for these systems have not been possible due to a lack of funding. With new
funding in our building maintenance account, we are doing our best to take care of
systems to keep them in service and minimize costly emergency repairs. The RFP for the




 4|Page
Station 2 apparatus floor replacement has been posted with a due date of Aug.15. The
best-case scenario is a project start date of Oct. 01.


Radio System Upgrade: We are tentatively planning final system testing by Autumn
2024. As City Place increases in height, the antenna currently placed on Burlington
Square will need to be relocated to the roof of City Place. This will happen once the
building is completed. Contingencies built into the project will cover the costs of this
move.


Community Response Team Pilot: Staffing of the CRT in June and July has decreased
from prior months. Over the last two months, our average in-service time has been about
15 hours per week. Staffing the unit is challenging in the summer due to coverage of
regular overtime and typically scheduled vacation leave time. I have also received
feedback that the service is a challenge, and employees aren’t feeling like they are
making a difference. Many people we interact with remain in the same situation, week
after week, month after month. Many needed services are missing from our system; I
believe they are inpatient services. I also think those who deny services repeatedly should
be compelled to move in a productive direction for the good of the community. The
month of July is the first month since the implementation of the CRT, where we are
seeing an increase in overdoses from the previous year. The increase in July is
significant, as noted in the chart below.




We are tracking data from the CRT deployment. Below are some metrics showing the
program's impact. This data shows how many people the team has touched, the quantity

 5|Page
of wound care supplies handed out, comfort care supplies distributed, Narcan leave-
behind kits distributed, the number of referrals, direct phone requests, and incidents
where the team went above and beyond in their duties.




Fire Marshal’s Office: The Fire Marshal’s office is working toward increased
community engagement in FY25. The significant budget increase in FY25 will allow for
increased outreach and availability of training opportunities. This is in addition to their
regular plan reviews, permitting, inspections, and other division responsibilities. The
office is currently working on purchasing a fire extinguisher training system. This will be
utilized to engage with area organizations and businesses and increase our outreach to the
community.


Training Division:
 • We are in week 11 of Recruit Academy. Recruits are doing Well.
 • We have multiple members attending a variety of classes. NFA programs, Swift
 Water, Fire Inspector 1&2, Safety Survival, and ICS 300
 • I am happy to report that we were awarded $220,000 from AFGP for Live Fire
 Training for all members. These will be conducted over the next two years.
 • The McNeil training site is being utilized regularly, and we have made additional
 updates. South Burlington, Williston & Rutland City Fire have all used the site
 this Summer.
 • SBFD is having its new officers ride with our shift commanders to gain
 experience.
 • We have been working with UVM Med Center on their Haz Mat Decon setup at
 the Emergency Department. Recruits will participate in a small drill on August
 13th as part of their Haz Mat Training.
 • We are part of a statewide committee evaluating the feasibility of a statewide
 Recruit program at the Fire Academy.

 6|Page
 • Working on increasing our total number of members certified to instruct with the
 VFA. Two just recently were approved.


EMS Division: The EMS division is making significant strides toward the launch of the
PREVENT Initiative. Our collaboration with CityLink partners continues to strengthen as
we approach the launch date.
We are preparing our new ambulance (A-4) to go in-service, ensuring it meets all
operational standards. We have also completed outfitting the reserve ladder with the
necessary EMS equipment.
In our ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency, we optimize the EMS supply room and the
equipment carried on our apparatus. This will ensure our teams have quick and reliable
access to their needed resources.
We will begin working on a report due to Medicare at the end of November. We are also
planning upcoming in-house refreshers for our medical providers to maintain and elevate
our standards of care.

Latest EMS Response Data:


 OverdoseTotal:Transported:Not Transported
 Data through 08/04/2024

 470


 357 355
 292 282
 265
 239
 220
 179167 190
 163 158148 150 158
 135
 113
 27 12 10 40 45 65 81

 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

 1 yr ago OD total OD transported OD not transported




 7|Page
 Average Overdose Responses per Month
 Data through 08/04/2024

 39.2

 33.5
 29.8


 22.1


 14.9 15.8
 13.6 13.2




 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024



 Monthly Fire Department Overdoses
 Updated through 07/31/2024
80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

 0 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 October
 January
 April
 July
 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024




 8|Page
 Dispatch
 Unknown Problem/Person Down
 Updated through 08/04/2024


 477


 344 330
 279 267
 251
225 212 211 196



2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

 1 yr ago Current YTD Projected EOY




 Dispatch
 Alcohol Intoxication
 Updated through 08/04/2024

 230 240
 205 210 210 200
184 170 172
 119


2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

 1 yr ago Current YTD Projected EOY




 9|Page
 Annual
 Fire Department EMS Responses to
 Homeless/Houseless/Transient/
 No Address Population
 Updated through 08/04/2024
1600 1507 1490

1400

1200

1000
 862886
 820
 800 749
 637 655
 620
 600
 441
 400

 200

  0
 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

 1 yr ago Current YTD Projected EOY




 Monthly Fire Department EMS Responses to
 Homeless/Houseless/Transient/No Address Population
250

200

150

100

 50

  0




 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024




 10 | P a g e
 0 50 100 150 200 250
 Jan-17
 Apr-17
 Jul-17
 Oct-17
 Jan-18
 Apr-18
 Jul-18
 Oct-18
 Jan-19
 Monthly Fire Department EMS Responses to
 Apr-19
 Jul-19
 Oct-19
 Jan-20
 Apr-20
 Jul-20
 Oct-20
 Jan-21
 Homeless/Houseless/Transient/No Address Population

 Apr-21
 Jul-21
 Oct-21
 Jan-22
 Apr-22
 Jul-22
 Oct-22
 Data Through 07/31/2024
 Jan-23
 Apr-23
11 | P a g e Jul-23
 Oct-23
 Jan-24
 Apr-24
 Jul-24