HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnnual Report - 2011 Palm Desert Fire DepartmentNew or Continued Programs
• Continued participation in the city's Crime -Free Housing Program
• Annual inspections of city businesses
• Licensing inspections of Residential Care Facilities
• Certificate of Occupancy inspections
• Construction inspections of new buildings and tenant improvements
• Knox Box Program - Continued Compliance, implementing to commercial
businesses the required system— notifying and educating property
managers of the requirements.
• Identification of Target Hazard Occupancies
• Educational programs- Mini- Muster, 911 for Kids, and Community
Outreach
• Random occupancy checks of public assemblies
• Land Use Planning, New Construction, Tenant Improvement, Sprinkler,
Alarm, and Special Event plan review.
For 2012 the Fire Marshal's Office will continue to be leaders in community risk
reduction. It is our goal to maintain superior customer service to all of our customers,
improve efficiency and provide value to the community through engineering, education,
and enforcement efforts.
2011 Battalion 12 Mini Muster
CAL FIRE/ RIVERSIDE
CITY OF PLAM DESERT SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST.
2011 Mini Muster Summary
l'he Muster requires one
school day a year for five
of the Deceit Sands Uni
ficd School District
schools 1 ach chool par
ncipates in field events and
an assembly In the event%,
,tuck tits are challenged and
Planning:
Initial planning is started in
lrtgust as repre.entam e.
from the five elemcn"
shoots, Palm Desert I Iis
tonal Society and Fire
fighters from Palm Desert
Station 33 meet Dates for
October are committed to
and the planning and prep
aration begins With funds
provided by the City of
Palm Desert, Pirc Preven
lion materials are pur
chased for the event All
the 750 students reached
during Fire Prevention
Month Mini Musters re
ceive educational materials
taught the basics of fire
safety and given a glimpse
into the daily tasks that
firefighters perform. This
hands on approach to
teaching and interacting
with students has devel-
oped this program into a
learning experience these
third graders look forward
to.
• Ti
♦`�
that reinforce the days
learning and experiences.
Two full time Firefighters
are required to be commit
red to the five programs.
They are placed on a train
ing schedule, with their
only commitment being to
the Muster. Coordination
on Muster days for on duty
personnel and equipment
typically draws 25 Firefight-
ers and 5 different pieces
of fire equipment. Props
that are used as learning
tools are built and main.
twined by Station 33 Hire
fighters.
Pictured lbovc. StudentN
with tht• opportunity to u:c
proper technique. pumnp
out fire with real extin
gwbhers.
Pictured left. Fire Inmpec
tot Michelle Aleman teach
es students the value and
importance of Fxit Drill in
the I Iome (FDITI 0
♦ Isvery thind grade student in Desert
Sands Unified arches this tram}.
Students get a quility cducata m from
paid local Firefighiers.
By the end of a typical Muster day,
students are not only edueucd, but
motivated about bring ng fire safety
home with them and sharing it with
their families.
Every successful year of the program
provides hundreds of safety consnou;
kids that make up our community,
--Y-- T
2011 ANNUAL
City of Palm Desert
Fire department
C
z
Fire Department
2011 Annual Report
Below: Firefighters from Station 33 search an area of
the White Water Wash for a woman who was swept
away in front of her boyfriend. She was later found
Below: Firefighters protect several homes after a gas line was
nicked and caught fire. Quick action by the first arriving Engine
prevented the fire from extending to the residences.
Below: Firefighters perform CPR on a hiker who suffered a heart
attack while hiking the "Bump & Grind" in Palm Desert A CAL
FIRE Helicopter was used to fly the patient to Eisenhower Medical
Center.
PALM DESERT
Above: Firefighters remove a contractor from a roof after
suffering an apparent stroke. Homeowners went to get the
morning paper and noticed the worker unresponsive on the roof.
Above: Task Force 33 searches for a man who was last seen inside
cave dug into a sand drift The reporting party stated the cave was
approximately 20 feet into the hillside and 10 feet deep. Crews dug
for several hours until the mission changed from a rescue, to a
recovery. A tractor had to be brought in and the missing man was
eventually recovered deceased.
Left: One of several "Over
The Side" Rescues along
Highway 74. The vehicle in
this photo tumbled
approximately 100' before
coming to rest The driver
was transported to the
hospital with major
injuries.
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Palm Desert Fire Marshal
2011 Annual Report
The Goals & Objectives of the Fire Marshal and Fire Prevention Inspection staff
include:
Ensuring Fire and Life Safety by completing the Annual Inspection Program, review
conditional land use and project proposals, inspecting new construction for Fire and Life
Safety compliance and educating members of the Palm Desert community about Fire and
Life Safety considerations.
Summary Information — January 1. 2011— December 31, 2011
• 1346 annual inspections completed — down 755/36% from 2010
• 610 re -inspections conducted — down 563/48% from 2010
• 370 new construction inspections completed — down 133/26.5% from 2010
• 383 certificate of occupancy inspections — down 70/15.5% from 2010
• 24 special events — down 37/61% from 2010
• 341 miscellaneous activities performed including meetings, public contacts,
responses to check or assist business owner/tenants on fire & life safety issues —
down 407/54.5% from 2010
• 1327 businesses in compliance— down 1361/51% from 2010
• 478 Plan Reviews- up 170/55% from 2010
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
C
Summary Comparison: 2010-2011
olke-Inspections 2011
■Cert of Occupancy 2010
oSpecial Events 2011
■Incompliance 2010
OAnnuais zun
•New Construction 2010
oCert of Occupancy 2011
o Other 2010
2011
oRe-inspections zuio
aNew Construction 2011
■Special Events 2010
o Other 2011
Rat D� COUNTY FF1 & ENEWMEW
IN COOPERATION WITH
THE CAUFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION
John R. Hawkins — Fire Chief
210 West San Jacinto Avenue - Perris, CA 92570
(951) 940-6900-www.rvcfire.org
PROUDLY SERVING THE
JNINCORPORATED AREAS
March 7, 2012
3F RIVERSIDE COUNTY
%NO THE CITIES OF.
3ANNING
Within these pages we present the Palm Desert Fire Department's Annual Report. It
3EAUMONT
serves as a statistical accounting of our responses as well as a summary of some of our
:;ALIMESA
activities over the past year. We are proud to serve the City of Palm Desert, its residents
CANYON LAKE
and importantly the many visitors to this beautiful resort community.
::OACHELLA
This past year continued to be a struggle across our Nation as we have dealt with the
DESERT HOT SPRINGS
economic woes of this recession and its continuous impacts on our cities. Despite the
!ASTVALE
necessary belt tightening exercises that we have all experienced, we continue to provide
NDIAN WELLS
a high level of emergency services in this community. We know that public safety is a
priority to this Council and our efforts are in support of that mission.
NDIO
IURUPA VALLEY
Looking briefly at our statistics, you will note that as in past years, Emergency Medical
JOKE ELSINORE
Service (EMS) calls make up the single highest percentage of our responses at 75%.
-A QUINTA
This is consistent with other communities here in Southern California. In Patin Desert
the Fire Department provides Advanced Life Support and ambulance transportation to
v1ENIFEE
our residents. It is a fitting task for your public safety providers to make this
,AORENO VALLEY
contribution to public safety on a global scale.
VORCO
2ALM DESERT
In summarizing our efforts, I must turn to our Department's Core Values. They are a
driving force in our activities and a meaningful part of how we function and are easily
�ERRIS
summed up in these 7 words:
RANCHO MIRAGE
RUBIDOUX CSD
Leadership — Integrity — Safety — Competency - Exemplary Customer Service
3AN JACINTO
EMECULA
NILDOMAR
Thank you for the opportunity to work with this great City. We are honored to be your
Firefighters and we enjoy working with your competent and friendly City staff. We
look forward to continuing to serve the City of Palm Desert.
30ARD OF
3UPERVISORS
3OB BUSTER
DISTRICT I
Respectfully Submitted,
IOHN TAVAGLIONE
DISTRICT 2
John R. Hawkins
IEFF STONE
County Fire Chief
DISTRICT 3
IOHN BENOIT
By Bill Hunley
DISTRICT 4
Battalion Chief
AARION ASHLEY
DISTRICT 5
Dorian J. Cooley
Deputy Chief
Eastern Operations
Fire Department
2011 Annual Report
Operations PALM DESERT
In 2011 the Palm Desert Fire Department (PDFD) responded to 7509 calls for service. This is
an increase of 159 responses over 2010. A summary of the incidents appears below:
■ Medical
5,685
75.7%
False Alarm
777
10.3%
g Public SerNce Assist
517
6 9%
S Traffic Collision
339
4 5%
■ Standby
62
0 8°%
Other Fire
40
0.5°%
■ OtherMisc
26
0.3%
e: Res Fire
19
0.3°%
■ Vehicle Fire
18
0.2%
■ Corn Fire
15
0.2°%
■ Haz Mat
5
0.1%
Wildtand Fire
4
0.1%
Multi -Farr Dwelling Fire
2
0.0%
Total:
7,509 100.0%
Calls for Medical Emergencies are the largest portion of the incidents accounting for 75.7% of
the total incidents responded to by PDFD. False alarms accounted for 10.3% of the incidents
followed by Public Service Assists at 6.9% and traffic collisions at 4.5% of the call volume.
Fires accounted for 2% of PDFD's incidents.
2011 was an extremely busy year for the PDFD. PDFD units responded to an average 15.57
medical emergencies daily, a slight increase over 2010. In total the PDFD responded to 20.57
incidents on average every day of the year.
A comparison could be made the average call type of Palm Desert compared to similar sized
jurisdictions throughout the United States. The National Fire Protection Association(NFPA)
publishes annually the Fire Loss in the United States report. The Fire Loss in the United States
during 2009 reporttabies the percent of fire and non fire incidents by community size. The
table below lists the figures compared to PDFD's response percentage
Percent of Fires and Nonfire Incidents by Community Size-50,000-99,999
National
Palm Desert
Fire Incidents
3.50%
2%
Medical Responses
66.90%
75.7%
False Alarms
8.80%
10.3%
Mutual Aid Responses
2.20%
0.20%
Hazardous Material Responses
1.40%
0.10%
Other Hazardous Reponses
2.50%
1 %
All Other Responses
14.10%
10.73%
This response data reflects the survey from 212 similar sized jurisdiction
throughout the United States. 54 of the respondents were from the Western
Region which encompasses Palm Desert. This data demonstrates that the PDFD
responds to a similar percentage of incidents on a comparison basis. Medical
responses are a higher percentage and fire responses reflect fewer reported
incidents on average than similar jurisdictions.
Fire History in Palm Desert:
The Palm Desert Fire Department responded to 114 fires in 2011. This
represents a 15% increase in the number of reported fires from 2010.
According to the NFPA report, the 54 jurisdictions of similar population in the
Western Region reported an average of 2.7 fires per 1000 population. According
to this formula, Palm Desert would expect an estimated 135 fires. With 114 fires
reported, Palm Desert represents an average of 2.0 fires per 1000 population
which is on average lower than survey respondents.
The NFPA report describes the fire problem in the United States and lists the
types of fires by number and percentage of occurrence. According to the report
485,000 fires occurred in structures. This is approximately 36% of the reported
1,348,500 fires reported in the country. Of the structure fires 78.5% percent
occurred in residences with the majority occurring in one and two family
dwellings. The remaining 21.5% occurred in non-residential properties.
Palm Desert had 19 residential fires. According to this formula, 27 would be
expected on a percentage basis. Palm Desert experienced 15 reported
commercial or non-residential fires. 7.4 would be expected.
Vehicle fires accounted for 16% of the fires in 2009 nationally. Palm Desert
experienced 18 vehicle fires consisting of 17.3% of the fire incidents.
Approximately 48% of the remaining fires are classified as outside fires. This
includes fires in brush, grass, and wildland; fires outside of structures with value
loss; fires in rubbish with no value loss, and all other fires. Palm Desert
experienced 37 fires or 39% classified as outside.
These figures demonstrate that Palm Desert experiences similar fire types by
percentage as those nationwide. Vehicle fires are in higher percentage, possibly
due to climatic conditions.
In summary the city of Palm Desert Fire Department is a proud partner to the
residents and businesses we serve. As an all-risk/all-hazard fire department the
city is well served through the comprehensive integrated regional fire protection
system it receives through the Riverside County Fire Department. The city
maintains superior emergency medical services to the residents by highly trained
and professional staff. Firefighters are well -prepared and equipped for fires and
other emergency events when they occur. Modern fire prevention practices
including engineering, education, and enforcement reduce the risk to the
community. Public education and outreach serve to inform the public on
important risk reduction strategies. Through this process the Palm Desert Fire
Department will continue to serve our customers and community partners with
exceptional and professional fire protection services.