Organization Overview

Staunton Fire

Protection

District

2007 Annual

Report

Organization Overview

The Staunton Fire Protection District (SFPD) in Staunton, Illinois, is an all-volunteer fire department located 40 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The district covers 32 square miles of territory with an estimated population of 7,500. The largest portion of the population (5,500) resides in the city of Staunton, and the remainder lives in the rural farm area surrounding the city. The fire district is mainly a bedroom community with a large portion of its residents traveling to other larger surrounding cities for employment. The city boasts a medium size business district, a hospital, a long- term care facility, an assisted living facility, three schools, ten churches, and some small industry. The district also has a major interstate highway, a state highway, two railways, a private airport, and several pipelines contained in the response area. The district covers portions of three different counties and seven different townships

The SFPD currently maintains a maximum roster of 50 active firefighters (but normally carries a roster of 40-45 active personnel) and approximately 30 inactive and honorary firefighters. The department is structured into 4 companies with 1 captain, 1 lieutenant and 10-11 firefighters per company. A fire chief and two assistant chiefs oversee the overall department operations. A fire department chaplain and a junior firefighter program of 4-8 personnel round out the department roster. Department members average 10 years of service.

The department currently operates seven apparatus, an ATV, and a trailer. Engine 1 is a 1986 Pierce class A pumper with a 750 gallon water tank and a 1,000 gpm pump. Engine 2 is a 2007 Pierce class A rescue pumper with a 1000 gallon water tank and a 2,000 gpm pump. Engine 3 is 2000 Pierce class A pumper/tanker with a 1,500 water tank and a 1,500 gpm pump. Tender 1 is 1989 Marion tanker with a 2,200 gallon water tank. Squad 1 is a 1994 Road Rescue heavy rescue truck. Brush Truck 1 is a 1994 Ford 4 wheel drive vehicle with a skid unit that contains a 200 gallon water tank and 500 gpm pump. ATV 1 is 2006 Polaris 6 x 6 all terrain vehicle. The department also maintains a 1946 antique parade truck. The SFPD also operates a special operations trailer that carries the department hazardous materials equipment and a large foam supply.

The department maintains state of the art equipment including two hydraulic rescue tool systems, air bags, five portable pumps, positive pressure fans, large diameter hose, and a complete compliment of firefighting and rescue tools. SFPD firefighters are protected by NFPA compliant bunker gear and state of the art self-contained breathing apparatus. The department maintains a full compliment of personal pagers, portable radios, and mobile vehicle radios.

The current SFPD station was dedicated was built in 2002. The station has a total footprint of 11,955 square feet with 6,900 square feet of truck bays and 8,550 square feet of finished office area. The bay area of the station provides sufficient parking for 9 apparatus. The apparatus bay area also includes an SCBA/compressor shop, a maintenance shop, a laundry room, a restroom, and a generator room. The second story above the shop area is a dedicated storage area. The finished office area of the station encompasses two stories. The first floor consists of a radio/dispatch area, the district board room, two offices, a large training/meeting room, a kitchen, a storage/housekeeping room and two restrooms. The second floor includes a large recreation room, future bunk rooms (which are currently being used for storage and meeting rooms), female and male shower rooms, an office, a dayroom area and two mechanical rooms.

The SFPD has averaged 115 calls per year over the last 10 years. The bulk of the incidents are minor in nature and include vehicle fires, utility emergencies, and smoke investigations. The department responds to an average of five working structure fires and 25 rescue calls per year. The department provides rescue services, but a third party, municipal ambulance service is contracted for advanced life support care services.

The SFPD provides a wide variety of support services to the district residents. This includes an extensive public education program, a pre-planning program, an extensive firefighter training program, an equipment maintenance program, a customer service program, a rural water supply program and disaster response services.

The department has a developed a well-defined automatic mutual aid program with 12 other area departments. The department is also a member of the 3M Firefighters Association (a 36 department mutual aid organization), the Madison County Hazardous Materials Team program (a specially trained group of haz mat responders available to all departments in MadisonCounty), and the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (a statewide mutual aid program).

The SFPD receives the largest portion of its operating funds from the Staunton Fire Protection District that is a taxing district which was established in 1978. Each household within the fire protection district is taxed a basic rate. The current fire district budget is approximately $225,000 per year. All funds collected are administered through a district board. The three-person board manages the financial and legal dealings of the fire protection district. The funds accumulated through taxes are used to buy new equipment, pay for maintenance of current equipment, and pay per capita rates for the contract ambulance service.

Additional funds for the department are generated through fund raising efforts of the volunteers. The volunteers take part in a number of fund raising projects throughout the year which include the annual 4th of July celebration, a golf tournament, and a barbecue. All funds collected are used for department activities or to purchase new equipment.

The Staunton Fire Protection District currently maintains a class 5 ISO rating. The department maintains one of the largest volunteer contingents in the area. The department has won the prestigious Life Safety Achievement Award for excellence in public education for the past 11 years. Current Fire Chief Rick Haase was named the Illinois Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year during 2001 and the Fire Chief Magazine Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year during 2004.

The SFPD has long been a cornerstone of community service. Besides providing fire and rescue related services, they have been a strong supporter of the community. They have sponsored little league baseball teams, soccer teams, and have numerous donations to other civic organizations.

The Staunton Fire Department/Staunton Fire Protection District has a long history in the Staunton area. The department has been providing quality emergency services to the public since 1923.

Personnel

The Staunton Fire Protection District personnel have always been the most important organization asset. The SFPD volunteers receive absolutely no type of financial reward for their countless hours of service to the community. The volunteers do so much more than just respond to incidents. They spend many hours each year training to hone their fire and rescue skills. They conduct over 60% of the required apparatus and equipment maintenance. They spend countless hours conducting public education, pre-planning, and customer/community service activities. Each year the Staunton Fire Protection District volunteers accumulate between 8,000 – 11,000 hours of overall service to the community.

During the 2007 calendar year, the SFPD saw several changes within the personnel structure. The following personnel joined the department during the calendar year:

Probationary Firefighter David Wells

Probationary Firefighter Glenn Tebbe

Probationary Firefighter Anthony Saracco

Probationary Firefighter Cameron Michki

Probationary Firefighter Andrew Hancock

Junior Firefighter Tony Rowell

Junior Firefighter Dennis Johnston

Junior Firefighter Bradley Clark

The following firefighters resigned from the department during the calendar year:

Lieutenant Allan Williams

Firefighter Dennis Foster

Firefighter Chad Hartsook

Firefighter Jason Williams

Firefighter Jeff Williams

Probationary Firefighter Chris Werle

Probationary Firefighter Bill Worley

During 2007, the following personnel received promotions within the department:

Russell Alexander was promoted from lieutenant to captain

Ray Trost was promoted from firefighter to lieutenant

Corey Painter was promoted from firefighter to lieutenant

Chaplain Meador was promoted to firefighter

Daniel Mayfield was promoted from probationary firefighter to firefighter

Ryan Ray was elected vice-president

Bill Adler moved to an inactive status after 20 years of active service

The SFPD volunteer organization elected to the following personnel to leadership positions:

Ray Trost – President

Ryan Ray – Vice President

Mary Bryan – Secretary

Larry Ziegler – Treasurer

Rick Haase – Fire Chief

The following personnel were recognized with service anniversary awards during the 2007:

Ed Wineburner -25 years

Ray Trost-15 Years

Brian Dustman-15 Years

Larry Ziegler-15 Years

Dan Mosser-10 Years

Dave Volentine-10 Years

Mike Masinelli-10 Years

Ryan Ray-5 Years

Jim Bertagnolli-5 Years

The following active firefighters were recognized for service anniversaries over 20 years of service:

Mark Bryan – 21 Years of Service

Randy Williams – 21 Years of Service

Dennis Crouch – 22 Years of Service

Kevin Kuethe – 23 Years of Service

Dick Brown – 24 Years of Service

Rick Haase – 24 Years of Service

Ed Wineburner – 25 Years of service

Ron Williams – 26 Years of service

Glenn Kellebrew – 33 Years of Service

Ron Dustman – 33 Years of Service

The following inactive/honorary firefighters were recognized for membership anniversaries over 50 years:

Martin Przymuzala – 58 Years of Service

Jim Sullivan – 57 Years of Service

John Vesper – 57 Years of Service

Ray Frioli – 54 Years of Service

Lowell Lovejoy – 54 Years of Service

A complete seniority listing of SFPD is provided in attachment 1 of this report.

The following personnel were recognized for their special service to the fire district and volunteer organization:

2007 Chief’s Award - Firefighter Jim Aljets.

Don Kasubke and Dennis Yarnik – SFPD Ambulance Board Representatives

Keith Meyers – 2007 Fourth of July Celebration Chairman

Corey Painter/Jim Bertagnolli – 2007 Fourth of July Parade Chairman

Glenn Kellebrew, Ray Trost and Kevin Kuethe – 2007 Golf Tournament Chairman

Jim Bertagnolli – Illinois Fire Safety Alliance BBQ Chairman

Danny Mosser – 2007 Family Picnic Chairman

Danny Mosser – Honor Guard Coordinator

Ryan Ray – 2007 Recognition Dance Chairman

Dick Brown – 2006 Family Christmas Party Chairman

Dick Brown, Jim Aljets, Bill Miller, Mark Bryan, and Ken Newcomb – Engine 2 Committee

The SFPD volunteer membership has accumulated the following statistics throughout their careers:

The SFPD year-end membership staffing over the past ten years includes the following:

Staunton Fire Protection District

Department Roster

12/31/07

Company I

Company II

Company III

Company IV

Inactive Firefighters

Honorary Firefighters

Junior Firefighters

District Representatives

Department Officers

Incident Responses

During the 2007 calendar year, the Staunton Fire Protection District responded to a total of 125 calls for emergency assistance. This is a 34% decrease in the number of calls seen during this same time period from the previous year.

During 2007, an average of 9 firefighters and 2 apparatus responded to incidents. The average response time (time the call was received until SFPD apparatus was on scene) was 6 minutes. The average total call time (time the call was received until the time units were again ready to respond) was 44 minutes. There were two minor SFPD injuries during the 2007 incident responses.

There were only three significant structure fires during the 2006 calendar year. The incidents included a residential structure (house) fire on Renken Road on 04/10/07, a residential structure (storage barn) fire on Bond Road on 10/03/07 and a commercial structure (apartment/mercantile building) fire on North Union/Main Street on 12/31/07. In both of the residential fires, the structures sustained heavy damage but personal assets were saved. The commercial structure fire was contained to a single apartment and damage to the rest of the mercantile building and adjacent building was minimal. A resident of the apartment fire did receive extensive burns.

The fire loss during 2007 was at the second lowest level in over 10 years. The overall number of structure fires was slightly higher than the last two years and it was the second lowest number of structure fires in the last 10 years.

The SFPD saw an increase in the number and severity of brush fires during 2007. The warm, dry weather led to a number of significant brush fires. Several of the brush fires required mutual aid assistance to control. Several of the mutual aid brush fires to which the SFPD responded were also significant brush fires in adjoining fire districts.

SFPD personnel responded to 26 motor vehicle accidents during the year. This was the highest number of vehicle accident responses in a single year in SFPD history. There was an increase in the number of carbon monoxide investigations and alarm sounding responses during 2007. Over the past 10 years, the SFPD has seen a steady decrease in the number of residential structure fires and vehicle fires.

During 2007 the SFPD responded to 11 requests for mutual aid assistance and received mutual aid assistance 7 times. This the first year in several years that the number of mutual aid responses have declined.

The busiest months for response were August, September, and December. May and July proved to be the slowest incident response months during 2007. The 125 total calls for the 2007 calendar year was the third highest number of responses in year in SFPD history.

The highest number of yearly responses since the inception of the Staunton Fire Department/Staunton Fire Protection District includes the following:

A month by month breakdown and a comparison of the 2007 incident responses to the incident responses during the past 10 years is shown below:

2007 Monthly Incident Response Review

Incident Response Comparison For the Last 10 Years

A complete overview of the 2007 incident responses in provided in attachment 2 of this report.

Training

Regular training sessions are conducted each Monday evening. The Staunton Fire Protection District is one of the few fire departments in the area (paid or volunteer) that conduct training on a weekly basis. Many departments only train every other week or monthly.

The SFPD training classes are instructed by both SFPD officers and guest instructors. The classes include both classroom training and a large amount of hands on training evolutions. An advanced training program is provided for officers and a specialized training program is provided for junior firefighters.

During the 2007 calendar year, Staunton Fire Protection District personnel accumulated 2,639 hours of on-site training and approximately 450 hours of off-site training. This averages out to approximately 63 hours of on-site training per firefighter. An average of 20 SFPD personnel attended training each Monday evening. Lieutenant/Training Officer Danny Mosser coordinates the overall training program.

Outlined below are some of the highlights of the 2007 SFPD training program:

• The training program includes a wide variety of firefighting and rescue training topics and includes an extensive amount of hands on training evolutions. Some of the training topics included fireground management, water supply operations, auto extrication, apparatus operation, thermal imaging camera use, driver training, multi-injury/disaster operations, technical rescue operations and haz mat response.
• SFPD personnel attended off-site training classes including classes on fireground management, advanced tactics and strategies, and advanced auto extrication.
• The SFPD received a grant from Target Safety which provided all SFPD personnel with access to an on-line training system for a year. A number of SFPD personnel completed a total of over 50 on-line classes.
• Chief Rick Haase served as a field staff instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute and was assigned as a member of the IFSI industrial advisory committee. He also serves as an instructor and member of the fire science advisory board for Lewis and ClarkCommunity College as well as serving as an instructor for advanced ICS class for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
• Chief Rick Haase instructed a class at the International Association of Fire Chief’s Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently working the Illinois Fire Service Institute to develop a ethanol response training program that will be conducted statewide.
• The SFPD continued to expand its’ training library. The library contains all types of training manuals, video tapes, overhead transparencies, CD-ROMs which are available for department or individual use. Over twenty-five new additions were made to the library during 2007.

• The SFPD began to develop plans to construct a department training facility. The training facility will contain different props specifically designed to hone fire and rescue skills. The SFPD is currently working the high school shop classes to have the training props constructed.

• The SFPD completed the training requirements for the National Incident Management System.
• The SFPD continues the development standardized training programs for personnel. During 2007, the department developed a new training program. This program is in addition to the twenty-four other standardized training programs that have been developed over the past seven years.
• The SFPD currently produces a monthly safety bulletin and a monthly personal development bulletin for all SFPD personnel. Over the past three years, 58 safety bulletins and 52 personal development bulletins have been developed.
• During the last 15 years, the department members have participated in nearly 40,000 hours of on-site training.

• During the last 15 years SFPD personnel have obtained over 50 state and national training certifications. Some of the certifications that have been obtained by department members includes the following:

An overview of the 2007 on-site training classes is provided in attachment 3 of this report.