HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1h - Fire Communication ServicesROPER MINA
21192
DATE: June 17, 2014
STAFF REPORT
Fire Department
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Kurt Norwood, Fire Chief
By: Yvonne Yeung, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT: FIRE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH THE
VERDUGO CITIES FOR FIRE DISPATCH SERVICES
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
The Arcadia Fire Department currently participates in a regional fire dispatch services
system with Verdugo Fire Communications Center ( "VFCC "). VFCC is jointly owned
and operated by the Cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena ( "Verdugo Cities ").
The current agreement is due to expire on June 30, 2014. It is recommended that the
City Council authorize and direct the City Manager to execute a Fire Communications
Service Agreement with the Verdugo Cities for fire dispatch services through June 30,
2017, with two optional three -year renewal periods.
BACKGROUND
Since 1999, the Arcadia Fire Department has contracted with VFCC for the dispatching
of emergency fire and medical response. In addition to serving the City of Arcadia,
VFCC also serves the Cities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, Monrovia,
Montebello, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, San Marino, Sierra Madre, and South
Pasadena, as well as the Burbank - Glendale- Pasadena Airport Authority Fire
Department.
At the State level, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) divides the 58
counties in California into six mutual aid regions. Region I encompasses five counties,
including Los Angeles County, which is further subdivided into six operational areas,
Areas A through G. All agencies served by VFCC are part of Area C. In 2006, all Area
C agencies, except the Sierra Madre Fire Department, entered into a Unified Response
Automatic Aid Plan to simplify and combine the numerous existing mutual and
automatic aid agreements. The Unified Response Automatic Aid Plan provides a
Fire Communications Services Agreement
June 17, 2014
Page 2 of 3
borderless fire response area within Area C where the closest fire apparatus would be
dispatched to an incident regardless of the agency origin of the apparatus or the city in
which the incident is located. In addition, the Plan provides Arcadia with additional fire
apparatus and fire personnel to incidents that would otherwise exhaust the Arcadia Fire
Department's daily staffing level.
DISCUSSION
Current dispatch technology and the regionalization approach provided by VFCC allow
the Fire Department on average to meet industry standards for response times. When
911 is dialed in Arcadia, the call initially goes to Arcadia Police dispatch and is
immediately transferred to VFCC once it is determined it is a fire or medical incident.
VFCC sends a pre -alert to the stations and apparatus, followed by a full dispatch with
text to a computer and printer. Vehicle locators in the system then determine the
closest resource to be dispatched.
The biggest advantage of contracting with VFCC for fire dispatch services is to be a
participant of the Unified Response Automatic Aid Plan. VFCC serves 13 agencies in
Area C of Los Angeles County with a combined population of over 825,000 residents,
covering an area of 134 square miles. Together, the 13 agencies have 44 fire stations
and over 180 emergency response vehicles.
Additional benefits of 13 fire agencies combining resources and participating in VFCC
include:
• Economy of scale and cost - savings of personnel, computers, phones, and
dispatch and radio communication systems
• Centralization of the Unified Response Automatic Aid Plan and coordination of
the State Master Mutual Aid Plan
• Fast access to the Governor's OES resources through Resource Ordering and
Status System, a national system for dispatch of mutual aid resources
• Participation in the Interagency Communication Interoperability System (ICIS)
digital trunked radio system
• Multiple radio frequencies licensed through the Federal Communications
Commission to allow sufficient radio communications on major incidents and /or
multiple incidents with the region
• Enhanced response time when fire stations are alerted automatically through
computer -aided dispatch (CAD), which provides a hard -copy printout and
displays dispatch information on mobile computer terminals
• Vehicle Locaters to monitor the closest resources when dispatching for incidents
• In -depth statistical analysis of fire and rescue incidents using data captured by
the CAD system
Another significant benefit of contracting with VFCC is the professional services
provided by the dispatchers that are specifically trained in fire and rescue incidents and
terminology. VFCC dispatchers are Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMD) who can
provide vital emergency medical information to the 911 caller prior to Paramedic and
EMT arrival on scene.
Fire Communications Services Agreement
June 17, 2014
Page 3 of 3
Finally, it is worth noting that the Arcadia Fire Department jointly operated an in -house
dispatching center with the Arcadia Police Department prior to contracting with VFCC.
Due to the inherent differences between police and fire incidents, it was determined that
each department would be better served with dispatching services unique to the
department. If the Fire Department were to maintain its own dispatch center 24/7, 365
days a year, it is anticipated that personnel cost alone of hiring multiple Emergency
Medical Dispatchers would be greater than the $287,114 that is budgeted for this
agreement for Fiscal Year 2014 -15. In addition, there would be substantial initial and
ongoing costs for the purchase, maintenance, periodical upgrade, and the licensing of
dispatch equipment, radio frequencies, and software. Moreover, establishing our own
dispatch center would also have negative impacts on our participation in the Unified
Response Automatic Aid Plan within Area C and it would cause delay in activating the
State's Master Mutual Aid Plan.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of the proposed contract for FY 2014 -15 is $287,114. The annual contract
cost is determined by the charge per incident dispatched ($64.26) multiplied by the
actual number of calls dispatched during the preceding calendar year (4,468 in 2013).
During the term of this agreement, the charge per incident dispatched may be increased
each fiscal year by an amount not to exceed 5% per incident. Sufficient funds have
been allocated in the FY 2014 -15 Fire Department's operating budget (Account No.
001 - 2201 - 6160).
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council authorize and direct the City Manager to
execute a Fire Communications Service Agreement with the Verdugo Cities for fire
dispatch services through June 30, 2017, with two optional three -year renewal periods.
Approved:
Dominic Lazza
City Manager