City of Pullman

1 | Annual Report - 2019

City of Pullman Fire Department

ANNUAL REPORT 2019


Table of Contents

Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………………..…….. 3

Fire Department Responses ……………………………………………….………………..………. 4

Station Responses ………………………………………………………………………..…………. 5

Concurrent Calls …………………………………………………………….…………..………….. 5

Incident by Time of Day and Day of Week …………………………………..………..…………... 6

Mutual Aid Responses ………………………………………………………………..……………. 6

Total Fire and Medical Responses …………………………………………….……..…………….. 7

Fire Responses ……………………………………………………………………….…………….. 8

Fire Loss and Salvage ……………………………………………………………………………... 10

Emergency Medical Responses …………………..…………………….…………….……………. 11

Wildland Mobilization ……………………………………………………………….……………. 12

Personnel …………………………………………………………………………………………... 13

Fire Prevention and Investigation…………………………………………………….……………. 14

Public Education ………………………...………………………………………………..……….. 15

Training ………………………………………………..….…….…………………………………. 16


Executive Summary

It is my honor and privilege to present the 2019 Annual Report of the Pullman Fire

Department. I am very proud of the men and women who work extremely hard to

deliver outstanding services to those who live, work and play in Pullman. Each

member that wears the uniform of Pullman Fire Department is reminded of the faith

and trust that is bestowed upon them by the community. It is a symbol of our

commitment to excellence that we take very seriously.

In this report you will find the details of the Department’s daily activities, including

the accomplishments by our response personnel, fire prevention, public education

and training. 2019 was an outstanding year for the department, meeting several

goals in staffing, training, certifications and equipment. Staffing was increased at

the career and reserve levels allowing for an enhanced response to emergencies by

allowing each station to independently cover their assigned area more often. The

department increased the level of firefighter 1 & 2 training and certification through

the assistance of a federal grant, which paid for 90% of the program. This has

reduced the mandated hourly state training requirements per month by 50%. Numerous members completed

nominal training at the National Fire Academy developing projects that have improved the service delivery of

the department. The safety of our members were enhanced through the purchase and installation of two

hydraulic cots in two more of the ambulances reducing the exposure to lifting injuries.

The dedicated professionals of the Pullman Fire Department are devoted to your safety and the wellbeing of the

community. They will continue to work hard to serve you and provide the best service they can.

Michael J. Heston, Fire Chief


Total Department Responses

The department responded to 2654 individual calls for service, which is up 1% from 2018. Call percentages

remain similar to 2018.

Incident Type Count

Fire 69

Rupture/Explosion 11

EMS/Rescue 1870

Hazardous Condition 44

Service Call 71

Good Intent Call 216

False Call 371

Severe Weather 1

Other 1

Totals 2654


Station Responses

Station 1 responded to 1427 incidents (54%) with Station 2

responding to 1223 calls (46%). The call difference between

stations has steadily decreased since 2015 due to more efficient

operational changes. The main reason in 2019 was the

utilization of reserves and the flexibility of the 4-platoon career

shift. This has increased the staffing at Station 2 from 3 to 4

personnel more frequently. A staffing level of 4 personnel

allows the station to independently manage most calls in their

response area without the assistance from Station 1. This greatly

enhances the safety and capability of the crews on scene, reduces

unnecessary response with better utilization of resources.

Concurrent responses or back-to-back calls in 2019 occurred 25 % of the time. This was an 8 % decrease over

the 2018 concurrent call data. Concurrent calls have the potential to severely limit the number of adequate

resources available to respond which increases the frequency of mutual aid.

FIRE Station 1

Incidents 1427

Fire 343

EMS 1084

FIRE Station 2

Incidents 1223

Fire 367

EMS 856


Incidents by the time of day increase at the beginning of the

regular workday period and then continue through the

evening until about midnight. The evening activities extend

the responses depending on the time of year and day of the

week. The incidents by the day of week were steady until

the weekend activities increased starting on Thursday with

the busiest day on Saturday.

During 2019, the department received or provided mutual aid 127 times with the area agencies. Over

92% of the aid provided was related to providing medical services. Mutual aid is assistance specified

by the receiving agency that is activated by the Officer in Charge (OIC) after the call begins due to a

shortage of resources. Automatic aid is pre-determined assistance that is activated at the beginning of

the emergency by a pre-developed plan utilized by dispatch.

122108

84

6045 52 54 59

112

128108115

123111

145

121

148130 124

161146

136139

123

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Incidents by Time of Day

346 345377

344384

410448

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Incidents by Day of Week

2019 Mutual Aid Responses

WCFD12 Palouse WCFD4 Albion Colfax Garfield Lewiston Airport Other Total

5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6

5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

5 0 0 3 3 3 1 0 9 24

39 46 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 92

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

54 46 6 3 3 3 2 1 9 127

Received Mutual Aid

Received Automatic Aid

Provided Mutual Aid

Provided Automatic Aid

Total

Other Aid Given


The total 2019 fire and medical response are broken out as follows:

College Hill26%

WSU Campus19%

WCFD 12/Pull3%

Pioneer Hill20%

Military Hill17%

Sunnyside Hill11%

WCFD 4/Pal3% Other

1%

2019 TOTAL FIRE AND MEDICAL RESPONSES


Fire Responses

The department responded to 711 fire responses during 2019 totaling 27 % of the total calls. This was

a 2% decrease from the previous year. There was a total of 20 fires located inside a structure during

2019.

2019 Most Common Fire Calls

Nature Nature Nature

Fires Hazardous Conditions Good Intent Calls

Buildings 20 Natural Gas/Odor 10 No Incident Found 47

Cooking 13 Arcing, shorted 9 Cancelled Enroute 38

Outside Rubbish/Trash 11 Power Line Down 6 Gas Odor 20

Forest, Brush, Grass 11 Equip. Elec. Problem 5 Smoke/Odor Investigation 19

Vehicles 6 Carbon Monoxide 4 Approved Fire Container 5

Ruptures/Explosions Service Calls False Calls

Steam Rupture 2 Public Assist/Agency 32 Smoke Detector Related 293

Excessive Heat 9 Fire Drills 10 Malicious 34

Fire Alarm Reset 8 Carbon Monoxide 29

Water Problem 8 Trouble/False Alarms 9

Unauthorized Burning 4 Sprinkler Related 5


Fire response percentage by geographical area:

College Hill39%

Military Hill13%

Pioneer Hill16%

Sunnyside Hill7%

WSU Campus24%

Other1%

2019 FIRE RESPONSES


Fire Loss and Salvage

The department keeps track of fire loss from structures lost or damaged. Fire loss is an estimation of

the total loss of the structure and the contents in terms of replacement in like, kind and quantity. This

estimation of fire loss includes contents damaged by fire, smoke, water and overhaul. The department

uses an “average” construction costs per square foot formula to estimate the initial property loss and

the most recent tax assessment for the total value.

The total fire loss for 2019 was estimated at $476,526

with the total property valued at $3,053,781. This is a

net savings of $2,577,255 for the property owners of

Pullman. The largest single fire loss was estimated at

$390,000 involving a commercial building on May 5,

2019 at 0139 hours. The total value of the property was

estimated at $1,800,000 creating a savings of $1,410,000

for the property owner. The fire damage was limited

due to the quick response of the fire department and

progressive fire protection measures in the fire resistive

coating required on the ceiling and fire sprinklers. This

kept the fire from spreading throughout the business and

to the adjoining building.

$476,526

$2,577,255

2019 Total Fire Loss and Value Saved

Value Lost Value Saved


Emergency Medical Responses

The department responded to 1943 individual medical responses in 2019 totaling 73% of the call

volume. This was an increase of 45 (2.4%) responses from 2018. Patients were transported 52% of

the time with 55% of the responses dispatched as needing a paramedic or Advanced Life Support

(ALS). To increase firefighter safety in lifting patients, two ambulances were retrofitted with

hydraulic lift cots. This has greatly reduced back injuries during

this phase of the transport. A second cardiac CPR assist device was

added to fire station 2 to provide more consistent compressions and

free up personnel during the call. It also increases the safety during

transport as this eliminates a person standing up while performing

compressions. One of the most exciting calls occurred in May

during an unpredicted flash flood. Over 20 people, including an

infant and a medical patient, were rescued by firefighters during the

operation without any injuries.

2019 Most Common Medical Transports

Nature Nature

Sick Person* 15.7% Abdominal Pain 3.3%

Syncope/Unconscious* 11.2% Stroke/CVA 2.5%

Falls* 10.6% Alcohol 2.3%

Chest Pain/Cardiac 9.2% Psych/Suicide* 2.3%

Transfers 3.7% Hemorrhage/Lacerations 2.1%

Breathing Problems* 6.8% Overdose/Poisoning* 2.0%

Convulsions/Seizures* 6.2% Legal Blood Draws 1.7%

Other Medical/Unknown* 5.2% Back Pain 1.6%

Traumatic Injuries 4.1% Allergic Reaction 1.3%

Vehicle Accidents 3.3% Diabetic Problems 0.8%

*Alcohol/drugs are sometimes a contributing factor

Medical response percentage breakdowns by geographical area were:

College Hill21%

WSU Campus18%

WCFD 12/Pull4%

Pioneer Hill22%

Military Hill18%

Sunnyside Hill13%

WCFD 4/Pal4%

Other0%

2019 EMS RESPONSES


Wildland Mobilization

Extremely dry weather patterns projected an active wildland fire season for

2019. However, due to aggressive fire attack by local agencies and

expanded air attack resources, major fires were kept to a minimum. Pullman

Fire Department members and apparatus responded to a total of seven State

mobilization requests. Six of the fires were immediate Type 3 responses and

one longer Type 2 response. All duty shifts were covered and the costs were

reimbursed while invaluable experience was gained while creating revenue

for the city.

The department continues to have contracts with

Washington State Patrol (WSP) and Department of

Natural Resources (DNR) for sending equipment and

personnel to assist other fire agencies in their time of

need. The City of Pullman Incident Management Team

members continue to be called upon for their assistance

and expertise in managing statewide activities and

incidents.


Personnel

The City Council authorized the hiring of two firefighters for 2019. Due to a temporary closure of the

Washington State Fire Academy at North Bend, both candidates attended the Spokane County Fire

Academy. Firefighters Patrick Domries and April Manyon successfully completed the training and

increased the career staffing to 32 shift members.

Firefighter Manyon left the department in the fall and was

replaced in December with Firefighter Paramedic Christian

Schad. Christian was a former reserve firefighter who left

to complete his paramedic certification.

The fire department acknowledged

the retirement of long time Fire

Reserve Michael Chapman. He

joined the department in 1991 and

worked for over 27 years. Michael

was well known to the citizens and

youth of Pullman as a firefighter

and long time childcare provider to

numerous families. He served as a

Crew Leader for the Reserves and

excelled in public education for the

community. Michael was an active

instructor leading numerous

Hazardous Materials, Wildland and

Recruit firefighter courses and

proudly served as a member of the

Honor Guard.

Numerous certifications and course completions were achieved in

2019 by the staff. Firefighter Chuck Caessens, Lieutenant Chris

Volk and Captain Mark Johnson completed the second year of the

Managing Company Officer program at the National Fire Academy.

Deputy Fire Chief Ray Lamoureux achieved the Fire Officer

Designation and Fire Chief Mike

Heston received the Chief Fire Officer

Designation as well as the 2019 Fire

Chief of the Year by the Washington

State Fire Chiefs Association.

An intern was utilized from Washington State University to help

with creating an educational video and workout program to help

prepare candidates for the Reserve Physical Agility testing

process. The video was added to the newly updated fire

department website to help support future Reserve Candidates.

In a joint effort with the Police Department, the Fire Department

switched over to using Public Safety Testing for hiring new

members. This has greatly enhanced the candidate pool for

recruiting, testing and hiring firefighters.


Fire Prevention and Investigation

The Fire Prevention office had a busy year with training

and certifications in arson investigation, explosive

investigator, fire sprinklers and building plan reviews.

The prevention office reviewed over 147 construction

plans in 2019, which is nine more than 2018. The city

composed of 109 plan reviews and WSU accounted for

38. Two of the

largest and

most complex projects were continued from 2018, the WSU-

Global Animal Health Phase II and WSU-Plant Sciences

Building. Both projects started in 2018 and will continue into

2020. A large apartment complex was started just north of

Pullman, The Hills on Grand Ave, and will carry through to

2020. Twenty-two operational and 29 construction permits

were issued for 2019 generating fee revenue just over $25,000.

This is a slight decrease from last year based on WSU and

SEL slowing their construction projects. The prevention office is still conducting construction

inspections on projects that were started in 2018.

A majority of time was spent in inspections for the

installation of sprinkler and alarm systems though out

Pullman and WSU. Other large housing projects have

been discussed with the prevention office which will

continue to add to their work load. The department

investigated 17 fires in the city and three fires out of the

city through mutual aid requests.

Deputy Fire Marshal Nuttman held the second annual fire investigation

task force meeting with investigators and discussed ways to increase

scene management. He also attended the National fire Academy for fire

plans examiner, the Washington state chapter of IAAI conference, and

the Washington State Fire Marshal’s conference.

The Fire department continues to conduct occupancy inspections in city businesses, the familiar

findings continue to be violations for extension cords improperly used as permanent wiring, non-

working exit signage, fire extinguishers and hood systems out of annual inspection date. These

violations are common throughout the industry and are promptly mitigated by the business and/or

property owner. The Prevention office also took the first steps in minimizing paper processes with the

use of computers for producing inspection reports by email.

The Fraternity inspection process continues to show great

improvements. More pro-active meetings were held discussing

improved strategies for success with the house representatives.

The increased education and cooperation with the Fraternities

have improved the first-time fully compliant houses from 12 in

2018 to 20 in 2019.

The fire prevention office preformed 21 fire safety talks to the

community throughout the year to various organization and

schools. This included fire extinguisher classes, smoke

detector, STOP, DROP, and ROLL and two ways out.


Public Education

The department conducted 12 First Aid and/or CPR classes in 2019 at

the fire station as well as local businesses improving the skill level

and awareness of over 120 students. Several fire extinguisher classes

were held utilizing the eco-friendly portable fire simulator.

In October, the department collaborated with

Walmart for the annual Prevention

Week in

utilizing their

parking lot.

Numerous

community

members

braved the

challenging

weather to attend the educational event. The Fire

Safety House from Moscow Fire Department and Sparky teamed up to teach families how to react to a

simulated smoke and crawl out of the room while staying low as the smoke detector sounds.

The department continued to provide dozens of tours at the fire station

and at local children centers. The department supported the community

activities and events such as the 4th of July, Lentil Festival, Holiday tree

lighting, Community Egg Hunt at Kruegel Park,

Pullman Family Fair, Schweitzer Engineering

Health Fair, Neill Public Library book reading,

Pullman High School football games, WSU-

Pullman Community Safety Fair, WSU Alive

Orientation sessions, Regency Celebrations and

WSU and YMCA Youth camps.

Another unique opportunity to commemorate the

fallen was to be selected to receive a ceremonial

traveling flag in honor of Fire Captain Michael

Bell of Farmington, Maine, who died in the line

of duty. The flag was signed by department

members and transported to the Moscow Fire Department on its long

journey east passing through numerous fire departments along the way.


Training

2019 was a banner year for the International

Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC)

training here at Pullman Fire. The department

received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant

(AFG) to cover the costs of conducting this

training for the career staff. One hundred

percent of the career staff are now IFSAC

certified in Firefighter 1, Hazardous Materials

Operations, and Firefighter 2; the reserve staff

are working towards meeting this same standard

with a plan to have this accomplished by the end

of 2020. Since there was money leftover within

the grant, FEMA allowed us to extend the

performance period to conduct an IFSAC Fire Instructor 1 class. Because of FEMA’s willingness to

extend our performance period, we now have 22 of our 34 career members certified to the Fire

Instructor 1 level. We also certified 12 personnel from surrounding agencies at no cost to them.

We continue to look for ways to develop and train our

officers and acting officers as they prepare themselves

for future promotions. Chief Lamoureux, with assistance

from Chief Heston, Captain Johnson, and FF/PM

Tadema developed an officer development program to

give our personnel the knowledge, skills, and abilities to

perform at the high standards we expect from our officer

and acting officers. This is a 3-year program set to begin

in February 2020 with a 3-day class titled Captains

College. This class instills the basics skills in

professional development, employee supervision, and

tactics on the emergency scene. This will be followed up

with an offering in Fire Instructor 1 and Human

Resources for Line Officers in the first year. The

remaining two years will take them through Fire Officer

1 and 2, Strategies and Tactics, Blue Card Hazard Zone

Certification, and finish the program off with Budgeting and Finance for Line Officers. They are also

required to read two leadership books a year

and provide an executive summary on what the

book covered as well as how they will apply it

in their career.

The reserve recruit academy continues to

produce high quality firefighters for our

Reserve Firefighter Program. Chief Lamoureux

and Chief Scharnhorst made some changes to

the program to allow the reserves to work shift

work alongside the career staff to better use our

reserve personnel. This has allowed the

Reserves to fully experience the daily routine

of a career firefighter and experience more

emergency calls. This has assisted Operations in staffing station 2 with four personnel as much as

possible until our new hires complete the Washington State Fire Academy and station 2 is staffed with


four in 2020. Recruitment for the reserve program was also very successful in 2019. Due to vacancies

created from reserves graduating from WSU and others moving on, 12 positions had to be filled with

recruit class 20-01. We had 36 applicants apply for these 12 positions, which gave training the ability

to select excellent candidates. We are looking forward to similar recruitment levels in 2020.

2019 also saw some additional cooperative

training between our departments here on the

Palouse. During the summer, the training

division invited our surrounding fire service

partner agencies to participate in some multi-

company drills at the Pullman Fire Training

Center. Colfax Fire and Whitman County Fire

District 12 sent personnel and/or apparatus to

participate giving each department a chance to

interact with each other, as well as work with

each other’s equipment. The training officers

from Pullman, Moscow, and Lewiston also

started to meet more frequently to foster more

cross department training and increasing each

department’s professional development.

Washington State University continues to support the Pullman

Fire Department Training Division wherever they can. The access

they have given to the training division has been invaluable in

making our training as realistic and challenging as possible within

the confines of non-destructive training. WSU PD has also

allowed the training division use of their training room. This has

enabled us to host some professional development classes such as

the National Fire Academy’s offsite offering of Strategies and

Tactics for the Initial Company Officer. This class was held free

of charge, and saw fire

service personnel from

Grant County, Spokane,

and the Tri-Cities in

attendance.

The Pullman Training

Division cannot thank our

partners such as Washington State University, FEMA, National

Fire Academy, and the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office

– Accreditation Division enough for helping to make 2019 a

great training year for Pullman Fire. Most of all, we could not

provide the training to our personnel without the leadership and

financial support from our department and city leadership, so

THANK YOU!

City of Pullman

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