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April 30, 2009
Via E-Mail: observereditor@hcnonline.com
Spring Observer
Attn: Corey Turner, Editor
907 (B) E. Main St.
Humble, TX 77338
Dear Corey,
This letter is in response to a recent article title “Spring
Fire Department’s Governing Body Faces Elections” authored by
Kevin Koloian, dated April 22, 2009.
Please note the purpose of this letter is not to spark any
debate or argument, rather state specific facts that our
community should know about the fire department, its future
plans and the current challenges we face as a combination fire
department in the 21st century.
Having said that, it is disheartening that Mr. Koloian did not
contact myself or any other chief officer, current ESD #7 board
member or anyone within the fire department before posting the
aforementioned article. In my opinion, this is a lack of due
diligence in thorough reporting as with any public election, the
voting public has a right to hear both sides of the story in
order to form their own opinion.
Some things that were not covered in the aforementioned article
include the following and this also shall be used to expand upon
some points that were mentioned by the potential ESD #7
candidates. I am putting these in an easy to read bullet format.
·
Spring VFD was formed in 1953 and currently serves an estimated
population of 110,000 and an area of approximately 115 square
miles of territory along
Northern
Harris County.
·
We have a current part-time paid staff of 30 firefighters and a
volunteer staff of over 100 firefighters. Spring ranks as one of
the largest volunteer fire departments in the State of Texas not only for current membership but
also for the area the department serves.
·
SVFD current responds to over 3,000 calls annually and this is
increasing at a 4 – 5% rate each year.
·
SVFD has one of the lowest per capita costs for fire protection
in Harris County, Texas. The approximate per capita cost is $26
compared to over $168 for the City of
Houston.
·
Our territory has experienced significant growth in terms of new
residential and commercial construction over the last 10 years,
with approximately 20,000 new homes since 2000.
·
We have outgrown many of our existing facilities, including
Station 71 located in Old Town Spring. This station was
originally built back in the early 1960’s and will be replaced
by a modern facility located at E. Louetta & Lexington. Other
stations have either been built or relocated since 1990 include:
·
Station 72 – located in Northampton Subdivision, new facility
opened in 2002.
·
Station 73 – facility originally built in 1996; this property is
slated for upgrades in 2009
·
Station 74 – recently received $70,000+ in renovations and
upgrades
·
Station 75 – originally built in 1990; this facility is slated
for improvements/renovations in 2010.
·
Station 76 – new facility built in Londonderry Subdivision and
opened in 2007.
·
Station 77 – currently operates out of a leased space on Magic
Oaks Dr. in the Enchanted Oaks Subdivision. Dedicated property
for a new facility has already been purchased on Hickory Twig Way (near Cypresswood Dr.).
New facility is slated to open in late 2010.
·
Station 78 – new facility will be opened in late 2010 and serve
the Northgate Crossing area along with the north side of Old
Town Spring. Land has already been secured for this project.
·
Station 79 – pending future facility to be located near the
intersection of
Louetta
Rd. & Ella
Blvd.
Land has already been
secured for this project. Time for completion is TBD.
·
It should also be noted that we are moving these stations closer
to neighborhoods (1) to attract potential firefighter candidates
and (2) to improve response times for volunteer personnel. The
location of future facilities is being assisted by the use of
software called “ESRI” which assists fire departments in
planning the locations of facilities to best suit the needs of
the community.
·
The timing to build the new facilities is an excellent time.
Most construction materials prices are at or near 10 year lows,
meaning we will get more facility for a lesser amount of
taxpayer investment.
·
Most of these new facilities are well overdue and be more
accommodating to 24 hour staffing, whether paid or volunteer. We
are currently reviewing several nighttime staffing options as a
means to improve our response times even to our outlying areas.
One of the main topics of the article was regarding recruiting
efforts, yet nothing was mentioned about the success stories
we’ve had in recent years. Let’s take Station 73 for example.
Just a few years ago, the staffing was down to a “skeleton
crew”. Due to the efforts of diligent personnel, that station
now boasts a full roster of current and “up and coming”
firefighting talent. Station 73’s model is being reviewed and
implemented at other stations in order to increase recruiting
efforts.
Something to keep in mind is that societal change and
demographics have evolved. If you took a sampling of what made
up a volunteer in Spring 15 years ago, the station rosters were
filled primarily with shift workers and made it more easy to
determine when personnel were going to be available to cover the
district. Since that time, more of our personnel work 8 – 5 jobs
and have so many outside commitments vying for their
time…families, children, etc. This has made it more difficult to
recruit and retain talent, not just for SVFD but every volunteer
or combination department in the United States.
We continue to hold open house events at stations with smaller
numbers of staffing. Why don’t they show? See my comment
regarding job, life and family pressures. This is what
ultimately led the department to initiate the first “duty crew
truck” back in November 1997. Originally in 1997, our duty crew
was comprised of a single apparatus with four firefighters.
Since that time, the duty crew has evolved into three staffed
engine companies and one staffed rescue truck; a total of 13 –
14 firefighters on duty from 7am – 6pm, Monday – Friday while
most of the volunteer staffing works their “regular jobs”. In
order to offset the staffing of volunteers during normal
business hours, this is a challenge faced by nearly all
volunteer (now combination) fire departments and they’ve either
had to step up to the challenge or face extinction. On a
positive note, we have more SFFMA (State Fire Fighters & Fire
Marshal’s Association) certified firefighters than ever before.
I didn’t see this mentioned within the body of the article.
Out of our current annual operating budget, paid staffing is a
$500,000 per year investment. Incentives for volunteers, such as
our recently implemented paid per call program is another
sizable investment but is also used as a recruiting and
retention tool. Since the implementation of the “PPC” program,
we have seen response times drop and an increase in volunteer
participation department wide, regardless of the time of day.
Compare the above figures to an average of $1,000,000 to staff
just one fire truck 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days
per year. We currently have seven stations with two new stations
in the works. Do the math and it’s easy to see our community
gets excellent service for a fraction of the cost. The current
ESD tax income base is $3,000,000 per year and this budget
covers far more than just personnel costs. It includes debt
service on stations, apparatus, insurance, fuel, equipment,
utilities, etc. To fully staff nine fire stations 24/7/365, we
are looking at nearly $9,000,000 per year. Do the math and it’s
easy to see the taxes would have to skyrocket just to cover
manpower on fire trucks.
The department’s fleet of apparatus and staff vehicles are aging
and due to annually increasing call volume, our fleet wears out
much faster than it used to just 10 years ago. Three new pumpers
were recently purchased to replace older, high mileage apparatus
and will be online in late 2009. These new pumpers cost nearly
$500,000 without equipment and ladder trucks cost over $750,000.
We are also making an investment in a new life safety (Grace)
accountability system for our suppression personnel at over
$200,000. To sum it up, the fire service is an expensive
business to run.
Down to my final comments regarding the accusations of
outlandish spending, as our current ESD board has been extremely
conservative and watchful over the expenditures. As the
department has continued to grow along with the community it
serves, many of these investments are all coming to fruition and
made a top priority at the same time. The spending practices by
the ESD and Department have been anything but frivolous. At any
time, if anyone has any concerns about the financials,
bookkeeping, accounting or other financial practices within the
ESD or Department, they may call our auditor McCall, Gibson &
Associates. The auditor performs an annual audit and also
handles auditing services for other public/municipal entities
and they have always commended SVFD and the District for its
continued excellent work on the internal accounting.
I would also like to take this time to remind our community that
we have taken measures to lower insurance costs district wide.
Back in 2002, an ISO grade was performed on the department and
our grade improved to a Class 3 in all areas (this is up from a
Class 6 in hydrant areas and Class 9 in areas with no water
system). This grade improvement resulted in millions of dollars
in insurance premiums savings each year for our insured’s whose
insurance providers recognize the ISO system. We continue to
handle an ever increasing call volume and service has not been
compromised. I am here to say that the residents who live within
our boundaries should sleep well knowing they have a staff of
experienced, determined and loyal firefighters that are willing
and ready to answer the call…day or night.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions at
281.355.1266 or by email
Click Here .
Regards,
SPRING VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
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