Pearland Fire Department Annual Report 2023

Annual report for the Pearland Fire Dept.

Pearland Fire Department 2023 Annual Report

Table of Contents 01.

MESSAGE FROM FIRE CHIEF

04. COMMAND STAFF

06. DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION CHART

08. CITY STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

10. OPERATIONS SECTION

16. ADMINISTRATION SECTION

21. SPECIALTY TEAMS

26. ISO ACCREDITATION

27. HIGHLIGHTS & GOALS

Fire Chief J. Taylor Message From the Fire Chief

Setting a tone of success at all levels is what we are about at PFD, and this passion fits well into the direction of our city leadership. We are fortunate to have elected officials and city management team who have a passion for public safety and provide solid direction, support, and leadership to our organization. That winner’s mindset is infectious and creates excitement when PFD team members are provided opportunities to share our advocacy for our great city staff, as well as our dynamic community.

Beginning in FY22, our forward-thinking city council approved implementation of a GPS based routing system that will coordinate responding fire apparatus with 110 traffic lights within our community. This implementation was completed in FY23 and is already yielding reduced response times, especially during time frames when high traffic congestion is encountered. The result is safer roadways for all vehicles during our approximately 14,000 emergency responses each year.

In 2023, PFD has worked hard with city stakeholders to advance the level of quality, maintenance, and readiness of our emergency fire and ambulance response apparatus’. A shared commitment to achieve an efficient and comprehensive apparatus replacement plan will serve us well as we move forward into the future. We appreciate the collaboration between our City Manager's Office, Fleet Department, and elected officials in making this motor pool replacement program a reality. In May 2023, voters approved funding for design and construction for future fire house 7, to be located on Bailey Road, just East of the City of Pearland Natatorium. Firehouse 7 will help the emergency response needs in that portion of the city and adjacent unincorporated areas that PFD also serves. This state-of-the-art facility will serve our community well for many years to come as we constantly work to increase services and reduce response times throughout our community. The proposed opening of Firehouse 7 is slated for FY2027. With our 8th firehouse, firehouse 6 upcoming soon thereafter. Also, during spring 2023, PFD embarked on our first internal Paramedic school to increase our number of Firefighter/Paramedics on staff. This is to help offset the limited number of Firefighter/Paramedics currently available to apply for fire department jobs in Texas. This partnership with The School of EMS has 11 internal Firefighter/EMT- Basic participants upgrading to Paramedic status. The result will increase the Advanced Life Support (ALS) capabilities provided to our community by PFD. This will also reduce the current challenges of limited Paramedics within our organization. We are excited about the success of this pilot program thus far. We anticipate beginning a new paramedic class with internal PFD volunteers soon after the current class is completed this April.

PFD has achieved many firsts over the last few years. One shining example was the completion of our first Citizens’ Fire Academy (CFA) in 2023. The CFA was a rousing success that is attributed to the effort of our community outreach team, training department, and on-duty personnel. PFD members from every facet of our organization were eager to teach students about their respective areas of expertise. This provides a grass-roots knowledge of all aspects of our growing PFD organization and the wide array of services we provide for our great community. Our CFA Alumni have now partnered with the long- standing PFD participants to rebrand with a new name and mission, Pearland Citizens Fire Association (PCFA). This auxiliary combining CFA alumni and former volunteer firefighters will serve as a support group for all facets related to PFD. This is very similar to the Pearland Police Department’s Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni who have effectively supported PPD and our community for many years. In partnership with our brothers and sisters in blue, PFD and PPD partnered to host our second annual 9-11 Remembrance Event. This event was attended by many from within and around our community and paid respect to those tragically lost to cowardly acts on September 11, 2001. We are passionate in providing an annual reminder for everyone to “Never Forget 9-11”. I continue to be honored and proud to serve as Fire Chief for the City of Pearland. Our command staff is passionate in our mission to constantly identify new ways to improve our services to our community and make the job safer for those on our team. Collectively, PFD continues to strive to be the organization that other agencies want to emulate. This is becoming evident due to the hard work of every member of our PFD family. We deploy blue-collar work ethic along with white-collar acuity to provide our community with a vast package of emergency service excellence. With this winner’s mindset, we continue to maintain our simple philosophy that contains a much deeper meaning, “KNOW your job, DO your job, and HAVE FUN at your job”. #PardonOurDust

Command Staff

Curtis Birt, Assistant Chief - Operations

Curtis Birt serves as the Assistant Chief of Operations for Pearland Fire Department. As Assistant Chief, he oversees firefighter and emergency medical service operations during emergency calls. He joined Pearland Fire in 2020 as the Battalion Chief overseeing Training, Health, and Safety. Chief Birt brings more than 35 years of fire service experience to PFD. With over 20 years as a Chief Officer over Training, EMS, and Operations, and 10 years as Fire Chief. Chief Birt also has a passion for teaching and supporting firefighters in hopes of achieving individual and departmental goals and performing at their highest potential. His PFD Core Value is Ownership.

Command Staff

Jacob Johnson, Assistant Chief - Administration

Jacob Johnson serves as the Assistant Chief of Administration for Pearland Fire Department. As Assistant Chief, he oversees the Fire Marshal’s office, Logistics, Code/Health Enforcement, CRR, Business Administrator, and Data Analyst. Chief Johnson brings over 20 years of dedicated fire service experience to the PFD. Jacob has a passion for mentoring, teaching, and making sure everyone has what they need to succeed. “The fire service is my passion but mentoring and seeing others succeed is what drives my soul and defines my mission,” Chief Johnson said. His PFD Core Value is Integrity.

06 PFD Organization Chart

Firehouses

Fire Administration & Training Facility 2703 Veterans Dr.

Firehouse 2 6050 Fite Rd.

Firehouse 1 1571 Old Alvin Rd.

Firehouse 3 3207 Yost Rd.

Firehouse 4 8325 Freedom Dr.

Firehouse 5 3100 Kirby Dr.

Firehouse 8 12255 Shadow Creek Pkwy

Strategic Priorities

2. Strong Economy Developing and investing in an attractive community that allows talent, entrepreneurs, and businesses to thrive for generations to come by supporting stable, steady growth, and unending opportunities 4. Sustainable Infrastructure Building quality of life on a well- planned and maintained foundation of essential water, transportation, flooding infrastructure, appealing amenities, and long-term value. 6. Whole Community Fostering a diverse and unified community with events, amenities, and public and private spaces that bring people together

1. Trusted Government Delivering Transparent, high quality, and accessible city services by developing cutting- edge solutions, engaging with the community, and continuously improving our capabilities 3. Safe Community Making Pearland a welcoming place by ensuring a safe environment and providing efficient Public Safety services for residents, businesses, and visitors 5. Resilient Finances Providing long-term community value through trusted stewardship and responsible financial management

09 Fire Station Map & District Layout

The fire district map was formed in 2012 and verified in 2017 through the City Gate Standards of Cover Study. The districts were split into 11 areas of the city where a firehouse would be needed with future growth. Through the years Firehouses 1,2,3,4,5, and 8 have been constructed and opened. This was due to emergency response volume, response time standards, and projected and actual growth of the community. Currently, Firehouse 7 is being designed and has been approved through the May 2023 bond program. Firehouse 6 is currently in the planning phase. Pearland Population: 133,000 within city limits Total population served: 156,000 Population during business hours: EST. 210,000 Response Area: 70sq miles *Areas served outside Pearland city limits are extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) areas in Brazoria, Harris, and Fort Bend Counties. PFD also serves through contracted partnerships with Emergency Services Districts (ESD) 4 and 5 located along the southern city limit borders.

Operations Section

The responsibility of the Operations Section is to utilize the Department's personnel and apparatus to deliver a wide variety of emergency and non- emergency services. Emergency services provided by the Pearland Fire Department include fire suppression, advanced life support medical treatment and transportation, specialized rescue operations, hazardous materials incident mitigation, and response to weather-related emergencies. Primary non- emergency services include fire prevention inspections and public safety education programs. We deliver these services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with the goal of responding promptly with adequate personnel who are trained and equipped to handle an emergency situation. The number of resources within the department, the training and preparation of field personnel, and the deployment of those resources are important to our mission and are included in our annual planning to ensure our ability to meet both response and quality of service goals.

The Operations Section operates from 6 firehouses on 15 front-line apparatus or supervisor vehicles. Those 15 response vehicles consist of 3 ladder companies, 4 engine companies, 6 medic units, 1 EMS supervisor vehicle, and 1 Battalion Chief vehicle. Operations is an "all hazards" responding division, which means we will respond to all fire, rescue, and EMS-related calls for service. The Operations Division includes 143 personnel in the 6 firehouses, Training Division, and our EMS Division.

Firehouse 1- Ladder1, Medic 1,Boat 1 Firehouse 2- Engine 2, Medic 2, Tanker 2, Battalion 1 Firehouse 3- Engine 3, Medic 3, Brush 3 Firehouse 4- Ladder 4, Medic 4, Squad 1, Brush 4 Firehouse 5- Engine 5, Medic 5 Firehouse 8- Tower 8, Engine 8, Medic 8

Response Totals The total number of annual responses depicted in this report is based on the 24/7/365 coverage that the Pearland Fire Department proudly provides to the community of Pearland, including residents, visitors, and employees of CoP-based businesses. In addition, coverage extends into the surrounding ETJ, including ESD 4 and ESD 5.

Pearland is a rapidly growing city that experiences ever-increasing response numbers for our firefighters on the streets.

The department has responded to 310 total fires, with 118 working structure fires. These response numbers support the fire prevention tactics our Fire Marshal’s office and Community Risk Reduction (CRR) team provide daily. Through consistent risk reduction and education efforts, our goal is to consistently achieve lower fire responses throughout the city while continuing to meet community expectations of service and proficient knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Response Totals 13,684

Incident Type

Fires

310

Mutual Aid Received Mutual Aid Given EMS MVA’s Building Fires

118 1,326 10,038 752

The incident types depicted here are the categories of incidents that PFD responds to the most frequently. "Mutual Aid Given" is when one or more of PFD response units leaves the city to assist a neighboring department. "Mutual Aid Received" refers to when neighboring departments provide aid within PFD coverage areas; due to PFD equipment not being available due to the number of emergencies at a given time. "MVA" reflects motor vehicle accidents in our city that include responses to Highway 288 and Beltway 8. "Fires" are labeled for anything burning that is not described as a building, whether residential or commercial. "Building Fires" are working structure fires. The response numbers listed are a small percentage of our 13,684 total incidents responded to in 2023.

#PardonOurDust

Training Division

• Over 45,000 documented training hours in Fire/EMS. • Numerous certification courses held in house for TCFP Advanced certifications. • Supported over 150 training requests. • Started professional development programs for members. • Created an income account to support increased training demands/opportunities for PFD members.

Administration Section The Fire Administration is responsible for the day-to-day management of all divisions within the Department. The role of Fire Administration is to provide the support and resources for first-line employees to accomplish our mission. These include:

organizational leadership overall command management

human resources budget planning logistics

Personnel Fire Administration include the Fire Chief, two Assistant Fire Chiefs, three Division Chiefs for EMS, FMO, and Training, administrative and clerical staff, support staff, and all temporary duty personnel. assigned to

Budget The chart below reflects the FY23 expenditures for the department as adopted by City Council in September of 2022. The City's fiscal year is October 1st through September 30th. Expenditures include salaries and transfers out.

18 Fire Marshal’s Office Investigations

The FMO is responsible for all fire investigations within the city limits of Pearland. For FY23 the FMO conducted 72 fire investigations resulting in 2 arson arrests. The FMO prioritizes a Juvenile Fire Setter Program in an effort to prevent juvenile fire setters, or juveniles that have been involved in the setting of fires. Inspections The Pearland FMO performs various inspections with the more common ones being annual routine inspections, new commercial building inspections, fire alarm inspections, fire sprinkler inspections, within the City of Pearland. In FY23, the FMO performed 732 Annual Routine inspections, 402 Fire Marshal Final inspections, 95 Fire Alarm inspections, and 163 Fire Sprinkler inspections. Plan Review The FMO also conducts plan reviews for all new commercial buildings being developed within the city. The FMO is also responsible for all fire protection plan reviews, pre- development meetings, and DRC meetings. For FY23 the FMO conducted 1,083 Plan reviews,

Environmental Crimes The Pearland Fire Marshal’s Office (FMO) strives to keep Pearland a cleaner and safer city and a big part of that is enforcing environmental crimes. Environmental Crimes range from illegal dumping, unauthorized discharge into waters of the state, illegal burning. For FY23 the FMO conducted 30 illegal dumping investigations, 97 illegal burning investigations, and 7 unauthorized discharge investigations. K9 Program PFD's FMO is one of three departments in Southeast Texas that currently has an Accelerant Detection Program. The FMO K9 Team is deployed when requested by Pearland Fire Marshal Investigators, as well as providing mutual aid assistance to outside agencies. The Accelerant Detection K9, Dio, is a 7-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever certified on fourteen ignitable liquids commonly used in arson fires. In FY23, the K9 team responded to 18 fires within the city of Pearland, as well as assisting outside agencies.

Code Enforcement

The Code Enforcement (CE) team investigates complaints and proactively inspects properties within the City to abate violations of adopted city ordinances, state and federal laws, and international codes. This includes three members dedicated to the investigation of nuisance concerns, insect or rodent harborage, inoperable vehicles and parking, dilapidated structures, rubbish, and debris storage, high grass, and zoning or use concerns. In addition, three team members are dedicated to inspections of over 670 licensed food establishments that include restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, schools, daycares, mobile food units, and flea market vendors. CE Staff are also responsible for plan reviews of all new commercial food establishments and temporary food license applications for special private events and city-sponsored events to ensure the safe and healthy storage, preparation, and serving of food for consumption by the public. PFD's CE Team facilitates the education of the public using numerous tools and technologies in order to foster a foundational understanding of the interpretation and reasoning behind all applicable codes in a non-punitive, mentoring approach within the community.

CODE & HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR

Complaint Cases 734 Proactive Cases 205 Inspections Completed on Cases 3392 Routine Semi-Annual Inspections 498 Mobile Food Unit Inspections 164 Alcohol Location Verification Inspections 25 Commercial Plan Reviews 66 Temp. Health Application Reviews 103

20 Community Outreach • Stop the Bleed: 12 classes, 411 students. • CPR First Aid: 12 classes, 209 students • CPR Skills Test: 18 exams. • Car seat Events: 13 events with 169 seats inspected. • Fire Prevention & PR: 154 events with 10,700+ in attendance

Specialty Teams The Pearland Fire Department is responsible for emergency deployments, calls for service not related to fire response, Public Safety/Relations events, and much more. To ensure that we are able to meet the variety of emergency needs our community demands, PFD contains several specialty teams. These teams are made up of current department members who wish to specialize in technical proficiencies outside of firefighting and EMS. Our EMS Bike Team and SWAT Medic program are two of our most tenured specialty teams with our Water Rescue team formed in 2018, through a collaborative, city-wide effort. EMS Bike Team The Pearland Fire Department is responsible for the oversight,

maintenance, staffing, and equipment furnished to the EMS Bike Team, and coordinated by the Outreach and Recruitment Supervisor. The team operates under the EMS Protocols and licenses under a contracted Medical Director for the Pearland Fire Department. The team is equipped with two Basic Life Saving (BLS) bags, two Advanced Life Saving (ALS) bags, two Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) and oxygen carried on bicycles that the team uses for special events.

Special Events 18 Bike Events in 2023

The team will attend many events throughout the year that are hosted by the City of Pearland. At times, the team will be requested to attend other events hosted in the city but by outside vendors such as Bass Pro Shop’s Kid Fish Fest, Fun Runs with PISD, Veterans Day Walk hosted by VFW, Tour De Lites, and others.

22 High Water Rescue Team PFD’s Flood and Swiftwater Team (F.A.S.T.) was a response to the devastating effects that Hurricane Harvey had on our city, its citizens, their homes and businesses. While there was not a team during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, PFD personnel were still able to make over 400 rescues during the storm, and throughout the flooding event that lasted for several days. After-action data determined a technical water rescue team was an urgent and ongoing need to provide consistent response to flooding events for the rescue of victims within our city and the surrounding ETJ. In 2017, PFD personnel had minimal experience in technical water rescue, and completely lacked the needed equipment and training to be the most effective rescuers possible. This need has been successfully addressed and maintained by PFD. Training The current 2023 roster includes 43 fully trained members (26 PFD, 7 PPD, and 10 EPW). As the team continually strives to increase the number of members, training and rescue standards have also increased. The team has mandatory training a minimum of twice a year, taking place at the City of Pearland Natatorium, Local Waterpark Partnerships, PFD Fire Field, and LMTV driver training throughout the city. In May 2023, the high-water rescue team planned and conducted a successful, large-scale Hurricane/ wide area day and night flood response training at Schlitterbahn Galveston.

SWAT Team

The Pearland Fire Department utilizes specially trained paramedics to deploy with the combined area response team or SWAT. All paramedics that are assigned to SWAT are trained and certified in Tactical Combat Casualty Care. All medics must meet and pass physical fitness criteria annually, as well as maintain the highest of standards within their daily job assignment. PFD SWAT medics maintain training standards set forth by the department and participate in bi-monthly training with the combined area response team. The medics are certified instructors in civilian response to an active shooter, active integrated response, stop the bleed, and a myriad of other training that is provided to the community. These specialized medics accompany Pearland SWAT on every call-out to include operations outside of the city limits. The primary responsibility of a SWAT medic is to provide medical support for the operations of SWAT and all operators assigned to the mission. These medics are the primary caregiver to downed officers and civilians in hostile environments. They are also the point of contact for all outside EMS agencies and may provide medical command during SWAT operations.

PFD Honor Guard

The Pearland Fire Department Honor Guard was established in February 2015 upon the tragic passing of EMS Captain Angie Hayes. A group of willing department members came together to honor Captain Hayes and graciously accepted the help of our brothers and sisters from the Pearland PD Honor Guard. The PFD Honor Guard was inactive until the passing of FMO Battalion Chief Gregory Bozdech in September 2018. Once again, a group of willing PFD members came together to provide Chief Bozdech with the honor he and his family deserved. Formalized development of the Honor Guard was inhibited when COVID-19 struck. Now that the pandemic shutdown has passed, the team is once again participating in training, local events, and gathering new members from the ranks of PFD. The support and guidance from the new fire administration have been monumental in pushing the team forward and ensuring that the PFD Honor Guard will be successful for many years to come. 9-11 Remembrance In partnership with our brothers and sisters in blue, PFD and PPD partnered to host our second annual 9-11 Remembrance Event. This event was attended by many from within and around our community and paid respect to those tragically lost to cowardly acts on September 11, 2001. We are proud that this Pearland tradition will live on in our community. We look forward to annually hosting this event and reminding everyone to “Never Forget 9-11”.

Peer Support Team

The History of our PEER Team The Pearland PEER Support Team known as the PST was founded by members of this department in 2017 with the support of Fire Administration. A unified vote of operational field Staff determined who the suggested members of the Team should be. Year in Review Peer Support Chairman provided over 75 hours of coordinating peer support activities/trainings, coordinating responses to critical incidents, and providing suicide prevention and safety planning with members. The Peer Support Council spent 81 hours interviewing members, creating/editing policies and documents, and coordinating peer support activities/trainings. Peer Support Team provided 791 hours of peer support to members of the Pearland Fire Department. One support member was added. A total of 28 hours of peer support training was completed.

Highlights Wrote and awarded a VOCA grant for the fire department, the first VOCA grant awarded to a fire department in state history. Which will provide partial funding for the peer support program. Responded to over eight critical incidents and coordinated response after the October incident. Total Hours on initial response Frasier Fire (Oct 5-Oct 13): 297 hours from the peer support team. Follow up from Frasier Fire (Oct 13- Dec 31): 59 hours from peer support team. Everyone on the scene at the Frasier Rd Fire was contacted by peer support within one week of the event, most within 72 hours of the incident.

26 Accreditation - ISO 1 Designation

Top 1% of all Communities

The ISO Class 1 rating represents a superior level of emergency response and resources dedicated to fire protection and is the highest Public Protection Classification (PPC) attainable. The new ISO Class 1 rating places Pearland in the top 1% of all communities in the nation that have been issued an ISO grade in the PPC program. 50% of the grading is based on Fire response, covering personnel, training, and equipment, including fire station location. 40% of the grading includes fire hydrant/water distribution systems and 10% emergency 9-11 dispatch. ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program plays an important role in the underwriting process at insurance companies. The program is often used by insurance companies in deciding what coverages to offer or prices to charge for personal or commercial property insurance. The goal of the program is to accurately reflect a community’s fire suppression and control resources. This program is re-evaluated every 5 years and evaluated standards must be maintained to meet the increasing demands of a growing community.

27 PFD Highlights & Upcoming Goals

Highlights

Received 4 new medic units. Created a vehicle replacement program with the help and support of our City Manager’s Office and EPW. Ordered 4 new pumpers and two new ladder trucks. Began the design phase of Firehouse 7. Completion of the 2023-2028 Community Strategic Planning Process - a fully involved 5-year plan based off buy-in and input from our community leaders and stakeholders.

Goals

Contract approval to implement First Arriving interactive monitor software at each fire facility. Submit PFD for Texas Fire Chief’s Association (TFCA) Best Practices Accreditation Program. Apply for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) to assist in funding 15 fire apparatus personnel positions for fire house 7. Achieve Texas State Fire Marshal’s Association Gold Award of Achievement (Silver in 2023).

Stay Connected

2703 Veterans Drive,Pearland, TX 77584

281.997.5850

www.pearlandtx.gov/fire

https://Pearlahttps://www.facebook.com/PearlandFD https://www.facebook.com/PearlandFireChiefnd, TX 77584

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