Emergency Operations
Safe
Fire-Rescue
FY2023 Budget
Emergency Operations
The Emergency Operations program provides a full range of emergency response services as noted in the City Charter, Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and Department Master Plan. These services are carried out by Emergency Operations personnel stationed at seven strategically located fire stations throughout the city. In addition, several emergency response contracts with cooperative entities ensure resiliency and cost-effective service provision. Boulder Fire-Rescue will continue to focus on community resilience throughout 2023 with an All-Hazards response team, including improving cardiac outcomes with the introduction of Advanced Life Support (ALS) within Emergency Medical Services, increased firefighter staffing for Emergency Operations (Fire Rescue), and enhancement of the Water Rescue team within Technical Rescue. Wildfire response vigilance will continue at its 2022 funded level.
In 2023, a total of $1,124,559 in increased funding for Emergency Operations will support several key areas of this program, including $121,572 in funding for a new EMS Clinical Educator position (1.0 FTE) and $294,000 in one-time ALS implementation funding under the Emergency Medical Services subprogram, as well as an increase of $260,987 in funding to support 3.0 new Class 3 Firefighter FTE for staffing enhancements, $400,000 in one-time funding to support sworn personnel overtime costs, and $48,000 in one-time funding to support technical rescue services provided by the department.
Emergency Operations program has the following intended outcomes:
Fire-Rescue will reduce first-arriving total response time from 9 minutes 3 seconds to 8 minutes 6 seconds at the 90th percentile for:
• Moderate and high-risk emergency medical incidents (e.g. – multiple patients, CPR, stroke)
• Technical rescue incidents (e.g. – trench collapse, vehicle extrication, confined space)
• Moderate and high-risk structure fires (e.g. – single family house fires, high-rise fires)
• Wildland fires
Community Risk Reduction
The Community Risk Reduction subprogram provides fire prevention services through coordinated engineering, education, and enforcement initiatives. The public education program targets specific groups based on risk and key demographics. The workgroup also offers evaluation and intervention for children ages 3 to 18 who have been involved in a fire-setting incident. Community Risk Reduction also provides inspection and enforcement services to ensure existing buildings and new construction meet fire and safety code requirements, as well as providing fire cause and origin determination on all fires.
Community Risk Reduction Investigations has an outcome goal of having investigators on scene within 60 minutes 90% of the time.Community Risk Reduction Public Education has outcome goals of:
1) Increasing the percentage of student contact vs. Boulder student population 5% year-over-year.2) Increasing interactions with juvenile fire setters by any percentage year-over-year.
The Community Risk Reduction subprogram comprises the Code Enforcement, Investigations, and Public Education divisions. Code Enforcement provides services to ensure existing buildings and new construction meet fire and safety code requirements. Investigations provides information regarding the cause, origin and circumstances related to fires, explosions, or other hazardous conditions. Public Education provides fire and life safety education to the individuals or groups who live and work in the City of Boulder.
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Medical Services Program provides prompt and effective emergency medical response within the City of Boulder.
The Emergency Medical Services subprogram intends to initiate Advanced Life Support (ALS) with the following three intended outcomes:
1) Fire-Rescue will reduce response times of the first-arriving Advanced Life Support (ALS) provider from 10 minutes 46 seconds to 8 minutes at the 90th percentile.
2) Fire-Rescue will divert 20 percent of non-emergency 911 calls to alternative response methods.
3) Fire-Rescue will identify and pursue opportunities with regional partners (i.e., neighboring fire/rescue agencies) for mutual and/or shared response models
Hazmat
Hazmat provides all hazardous material response services in the City of Boulder and beyond through mutual aid agreements with regional partners.
The Hazmat subprogram has the following two intended outcomes:
1) Contribute 3 hazmat technicians on scene within 90 minutes of the time per IGA. Hazmat Authority is responsible for 13.
2) Hazmat team members to participate in 70% of annual trainings to maintain certifications; increase participation rate on per employee basis by 10% year over year until standard is met.
Technical Rescue
Technical Rescue provides all technical rescue response services in the City of Boulder and beyond through mutual aid agreements with regional partners.
Water Rescue is a response area within Technical Rescue that provides all water rescue operations and recovery services in the City of Boulder and beyond through direct response and mutual aid agreements with regional partners.
The Technical Rescue subprogram has two intended outcomes:
1) Technical Rescue Units to be at arrival and operational within 60 minutes of full response request for each of the identified technical rescue disciplines; Rope Rescue, Confined Space rescue, Trench Rescue, Structural Collapse Rescue, Dive and Swift Water Rescue, Heavy Vehicle Extrication, and In-Shaft Elevator Rescue.
2) Deployment of a Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) team would be within two hours of dispatch, as is normal operating procedure for a Wildland incident resource request. Deployment for a local incident would remain at the 60-minute response to the Incident Command Post. Initial arriving units to be working at the operations level within 15 minutes of dispatch.
Wildland Response
Wildland Response provides initial fire attack for wildland fires on city-owned open space. In addition, the division conducts forest thinning services, pre-planning and coordination of wildfire response with neighboring fire districts.
The Wildland Response subprogram has the following six intended outcomes:
1) Fire-Rescue Wildland Response will reduce first-arriving total response time from 9 minutes 3 seconds to 8 minutes 6 seconds at the 90th percentile for wildland fires.
2) Fire-Rescue Wildland Response will keep 90% of fire starts (non-management ignited) to 1 acre or less on an annual basis within the municipal boundary.
3) Fire-Rescue Wildland Response will keep 90% of fire starts (non-management ignited) to 1 acre or less on an annual basis for city owned and managed land outside the municipal boundary utilizing cooperating agency partners.
4) Fire-Rescue Wildland Response will increase prescribed burns by 10% year over year (conditions permitting).
5) Fire-Rescue Wildland Response will increase wildfire home assessments by 10% year over year.
6) Fire-Rescue Wildland Response will increase education / outreach sessions (detailed assessments/ HOA preparedness talks) by 5% year over year.
