Poudre Fire Authority | 2017 Annual Report

Chief Tom DeMint, in 2018, riding his 100th Anniversary bicycle.

WHAT MAKES THE POUDRE FIRE AUTHORITY DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FIRE DEPARTMENTS?

Letter from the Chief

In 1982, the City of Fort Collins (City) and the Poudre Valley Fire Protection District (PVFPD) came together to create the Poudre Fire Authority (PFA). We are a consolidated fire department created to serve and protect Fort Collins, Timnath, LaPorte, Bellvue, Horsetooth, Redstone Canyon and parts of unincorporated Larimer and Weld Counties. In fact, PFA serves 235 square miles of northern Colorado.

We’re proud to be a separate government entity, funded and governed by our “parent” organizations (City and PVFPD). Our goal is to provide you with prompt, skillful, and caring fire and rescue services—24/7/365. The consolidation into an Authority allows us to cross boundaries easily and provide efficient, cost-effective service to a growing community! I hope this report helps you understand how we work to achieve these goals every day.

– Chief Tom DeMint

WHAT IS AN AUTHORITY?

Definition: An organization having power or control in a particular, typically political or administrative, sphere.

Colorado state law allows neighboring fire departments to join together to provide fire and rescue services more efficiently and effectively by creating a Fire Authority. Instead of serving as a city department and a rural fire department, PFA is a separate, independent governmental entity led by a Board of Directors. That Board is made up of representatives of the Fort Collins City Council and the PVFPD Board, so it is governed by elected officials who have residents’ best interests in mind. PFA is tied very closely to those “parents” by funding, service levels, and the governing board, and works within an Intergovernmental Agreement.

Benefits of having an Authority:

IMPROVED EMERGENCY SERVICES

ENHANCED COMMUNICATIONS

5x CONCENTRATED TRAINING

ELIMINATION OF DEPARTMENT OVERLAPS

REDUCED TAX-PAYER COSTS

WHO IS THE POUDRE FIRE AUTHORITY?

PFA is governed by a Board of Directors

The Board is comprised of two members from Fort Collins City Council, two members from the PVFPD Board of Directors, and a 5th member selected by the other four, historically the Fort Collins City Manager. The PFA Board of Directors appoints the Fire Chief, who in turn manages and employs all personnel of the Authority.

WHAT DOES PFA DO?

PFA provides many services to the community including:

Fire protection services
Wildland fire response
Emergency medical services
Volunteer firefighter program
Fire suppression
Fire investigations
Hazardous material emergency response
Public affairs and education
Technical rescue response (water, ice, rope, confined space and trench rescues)
Technical services

We are comprised of:

189 UNIFORMED EMPLOYEES

91.53% MALE

8.47% FEMALE

23 CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES

43.47% MALE

56.52% FEMALE

212 FULL-TIME POSITIONS

0.90

UNIFORMED PERSONNEL PER 1,000 POPULATION Tiny People

HOW IS THE FUNDING ALLOCATED?

As a separate governmental entity, the PFA uses the City and District contributions to fund both the operating and capital budgets of the Authority.

PFA services are funded primarily through contributions from the City and the PVFPD.

City funding:

PFA receives a combination of sales/ use tax and property taxes from the City. The City’s contribution in 2018 was $26.7 million.

City’s Keep Fort Collins Great (KFCG) funding:

A specific sales tax measure approved by City voters provided $2.9 million to PFA in 2018.

PVFPD’s funding:

PFA receives 100% of the PVFPD’s mill levy (10.595 mills). The PVFPD’s contribution in 2018 was $6.7 million.

PFA thanks Fort Collins’ voters for their support of the 2019 KFCG sales tax initiative.

M = Million K = Thousand

TOTAL REVENUE

$35.9M

Intergovernmental $34.8M

Fees & Charges for Service $759K

Licenses & Permits $179K

Miscellaneous Revenue $160K

Earnings on Investments $69K

96.7% of the Revenue is Intergovernmental,
8% of the Revenue is KFCG Funding.

TOTAL EXPENDITURES

$32.6M

Operations $21.7M

Support $5.3M

Administration $2.5M

Community Safety Service $3.0M

Grants/Project $87K

66.35% of the net operating budget was allocated to the Operations Division.

CAPITAL BUDGET

$2.9M

Apparatus Replacement $1.4M

Records Management Replacement $467K

Computer/Technology $300K

Facilities Maintenance $264K

Mobile Data Terminals $120K

Radio Replacement $100K

Burn Building $88K

Staff Vehicle Replacement $80K

Major Station Remodel $50K

Thermal Imager Replacement $24K

Hose Replacement $16K

Capital spending changes every year, based on capital project needs.

CALL LOADS VS CONTRIBUTIONS

CITY INCIDENTS 86%

CITY CONTRIBUTIONS 81%

DISTRICT INCIDENTS 14%

DISTRICT CONTRIBUTIONS 19%

RESERVES:

$9.6M
(or 27% of the Operating Revenue)

BUDGET EXPENDITURES:

Underspent by
$910K
(or 2.7% of the Budget)

View the Full Statistical 2018 Annual Report

HOW DOES THE PFA IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY?

The PFA does far more than putting out fires.

In fact, due to the preventative measures we take, such as home inspections and smoke detector checks, fire related incidents make up a small portion of our work.

21,967 TOTAL INCIDENTS IN 2018

65 OTHER REQUESTS FOR SERVICE

321 FIRES/EXPLOSIONS

605 HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS

1,340 FALSE ALARMS

1,396 SERVICE CALLS

4,416 GOOD INTENT

13,824 MEDICAL CALLS

WHAT AREA DOES PFA COVER?

209, 588

ESTIMATED POPULATION OF PFA’S JURISDICTION

235

SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA

$35+ Billion

VALUE OF PROPERTY PROTECTED

HOW IS PFA SAVING LIVES?

Through a comprehensive plan review and inspection process PFA assures a safe built environment for our citizens, while the advances and expansion of the Emergency Medical capabilities provide for a safer community within PFA’s jurisdiction. Here are just a few examples:

Sprinkler Systems Saves Lives In 2018

A candle left unattended caused a fire in an assisted living facility. The fire was stopped by the activation of an automatic sprinkler system. Units responded and completed extinguishment of the fire and ventilated the building. The sprinkler system may have saved lives and significantly limited the damage caused by the fire.

An intentionally set fire in a church was stopped by the activation of the automatic sprinkler system. The sprinkler system saved the building from significant damage. The investigation of the incident was coordinated with Fort Collins Police Services, which identified and arrested a suspect in connection with the incident.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Saves Lives

PFA is responsible for ensuring high-quality EMS within its jurisdiction; this includes nine agencies within the greater northern Larimer County area (2,200 square miles in Northern Larimer County and parts of western Weld County).

In 2018, Quality of Life has been improved in this area by:

Updated and improved clinical protocols utilized by all nine agencies.
Standardization of equipment and training, specifically Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs), improved services to the community by allowing interoperability among agencies.
New AEDs provide better clinical care through real-time monitoring of provided Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
One outcome of the 2018 improvements in EMS is a 300% increase in cardiac survival rates.

Preventing Flashover Saves Lives

Flashover is the stage of a structure fire when it becomes extremely dangerous to occupants, destructive to structures, and hazardous to firefighters.

During a flashover, temperatures and conditions are intense and an entire room can burst into flames, causing a fire to spread to other parts of the structure. By containing a fire to its room of origin, either through rapid response, fire sprinklers or fire containment, fire loss and injuries to occupants and firefighters can be reduced. Delaying flashover also allows more time to complete a search and rescue of the burning room or allow a firefighter to go above a fire to rescue a trapped victim.

PFA believes that the best service to the community is to prevent fires from occurring; however, when fires occur, limiting the loss to life and property becomes the best service. Interceding before flashover demonstrates the success of all Authority services (education, prevention and response) in controlling the fire before fire extends beyond the room in which the fire started. If we have not interceded before flashover, more lives and property are threatened and the risk of losing control of the fire is increased.

WHAT DOES PFA HOPE FOR IN THE FUTURE?

Perennially named as one of the best regions to live in the US, PFA’s scope will only continue to grow in the coming years, requiring new solutions and methodologies to keep our citizens safe.

Through our “right-sized response” philosophy we are able to streamline efficiencies and position PFA for the growth our region is experiencing. By helping to inspect buildings and being involved during the building stages, we can help prevent emergencies before they happen. This allows us to continuously improve services and innovative approaches to solve current and emerging issues.

Annual Report

Where Stewardship Meets Community