North OC Fire Authority? Tri-City Fire Authority?

Yes.  For the last several years Fullerton Fire Chief Wolfgang Knabe has been working on merging the command staff of Fullerton's and Brea's Fire Departments.  Those efforts came to fruition last year with Chief Knabe being appointed as Fire Chief of both cities.  No, he doesn't get two pay checks.

The next step, actually merging several fire departments, began to take shape with the Anaheim City Council voting earlier this week to continue studying what it would mean to the participating cities, Orange, Anaheim, and Fullerton. 

The OC Register has a write-up on it here...

Will the police departments do something similar?

Fullerton City Council Meeting - Tomorrow at 6:30PM

Speak up and be heard. 

6:30PM at Fullerton City Hall

303 W. Commonwealth Ave.

Read the City Council Agenda HERE!

Fullerton Fire Department warns business about bogus safety inspections

The Fullerton Fire Department is cautioning business owners to be on the alert for a group of individuals who conduct unsolicited “inspections” of a business’ fire safety systems.

           

At the conclusion of the “inspection,” the individuals will present the business owner with a document that resembles an inspection report, but is actually a bill.

           

Fullerton Fire Marshal Julie Kunze said approximately six local businesses have been targeted by the individuals over the past month, adding the group’s activities seem to be picking up pace. She also noted they are hitting surrounding cities, and have targeted businesses in Los Angeles County, as well.

           

Kunze said while the individuals do not specifically say they are from the Fire Department, they wear dark blue shirts and pants resembling a firefighter’s uniform. They then inform the owner or manager of the business that they are there to conduct an inspection of their business or the fire safety system.

           

“They walk around the business while marking off items on a clipboard,” Kunze said. “At the conclusion of the ‘inspection,’ they ask the business owner to sign the ‘inspection’ form. By signing, the business owner has agreed to pay a fee for the work, and if they don’t pay immediately, they are turned over to an aggressive collection agency.”

           

Kunze said fees charged for the alleged ‘inspections’ have ranged from $100-$300.

           

The Fullerton Fire Department does conduct annual inspections of businesses and fire safety systems; however, “the Fire Department does not charge for the service,” Kunze said. “The department never contracts with a private business to conduct the inspections.”

           

Kunze added when fire personnel conduct an inspection, “They will always be in a Fire Department uniform, wearing a Fullerton Fire Department badge, as well as a department patch on one sleeve, and driving a department vehicle, such as a fire engine or clearly marked fire car.” 

           

Kunze said businesses approached by the phony inspectors should immediately call the Fire Prevention Division of the Fullerton Fire Department at (714) 738-6500. “It would be very helpful if the business owners could provide us with descriptions of the individuals, as well as their vehicle, including the license plate number,” she said.

           

However, she added business owners should never attempt to challenge these people or in any way or put their personal safety in jeopardy. “Business owners do not have to allow these people on their premises,” Kunze said. “They can politely decline the inspection and then call the Fire Department.”

           

Further information about the Fire Department’s business fire safety inspections may also be obtained by calling the Fire Prevention Division.

July 2011 Council Update

Projects:

Euclid Street Reconstruction - Orangethorpe Avenue to 91 Freeway (Engineering): This project includes replacing deteriorated pavement and access ramps to comply with ADA regulations; installing traffic loops and striping; and replacing damaged curbs and gutters. The project is in the bidding phase, and construction is expected to begin in late August.

Richman Athletic Field Improvements (Engineering): The project was completed at the beginning of June and is in the maintenance period, which ends in September.

West Harbor Alley Improvement -

Amerige Avenue-Wilshire Avenue

(Engineering): In June, Council awarded this $215,175 project to Kormx, Inc. The project includes alley and sidewalk reconstruction, and improvements in landscaping, irrigation, and lighting between the Amerige and Wilshire entrances. Construction is expected to be completed in September.

Fox Block Temporary Parking Lot (Engineering): Construction was completed in June, and the lot is now fully operational.

Sewer Replacement and Road Reconstruction - Chapman Area, west of

Basque Avenue

(Engineering): Kana Pipeline, Inc., has begun installing sewer main and removing concrete at intersection corners. Access ramp installation will follow, as well as sidewalks, curbs, gutters and alley returns. The project is expected to be completed in mid-September.

Tennis Center Renovation (Parks and Recreation): The Fullerton Tennis Center renovation began July 5, and is expected to be completed Oct. 25. A grand opening is planned in November. Court availability will remain open throughout construction.

Hiltscher Trail Improvements (Parks and Recreation): The trail improvements (from

Euclid Street

to

La Mesa Avenue

) began early this month. Improvements will include enhanced trail staging areas, as well as a new trail alignment to create a better flow for different types of users and to cause the least amount of disruption to the neighboring homes. This section of the trail is closed during construction and will reopen in October.

Update on the Fox Theatre (Redevelopment and Economic Development): Work on the seismic retrofit of the Fox Theatre complex continues. Roof tile from the Firestone Building and Tea Room has been removed and cleaned. The tiles will be surveyed to determine which ones can be reused. Removal of the marquee is complete. The ”FOX ” letters were removed from the marquee and will be stored while the new marquee is fabricated during Phase 2 of the restoration project.

SOCO West Parking Structure (Redevelopment and Economic Development): Construction of the parking structure is under way, with shoring activities finished and excavation 80 percent completed.

Programs:

Fourth of July Festival (Parks and Recreation): Attendance in the stadium was estimated at 12,000, with an estimated 20,000 people in the surrounding streets, parks, and at the courthouse to watch the fireworks show. There was one minor incident at the end of the night: A woman fell as she was walking down the steps in the stadium. She landed hard on her left knee and hand. Fullerton Fire Paramedics provided medical attention, and she was taken to Anaheim Regional Hospital for follow-up. Traffic in the surrounding streets was heavy after the event, with no significant incidents reported.

Summer Concerts in the Park (Parks and Recreation): The Summer Concerts in the Park will be held Wednesdays, beginning July 13 and running through Aug. 17. The concerts will offer a variety of music genres from “Southbound” (‘70s and Southern Rock), “HELP” (a Beatles tribute group), “The James Harman Band” (blues), “The Mighty Cash Cats” (a Johnny Cash tribute group), “Yard Sale” (classic rock) and “The Lucky Stars” (country). A different Fullerton restaurant will sell food each week, and free crafts will be provided. Free shuttle service will be available to and from the parking structure at First Evangelical Free Church.

Foreclosure Prevention Workshop (Community Development): On June 11, the Orange County Home Ownership Preservation Collaborative, along with the Shalom Center Tree of Life and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’s office, partnered to provide a free foreclosure prevention workshop that provided counseling to distressed homeowners by nonprofit housing agencies and lender representatives. Approximately 207 persons attended the event, representing 83 households in Fullerton and local communities. The foreclosure prevention information was presented in English, and Korean and Spanish translators were provided. All attendees first met one-on-one with a housing counselor and then were able to meet one-on-one with their respective lender to discuss their individual situations. Five lenders and four nonprofit agencies participated in the event.

City-wide Clean-up (Maintenance Services): In April, the City Council directed Maintenance Services to implement a city-wide clean-up effort involving several projects. As of June 30, the status of that effort is as follows:

Landscape Projects:

• The
  

  Nutwood Avenue

  and

  Lemon Street

  improvements have been completed.
• The Juanita Cooke Trail survey has been completed and work is under way.

Graffiti Removal:

The three-person graffiti removal crew’s efforts have been augmented by an employee assigned to clean parking structures, who is also removing graffiti as he finds it during his cleaning rounds.

Pothole Repair:

The Street Division repaired potholes at 525 locations in May and June, compared with 335 for the same period in 2010. The Division will continue to use recycled asphalt to augment its regular asphalt purchases, increasing the amount of material available for pothole repair and other paving operations.

Street Sign Replacement:

The Street Division is completing the count and locations of street sign replacement.

Based on current ordering and installation times, installing of all 326 new signs should be completed by September.

Month in Review:

Website Statistics (Redevelopment and Economic Development): In June, the Department’s section on the City website had 1,736 hits.

Unemployment Rates (Redevelopment and Economic Development): Current unemployment rates are as follows: U.S. – 9.1 percent; California – 11.4 percent; Orange County – 8.5 percent; and Fullerton – 9.6 percent. This data was provided by the Orange County Workforce Investment Board.

Fire: In June, the Department had 915 requests for service, up slightly from the 904 requests in June 2010. Of the 915 requests, 673 were for emergency medical aid, 23 were for fires, eight were hazardous materials incidents, and 61 were service calls. Of the medical aid requests, 437 required advanced life support response and 236 required basic life support response. In addition, the Department responded on 84 automatic aid calls, and received 73 automatic aid responses.

Community Development: In June, the Department: issued 292 plan checks and permits; issued 427 building permits; conducted 1,612 building inspections; received 216 code enforcement complaints; handled 733 active code enforcement cases; closed 176 code enforcement complaints; and conducted 848 code enforcement inspections.

Major Building Permits (Community Development): In June, the following major permits were issued: Chick-fil-A Restaurant; parking structure for the Transportation Center; and parking structure for University Housing,

555 N. Commonwealth Ave.

Police: In June, the Department was dispatched to 3,529 calls for service and initiated 2,164 additional contacts. There were 1,055 criminal reports taken and 419 persons arrested for various criminal offenses.

Police Explorers (Police): In the last week of June, eight Fullerton Police Explorers, along with three Police Officers and a Cadet Adviser attended “Camp Superstars” in Lake Arrowhead. Explorers from around Southern California gathered for a week of team building and competition. It was the first chance many of our Explorers ever had to attend such a camp. At the conclusion of the week, Fullerton’s Post earned the “Badge of Honor” trophy, which was awarded for an “exemplary showing of teamwork, sportsmanship and character.”

Source: http://www.cityoffullerton.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=7491

Does Government Work Require Government Employees?

I have to thank Fullerton's own Travis Kiger and Jack Dean for forwarding a link that answers this question (as if you didn't already know).  During last year's election I proposed a plan to improve police and fire services while cutting costs to taxpayers.  I suggested the City of Fullerton hire more reserve police officers and begin hiring reserve firefighters.  I caught flack from everyone and for various reasons. 

Some said the unions wouldn't allow it, as if the unions ran the City, and therefore shouldn't bother with it.  Others said it would result in poor service and create dangerous conditions.

That idea is has been implemented in Redlands California where it has proved to be a massive savings for tax payers while improving the actual services.

The story at Governing.com features Redlands PD describes what has happened after drastic cuts were made.  The following is a brief excerpt. 

At a time when most city and local governments are preparing to do less with less, officials in Redlands are taking a different approach: They’re attempting to maintain current levels of service through other means. Ramping up the use of volunteers is one of them.

It’s easy to see why. Three years ago, the police department in Redlands, a city of 71,000 people east of Los Angeles, had 98 sworn officers, 208 civilians and about two dozen volunteers. The police budget was $23.8 million, nearly half of the city’s operating budget. Today, the department employs 75 sworn officers and 138 civilians and relies on 291 active volunteers, who last year contributed more than 31,000 hours of their time to the city.

Later the article says, Pleas read the article and discover how Fullerton might incorporate some of the solutions Redlands has implemented.  As the article suggests, "Do-it-yourself government is here for good."

“We have fewer resources,” says City Manager N. Enrique Martinez. “We had to cut staff. My challenge is to maintain the same service level if not better. The public is not interested in whether you have 15 fewer people than before or not.”

Nor should they be. At least that’s the argument Police Chief Jim Bueermann makes. “The fallback position for most local government bureaucrats like me,” he says, “is that it’s so much easier to say, ‘We have $3 million less so you are going to get fewer services.’ But there are multiple ways to get to the outcomes that taxpayers expect their police department is going to deliver.” Prominent among them are a greater reliance on technology and a greater use of volunteers.

Fire Department offers emergency preparedness classes

This just landed in my email's Inbox and I thought I should share it with you.  If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know I think CERT is a GREAT program.  A disaster can occur at any moment and we all need to be prepared.  I hear you can even make up a class if you can't hit all 3 weekends in a row.  The price is right so sign up!  Thanks to Carol Thackery for sharing this.

To all of the candidates who are interested in serving the city of Fullerton as council persons, school board members. etc. and who hopefully have a "real" concern for Fullerton residents.

This information is regarding the upcoming Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)  offered by the Fullerton Fire Dept.  

You can never be fully prepared before a disaster strikes and the more people who are trained here in Fullerton to respond to their neighbors' needs, the better off we will be.

These classes are also open to your family members and neighbors who are over the age of 18yrs .  We need you to spread the word about this training as folks who want to lead our community on council or school boards.

Hope to see many of you at our training now or in the future!

Carol Thackery

CERT volunteer since 2006

Rolling Hills Drive - District 5

 
 

Fullerton Fire Fighter Recruitment

FIREFIGHTER RECRUITMENT RESULTS (updated 05/10/2010)

678 candidates took the written test.

494 candidates passed the written test.

138 candidates were invited to oral interviews.

FINAL RESULTS

299 candidates remain on a Hold List.

114 candidates were placed on the Eligible List.

(http://www.cityoffullerton.com/depts/pers_serv/fire_recruitment.asp)

Yep, they still line up around the block even with a 10% pay cut.

Question:  Why not call all 114 and see if we can't get a  couple of people to volunteer their time to help shore up some of the overtime?  Just a thought.

Volunteer Firefighters Account for 1/3 of OC Fire Authority's First Responders - Fullerton ZERO

The front page of the September 9, 2010 Orange County Register brings to light how a good idea is implemented poorly.


The article discusses a report from an un-named source that shares data on response times from reserve firefighting and medical units in Orange County. According to the article, there are 495 reserve positions with only 291 positions filled. Of the 291 positions, 41 will be laid off or fired.

Let’s put it in perspective. The Orange County Fire Authority employs 841 full-time firefighters/fire management personnel. They have budgeted 495 reserves for FY2009-10. That means that nearly 1/3 of total first responder capabilities rest in the hands of reserves. Fullerton has no reserve firefighters to help shore up minimum staffing requirements and minimize overtime. For a department which was founded as a volunteer fire department I find it Ironic that they now have zero reserves on hand to help.

The OC Register article goes into the asset versus liability of having reserve fire units. Essentially, the report finds that several reserve units failed to respond to calls. That in and of itself is problematic but the real question that is missed is where has management been? You would think that management would notice pretty quickly that the reserves are not responding and then take corrective action. Apparently no one noticed.

Amazingly, the solution is quite simple. By integrating reserves with professionals in the same manner as law enforcement agencies, the reserve can be better managed and will have the opportunity to receive peer mentoring.

Why has management allowed reserves to have their own volunteer units and not an integrated approach? My guess is that the OCFA union would not allow it through their MOU or no one cared enough to explore the use and utility of having reserves. For that matter, why do we still have firefighters being paid to sleep in regional firehouses? No other public agency outside of fire service, would allow employees to sleep on the job.

I realize the thought of working an 8- or 12-hour shift might terrorize some firefighters but it would certainly make better sense than having dozens of high-paid public servants sleeping on the job. Other communities have already implemented 8-hour shifts. It would also address the argument that firefighters deserve their high pay and pension because they are away from their family more than other public employees. With that argument one would think our soldiers are millionaires considering the time they spend away from their families.

Firefighting has its own culture based largely on tradition. When those traditions negatively affect taxpayers, it is time to think if we want to continue down this costly “traditional” road or cut a brave new path that leads to improved services and lower costs.