Staff Presentation 2(b) Tax Equalization Issues - Fire Protection Issues STAFF
PRESENTATION
2 b .
•
FIRE DEPARTMENT
CITY OF WINTER GARDEN
P.O.BOX 1005
TELEPHONE 656-4689
WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA 34777-1005
• To: Hollis Holden, City Manager
From: Randy Dollar, Fire Chief
Date: May 17, 1996
Subject: Response zone discrepancies -Dispatch of fire apparatus
Early this morning, a fire occurred at the West Orange Country Club. The building was
reported to be " fully involved " by the first arriving engine company and ultimately
required the response of multiple fire units to contain and extinguish the fire.
Engine 24 from this Department was never dispatched to assist in fighting'the fire. My
on-duty Captain at the time, Ron Lindsey, called Orange County dispatch after the fact
to inquire as to why we were not included in the alarm response. He was told that " we
were not in the menu " , a reference to the equipment response pick list suggested by
Orange County's computer aided dispatch ( CAD ) system. The Winter Garden engine
and crew remained in quarters while two engine companies from the City of Ocoee were
dispatched to assist in handling this alarm. Ocoee Engine 26 , responding from Adair St.
on Ocoee's northside , is located approximately four miles further away from the fire
scene than our engine.
Most of the problems we now encounter can be attributed to a time period in 1994 when
Ocoee joined the County radio system and entered into a reciprocal , nearest unit response
agreement with Orange County. At that time , Orange County plugged the Ocoee units
into their CAD system for response into the County areas surrounding Winter Garden as
well as the County enclaves surrounded by Winter Garden. When we entered the County
dispatch system in November 1994 , the response menu for this area was basically left
unchanged. Winter Garden units were considered as " add on " units rather than primary
response units. This arrangement continued until spring of 1995 when, after a series of
joint meetings with Orange County and Ocoee , 1 was able to bring us on line in most of
our response areas.
The areas to the south and east of Winter Garden remain a problem. Chief Strosnider and
I are presently working with Orange County to rectify response zone inconsistencies in
these areas. The jumbled response to the West Orange Country Club fire underscores the
need to complete this zone revamping in a timely manner. Hopefully at that time , the
nearest unit will actually be the one that is dispatched to an emergency call.
•
OCOEE FIRE DEPAR TMEN T
125 N. BLUFORO AVENUE - OCCEE, FLORIDA 34761-2216
•
Rcn Strosnider Business 656-7796
Firs Chief EMERGENCY 911
MEMORANDUM
TO: Ellis Shapiro, City Manager
FROM: Ron Strosnider, Fire Chief
DATE: May .7, 1996
RE: TAX EQUALIZATION INFORMATION AS PEP YOUR REQUEST
On 15 a meeting between the Ocoee, Apopka and Winter Garden ire
:zpar:ment.s was held to discuss Orange County a^�. the
"�� 'C:7c.lities
_omcaratr4e costs of service. Apocka provided the cost cf service. provided ^y
the 0c my that was obtained throuch the'.r recent ne•cotia:ic•r.s. the
budget f icur e_ provided the County are difficult to interpret, the
comparison
to the mur,:c'ca. costs for service are cr,amat:c.
OCFR Station ZE (McCormick Rd.) Station manning: i man engine.
Total calls 1995: approx. 600
Cost per Station: 5704,931.40
Cost per Call: $1,174.33
.:s stated above, these figures are based cn personal costs (excluclnc overtime
cr special pay) and it is unknown if the salaries are burdened cr unburdened.
Cperatinc. costs only reflect building operating and maintenance costs. No
equipment costs have been included.
n compariscr.:
Ocoee FD Stations 25 & =6 Station manning: 10, 2-engines, 2-rescues
Total calls 1995: 2,363
Total Dept. Budget: 1,951,327.20
Cost per Call: S322-.00
This is t... n _ int. consideration total Department expenditures, station, 10
man response on each call. Cost per Call, per station could be roughly estimated
by half, or S.112.20. This represents a higher service level being provided by
Ocoee FD for 250 the cost of :CFR Station 23.
•
In regard to Mutual Aid given/received with Orange County, the following is a
summary. of 1995 calls:
Mutual Aid Given: 620
Mutual Aid Received: 33
By apptying the above figures for cost per call per station, 620 calls represents
$255,440.00 in Mutual Aid Given. Using the cost per call of County Station 28,
$38,771.04 in assistance was received.
During our conversation, Apopka and Winter Garden expressed the same disparity
in the mutual aid call ratio. As it stands right now, our automatic aid agreement
with the County only provides Ocoee with dispatching/communications service in
return for our support.
The group discussed the possible benefits/disadvantages that would be derived
from withdrawing from the automatic aid agreement and forming a coalition of the
three departments. Some of the benefits identified were:
- economy experienced in joint purchasing
- economy and enhanced quality in joint training,
to include a joint use training facility
- automatic aid agreements between the three
municipalities to maintain superior service
delivery levels
- lower cost of service delivery to
unincorporated areas
- enhanced level of services using shared
resources (hazardous materials, technical
rescue, etc.)
- economy in shared dispatching services
There were no disadvantages identified, other than dispatching services that
«euld need to be uperaded by Ocoee and Winter Garden.