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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Tuesday, May 27, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 23 (6. LONG LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT, Continued) Van Eyll stated as it relates to the fire on Old Beach Road, the insurance company has wrapped up their investigation and the cause is still undetermined. Multiple sources of ignition were found in the area and the building was too far destroyed to be able to recreate anything. Van Eyll stated the mission of the Long Lake Fire Department is to minimize the loss of life and property for its fire service recipients in the cities of Long Lake, Medina, and Orono from fires, natural disasters and life threatening situations. It is the goal of the Long Lake Fire Department to perform these services in a professional and efficient manner by maintaining effective training, fire prevention, fire suppression, and emergency response. Van Eyll noted that the fire department experienced a few changes in leadership, with John Hall being appointed Assistant Chief and DJ Goman serving as Deputy Chief of Administration. The current membership consists of 48 active members, with two being on military leave of absence and two on personal leaves of absences. All members are or will be certified as Firefighter I or II, First Responder or EMT certified, and Hazmat Operations certified. The officers were also nationally certified this year in blue cart training for Type IV and Type V fires, which are apartment fires and business fires. Van Eyll stated the big wild fires are Type I and Type II. Van Eyll noted the Fire Department had one member who retired in 2013 and three members who came off probationary status in 2013 and are currently stationed at Station No. 2. A number of new probationary fire fighters were brought on board in 2013. Van Eyll noted that even if the person has previous experience as a firefighter, they are still required to be on probationary status for a period of time. Van Eyll indicated they are attempting to get some of their firefighters qualified to drive tankers in the event of a regional fire. Van Eyll stated as it relates to emergency call activity, last year Orono had 324 total calls, and in 2012, there were 313 calls, which amounted to a slight decrease for Orono in 2013. Van Eyll noted overall calls increased from 2012 to 2013, with some of those calls being related to the storms experienced last summer, and regional aid calls increased from 18 to 29 last year. The average response time for the calls was 6:57 to get to any call. The response time for Orono in 2013 was 6:29 and in 2012 it was 6:34. Van Eyll indicated the fire department is always looking at ways to keep lowering that response time and that each call had on average 13 members who responded. Seventy percent of the calls happened during the day when there were less people available. Van Eyll noted the fire department will be having a couple of other daytime responders retiring in the next couple of years. Van Eyll stated the total calls among the three member cities, including mutual aid, amounted to 6,753 hours, with Orono accounting for 4,757 hours or 70.44 percent of the time. Van Eyll stated the number of call hours is significant as it relates to the fire department’s budget and determines how much each city is required to pay for fire protection. Van Eyll stated the training goals for 2014 include more small group training, driver training, in-house Blue Card Lite, training with North Memorial and other entities, training with CAFS and Foam, CO Alarm Training with True Readings, and a wellness and fitness program. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 06/09/2014 Approval of Council Minutes 05/27/2014 [Page 7 of 23]