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Item 1.I.
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| City Council Regular | |
| Date: | 03/25/2024 |
| Title: | Acceptance of Plains Pipeline Grant |
| Presented by: | Pepper Valdez, Fire Chief |
| Department: | Fire |
| Presentation: | No |
| Legal Review: | Not Applicable |
| Project Number: | N/A |
RECOMMENDATION
Approve acceptance of grant funds.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
The Billings Fire Department is one of six Regional Hazardous Materials Teams in the State of Montana and currently provides technician-level services in Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue to all of eastern Montana. Under the Hazmat team, The BFD operates a team of six FAA Part 107 certified drone pilots and a DJI Matrice 300 drone with advanced optical and infrared cameras. The drone provides the ability to rapidly gather information during hazardous materials releases, increase situational awareness, and enhance the safety of responders and the public. The Billings Fire Department is the only all-hazards agency in southeast Montana providing these services.
The eastern Montana communities that the Plains Pipeline serves are in the Billings Fire Department response areas for both technical rescue and hazardous materials regional response along with the current first-due response area of the City of Billings and the Billings Urban Fire Service Area. The Billings Fire Department (BFD) requested funding assistance for $10,000 to enhance the capabilities of our existing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS or drone) Team for hazardous materials incidents. The Plains Pipeline Grant Review Committee awarded $10,000 in grant funds.
Funds from this grant will be used to enhance the capabilities of our program with needed equipment. The BFD Hazmat Team seeks the ability to deliver tools to hazmat technicians working in the hot zone via drone. A payload drop system to deliver tools would reduce unnecessary chemical contamination caused by personnel coming in and out of contaminated areas for tools and supplies. The Hazmat Team also seeks funds to retrofit an existing department vehicle with audiovisual and networking technology to provide real-time drone video feeds. This vehicle would allow incident commanders the capability to view live video from the drone and broadcast it to other stakeholders who are not on the scene. These one-time equipment costs would provide timely data sharing and lead to faster, more efficient decision-making and increased responder safety.
The eastern Montana communities that the Plains Pipeline serves are in the Billings Fire Department response areas for both technical rescue and hazardous materials regional response along with the current first-due response area of the City of Billings and the Billings Urban Fire Service Area. The Billings Fire Department (BFD) requested funding assistance for $10,000 to enhance the capabilities of our existing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS or drone) Team for hazardous materials incidents. The Plains Pipeline Grant Review Committee awarded $10,000 in grant funds.
Funds from this grant will be used to enhance the capabilities of our program with needed equipment. The BFD Hazmat Team seeks the ability to deliver tools to hazmat technicians working in the hot zone via drone. A payload drop system to deliver tools would reduce unnecessary chemical contamination caused by personnel coming in and out of contaminated areas for tools and supplies. The Hazmat Team also seeks funds to retrofit an existing department vehicle with audiovisual and networking technology to provide real-time drone video feeds. This vehicle would allow incident commanders the capability to view live video from the drone and broadcast it to other stakeholders who are not on the scene. These one-time equipment costs would provide timely data sharing and lead to faster, more efficient decision-making and increased responder safety.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
- Approve; or,
- Not Approve
FISCAL EFFECTS
These funds will be used to enhance the capabilities of the Hazardous Materials Team.