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9.F.
City Council Meeting - FINAL (AMENDED)
Meeting Date:
10/01/2019
Co-Submitter:
Emily Markel
From:
Mark Wilson, Deputy Fire Chief

Information

TITLE:

Consideration and Approval of Cooperative Purchase Contract:  Purchase of new turnout / personal protective equipment for all operational fire personnel from L.N. Curtis and Sons in the amount of $238,455.89 through a cooperative purchase contract with the General Service Administration.

STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:

  1. Approve the purchase of the eighty-four (84) new sets of turnout / personal protective equipment for $238,455.89 from L.N. Curtis and Sons through a cooperative purchase Contract No. 47QSWA18D009Y with the General Service Administration (GSA); and
  2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents.

Executive Summary:

This purchase would allow for all front-line firefighters to have two sets of turnouts. The justification for a second set is to put the Flagstaff Fire Department (FFD) in step with the national standard of reducing cancer risks to firefighters, known as the firefighter cancer initiative. Currently when a crew responds into an incident with by-products of combustion (smoke and invisible vapors) they must come back to the station and take their unit out of service to properly decontaminate their turnouts, which can take up to 3-4 hours. Until recent years, it was not uncommon for crews to skip the decontamination process to minimize the out of service time for their unit in order to be ready for the next call. By having two sets they will be able to get back in service much quicker to provide the expected customer service levels to the community. 

Financial Impact:

This funding was endorsed by the Risk Manager and approved by the Budget Team, City Manager and City Council as part of the current fiscal year budget.

Policy Impact:

Flagstaff Fire Department recently revised policy to support the national cancer initiative policies and best practices in order to reduce the threat of cancer to our membership. Having crews go out of service until their turnouts have been properly decontaminated is current policy. By having a second set, this would allow for them to stay within policy and remain in service for additional emergency response efforts.

The second policy impact is that of co-staffing. Recently the FFD implemented a co-staffing policy to allow for crews to select the most appropriate piece of apparatus to take to any given incident. There are two stations with both an engine and a quint and two stations with special operations units. By having two sets of turnouts, these crews can place a set on each apparatus and not have a delayed response by having to move their turnouts over to the selected unit. 

Connection to Council Goal, Regional Plan and/or Team Flagstaff Strategic Plan:

Regional Plan:
Goal PF.3. Provide high-quality emergency response and public safety services including law enforcement, fire, medical, and ambulance transport service. 
Policy PF.3.1. Maintain high-quality effectiveness and efficiency in law enforcement, fire, and emergency services to the extent that is consistent with governmental operations, plans, public policies, population served, and monies available.

Council Goal:
Personnel: Attract and retain quality staff
 

Has There Been Previous Council Decision on This:

This purchase request was approved as part of the overall budget funding in the council adopted FY20 budget process.

Options and Alternatives:

  1. Approve the cooperative purchase contract for the new turnout equipment; or
  2. Reject cooperative purchase contract and direct staff to conduct a process; or
  3. Reject approval of the purchase of new turnout equipment and direct staff to maintain our current practice of taking units out of service for 3-4 hours in order to properly decontaminate their personal protective equipment. We would also keep our current practice of moving turnouts over to the apparatus of choice for co-staffing purposes.

Background and History:

Cancer is the second leading cause of deaths among firefighters today, following cardiovascular disease, as established by numerous scientific studies and data collected and evaluated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and by the International Association of Fire Fighter’s (IAFF) Line of Duty Deaths Database.

These data sources demonstrate that occupational exposure to carcinogens significantly increases firefighters’ risk of several cancers in correlation with the duration of firefighting activities. Cancer deaths among members of the fire service have risen dramatically over the last 20 years, in tandem with the increasing toxicity of modern fires, due to the proliferation of synthetic products and plastics, and other toxic chemicals that release carcinogenic by-products when burned.

In the FFD we are not immune to these statistics and feel that protecting our members over a twenty-five-year career is in turn protecting a community asset. By promoting safer working environments through policy changes and efforts like a second set of turnouts, we can hope to better protect those who are serving to protect our community.

Key Considerations:

Funding has already been identified, budgeted for and approved for this purchase.

A second set of turnouts will provide the following benefits:
- Improved overall safety and working environments for our membership;
- Improved response times for co-staffing stations;
- Decreased time of units being out of service due to decontamination requirements; and
- This will assist in decreasing the risk of cancer claims for the City of Flagstaff.

Community Benefits and Considerations:

Funding for this purchase is in account # 001-03-051-0203-2-4354 (Safety Supplies)

Community Involvement:

This will allow for quicker response times for those stations with co-staffing models. This purchase will improve safety to their firefighters (a community asset) and assist in reducing the risk of cancer and long-term health costs. The purchase of a second set of turnouts also reduces the time a unit is out of service in any given district within the community for necessary decontamination procedures. This purchase also supports the FFD decontamination policy which will better ensure our members are not wearing contaminated turnouts into public places and our community members' homes.

Expanded Options and Alternatives:

Inform.

Attachments