Laserfiche WebLink
Department: Fire (1210) <br />Fund: General (1000) <br />Department Activities and Responsibilities: <br />The Fire Department, which is comprised of 55 volunteer members, provides fire <br />suppression and prevention services for the City as well as the communities of White <br />Bear Township, Dellwood, Birchwood Village, and Gem Lake and coordinates EMS <br />services for the City of Hugo through contract agreements. The Department also <br />provides fire inspection services for commercial and multi -family buildings, building plan <br />review, and pre -planning programs for businesses within the City, White Bear <br />Township, and Gem Lake. Adequate records are maintained to satisfy State Statutes <br />regarding safety training requirements and insurance service inspection for the City's <br />fire rating. <br />The Fire Department service area's population is 38,898 compared to the City's <br />population of 24,734. <br />Department Staff: <br />2009 <br />2010 <br />2011 <br />2011 <br />2012 <br />Actual <br />Actual <br />Adopted <br />Revised <br />Budget <br />Chief <br />.50 <br />.50 <br />.50 <br />.50 <br />.50 <br />Fire Marshall <br />1.00 <br />1.00 <br />1.00 <br />1.00 <br />1.00 <br />Secretary <br />.25 <br />.25 <br />.25 <br />.25 <br />.25 <br />Recruitment/Retention <br />1.00 <br />1.00 <br />Firefighters (Volunteer) <br />55.00 <br />55.00 <br />55.00 <br />55.00 <br />55.00 <br />Total Fire <br />56.75 <br />56.75 <br />56.75 <br />57.75 <br />57.75 <br />Budget Activities: <br />The City of White Bear Lake and surrounding communities have benefitted from the <br />services of this department for over 120 years. Once a fully volunteer department, now <br />a paid on -call department, the overall operating cost of this essential service is low <br />compared to the alternative of a service staffed with full-time employees. While the <br />service level of the department is comparable to a full-time staffed department, call <br />frequencies, changing lifestyles and the work schedules of members and prospective <br />members of the department are causing increasing recruitment and retention <br />challenges to find skilled personnel for the department. To address these major <br />challenges, the City Council accepted a four-year Federal Emergency Management <br />Association (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) <br />grant. The grant provides funding for a recruitment and retention coordinator position <br />specifically focused on assisting the department in attracting new on -call personnel. <br />Furthermore, the grant includes implementing financial incentives through additional life <br />insurance coverage and funding for a medical expense account for each firefighter to <br />encourage long-term service. <br />i� <br />