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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,July 25,2011 Page 3 Chief O'Neill advised that the entire Board of Ramsey County F ire Chiefs met monthly, and since the RCCLG meeting, had been identifying other areas for shared services to address "low-hanging fruit." Chief O'Neill advised that each department was making sure they purchased compatible Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA's), equipment that provided firefighters with air tanks with ra- dio transponders directly to the Fire Chief's car to allow them to be tracked from the command vehicle, should they become trapped or are in a prone position, al- lowing immediate tracking of their position for rescue. Chief O'Neill noted that, in the past, the eight (8) departments each had their own and often different gear; and the Chiefs were trying to identify and create long-term benefits for sharing equipment. While not sure if consolidation efforts would be pursued in the near future, Chief O'Neill advised that it was the intent of the Chiefs of those depart- ments to set a foundation and move in that direction. Councilmember Pust noted that each department displayed the location of fire sta- tions collectively on a county map; and they were generally well-dispersed coun- ty-wide. Councilmember Pust suggested that, should consolidation be pursued, locating new fire halls should be considered now to move toward that direction in the future. Councilmember Pust noted that the Fire Chiefs appeared to be inter- ested in consolidation; and noted recent changes made in Roseville from the Fire Relief Association to PERA and cost savings realized by the City of Maplewood in that move. Chief O'Neill advised that apparatus and stations were being evaluated, noting that as departments moved from strictly volunteer to staffed departments, not as many stations were needed; with the City of Maplewood moving from a 5-6 sta- tion concept to 2-3; similar to the City of Roseville moving from 3 to 1 station centrally-located in Roseville. Chief O'Neill noted that the department had prov- en to-date that they could operate out of one station. Chief O'Neill advised that the Roseville Department had eliminated one ladder truck several years ago, at a cost savings of in excess of$1 million, based on the rationale that another ladder unit was not needed given the agreements in place with other departments having that equipment. Chief O'Neill advised that the City of Roseville retained 1 ladder truck to provide quick rescue if needed; but that the other departments were close enough to get another unit in place very quickly. Councilmember Pust lauded the department on that excellent use of tax dollars and strategic planning; and suggested that be brought to bear with other communi- ties and whether major apparatus is needed individually. Councilmember Pust noted that it was refreshing to see departments and their chiefs supportive of pur- suing more shared services and/or consolidation, and not being competitive or having turf wars. However, Councilmember Pust noted that they had all re-