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Attachment D-9212020 <br />419 future staffing needs. As outlined, the Fire Department determined that an additional nine <br />420 firefighters were needed to properly staff for current Fire Department needs. As a result of the <br />421 additional nine firefighters, each of the 24-hour shifts would have eight firefighters on-duty <br />422 compared to just five currently. <br />423 <br />424 As a reminder, the additional staffing is needed due to: <br />425 Increased development during the past several years, especially among facilities that <br />426 require a heavy-resourced response by the Fire Department, such as senior multi- <br />427 family housing and assisted living units <br />428 Shrinking base of part-time firefighters, resulting in an inconsistent ability and delay <br />429 in arriving for call-back assistance for critical incidents and coverage for additional <br />430 emergencies <br />431 Increases in number of calls that the Fire Department is responding to that are <br />432 stretching the ability of the Fire Department to respond to multiple emergencies at the <br />433 same time in a consistent manner. <br />434 The need to stay compliant with the National Fire Protection Association <br />435 recommendations regarding the number of firefighters on the fire ground to keep the <br />436 public and firefighters safe. <br />437 For the 2020 budget, the City Council approved adding three firefighters. These additional <br />438 firefighters were all put on one shift to demonstrate the impact that an eight-person shift can have <br />439 on operations. Some of the results the department experienced when the eight-person shift was on <br />440 duty are as follows: <br />441 <br />442 A decrease of all-calls during that shift period <br />443 A decrease in overtime during that shift period <br />444 A more effective fire ground that allowed for two crews to attack a structure fire <br />445 during that shift period <br />446 A better ability to respond to mutual aid without calling back full-time or part-time <br />447 personnel during that shift period <br />448 The ability to staff two medical response vehicles during that shift period <br />449 As was mentioned as part of the Police Department discussion, 2020 has been an unusual year. <br />450 The Fire Department is responsible for emergency management functions, so they took the lead in <br />451 preparing the city for our COVID-19 response. They successfully obtained PPE for public safety <br />452 and other city employees and worked with city leadership in preparing the organization for the <br />453 effects of the pandemic. On top of that, the Roseville Fire Department responded to St. Paul to <br />454 fight numerous fires during civil unrest in the aftermath of George FloydÓs death. <br />455 <br />456 Given the identified needs and previous discussions with the City Council regarding the total <br />457 complement of full-time fire fighters, the Fire Department is proposing to add six full-time <br />458 firefighters in the 2021 budget. Previously, it was anticipated that three firefighters would be <br />459 requested in 2021 and in 2022. It was anticipated that grant funds would be applied for through <br />460 the SAFER federal grant program to help reduce the city cost for the first three years of employing <br />461 the fire fighters. Fortunately, due to the pandemic, the SAFER grant program changed its funding <br />462 approach and will now fund the costs of a firefighter 100% for three years. As a result, we applied <br />Page 15 of 20 <br /> <br />