White River Township Fire Department

                                               Staff Meeting

           

                                                Thursday, October 26, 2006

 

 

                       

Present:

Mike Tibbetts

Mark Hart

Aaron Bryant

Corey McGaha

 

Scott Cassin

Joe Settles

Nick Alford

Mike Shoemaker

 

Eric Brown

Kevin Skipper

Tony Slusher

Charles Fraker

 

Joel Thacker

Joe Green

Scott Weigle

Crystal Young

 

Jim Engmark

Greg Hurrle

Kyle Brooks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Meeting called 10:14.

 

  1. Smoking Cessation – Laser technique (Chief Thacker)
    1. Mike Rude brought a new laser procedure to Chief Thacker’s attention that helps stop smoking or any use of tobacco.  He said that it had been a month since he had the procedure done and he has not smoked.  Lawrence Fire Department pays little over half to have the procedure done.  Once the employee agrees to have the procedure done they sign a contract that states that if they start smoking they are to reimburse for the amount of money the fire department paid for the procedure.
    2. The acculaser people will come here to the department and discuss the process along with methods to use to help you break the habit for good.  Once you have decided to have it done they will come here to do the procedure.
    3. Lt. Alford found someone located off of Fry Rd. that also does the procedure.  Chief Thacker asked him to get some information about them for him.
    4. Mike Rude swears by the procedure and if anyone has any questions to go to him and ask, he would be more than happy to talk.  He thought about smoking again a couple of times and says that the methods they teach you to avoid that really work.
    5. If anyone would like to talk to them send Chief Thacker an e-mail and he can schedule them to come in next month for a talk.

 

  1. Uniforms for Office Personnel: (Chief Tibbetts)
    1. Jackie and Crystal have expressed the desire to have a uniform.  They will be changing their dress code in the near future.   Chief Tibbetts wanted to thank Crystal and Jackie for their suggestion and is happy with the decision.

 

  1. Leadership Class:  (Chief Thacker)
    1. The class was DVD based.  There have been many good comments and feedback on the class.  There is another program in the series he will be acquiring. 
    2. There has also been a suggestion for an Officer Academy.  This will most likely be one day a week for approximately four hours.  Some of the topics will include leadership, tactics, and incident command.  There will also be a 360 degree leader that will include the newest member of the department to the fire chief. 
    3. Also Kyle Brooks and Lt. Green have agreed to be shift trainers and Chief Thacker wanted to extend a thank you to them for their help.

 

  1. Station 52 Update
    1. 52 is 99.9% complete.  Thanks goes out to Jeff and Mark for all their hard work during the project.

 

  1. Station 51 Update
    1. The 1st week in May is still the target date.  Truss on the roof, brick should be delivered today and they will start getting that up before winter.
    2. There have been a couple of non-compliant issues that have been dealt with quickly.  Thanks to Dan being a stickler for details he has noticed small problems and has had them fixed before they become a problem and can’t be fixed.
    3. Remember to only go after hours to have a look at the building.  At this point there are no interior walls or stairs so be careful when entering the building.

 

  1. Ladder 53: (Chief Cassin)
    1. The Ladder will be receiving the computer soon but the mount for it will be installed before the department receives the computer.  The Ladder will need to go in for the day to have the mount installed.
  2. Technology Update: (Chief Cassin)
    1. Soon Chief Cassin will be reassigning numbers to different groups to be the same as the rest of the county.  With the purchase of a $1300 license you would be able to view the dispatch screen unfortunately that is not currently in the works.  Another benefit to that program would be a chat box that will allow the computers to talk to each other in case there is no other way to communicate.
    2. Firehouse Software does make an interface that ties CAD Spillman to our system so you can get your run information before you get to the location.  You would be able to sign in to firehouse and the information would already be there, this is a one time $7500 license.

 

  1. Greenwood Dispatch: (Chief Tibbetts)
    1. Dispatch will go through Greenwood starting around the first of the year.
    2. Chief Dhondt wanted the new station opened first.  He should have that accomplished by the end of next week.  Once that occurs Chief Slauter will be meeting with them to get everything nailed down.

 

  1.  Fire Prevention Week: (Capt. Skipper )
    1. Fire Prevention wanted to personally thank everyone who participated in Fire Prevention Week.  Currently the department knows of three people who have directly benefited from the things they learned during the week.
  2.  New Monitors: (Capt. Hart)
    1. The monitor in new at Station 51, it is much more durable than the previous one.  The Tanker, Engine 51 and the new rescue engine monitors will be replaced with the old version.
    2. The SOR translation sheet will be laminated and placed on the apparatus soon.  Read the translation but still have them sign our form.
    3. Gainsman will be changing the schedule of the audit and reviews.  He will now be coming once a month rotating through all three shifts.  This will allow for an audit and review four times a year for each shift.

 

  1.  Fire Prevention Department: (Chief Brown)
    1. Since we are approaching winter, everyone should start checking every home during a run for working smoke detectors.  If the home needs detectors please provide one for them.
    2. Also it is leaf burning time.  The state does not allow burning unless in a non-combustible container and the person still needs a permit.  This was reported in the paper and on the news.
    3. People have been asking about getting permits on the weekend.  The policy is M-F and a 24 hour notice is needed.  It is possible to train the Battalion Chiefs the process a burn permit on the weekend.  Chief Cassin wanted to know the purpose of the 24 hour notice.  Chief Brown responded by stating that it allow the shift to be notified through firehouse.  If the burn permit is issued by a Battalion Chief they have the ability to notify the stations and can check the site and decide if the need calls for a 24 hour wait.
    4. Remember that leaf burning is one of the highest irritant for the repertory system so even if the leaves are being burned in the appropriate container with a burn permit it is still to be put out if the department has received a complaint call.

 

  1.   The Awards Banquet will take place on January 27th, c-shift, at Hickory Stick.  Chief Thacker will be meeting with them tomorrow to iron out some issues.

 

  1.   The 40 hour work week will be ironed out and put into writing.

 

  1.   New Part-time firefighters: (Chief Thacker)
    1. Roberts and Franks will be signing the book for mostly day shifts
    2. Norcross will be B shift 51, night
    3. Strong will be B shift 52, day
    4. Stanton will be A shift 51
    5. Mangus and Blue are not eligible for shift for six months so they will be in the book.

 

  1. Qualitative Fit Test has been ordered and should arrive around the first of the year.  It is a laptop and machine test for leaks in the mask that works much better than previous tests.

 

  1.  Meeting ended 10:50.