White River Township Fire Department

                                                Senior Staff Meeting

           

                                                Thursday, August 17, 2006

 

 

                       

Present:

Chief Tibbetts

Chief Cassin

Chief Slauter

Chief Wilson

Chief Brown

Chief Thacker

Chief Engmark

Capt. Hart

Capt. Arkins
Capt. Settles

 

 

  1. Meeting called to order at 0808.

 

  1. Suggestions for old Station 51.
    1. Use it as a training facility

                                                              i.      A piece of fire apparatus will need to be housed there for purposes of emergency response to make sure it is still considered a fire station.  By doing that we would be exempt from re-zoning.

    1. Chief Thacker has been trying to find land to build a fire tower for training.

                                                              i.      Seven acres have been considered at Runyon and Olive Branch.  It is currently owned by Center Grove School System.  This land would have to be zoned correctly and there would only be a non-burn training center.

                                                            ii.      There is a fire tower in Hamilton County and they are looking to put one on the south side.  Morgan County or Mooresville are the most probable areas.

 

  1. Fireworks money – Chief Brown
    1. Money from the sale of fireworks will be going to the fire service for one year only.
    2. Steve Coover brought in a paper containing an article on the topic.  Chief Brown has not read the article as of yet so he could not verify the information.

 

  1. Unfunded Projects – Chief Tibbetts
    1. Mask Fit Tester.  We could get someone to do it for us for $5000 or buy our own equipment for $7000.
    2. Station 51 difference of approximately $350,000.
    3. Sewer connection.  Currently looking for an alternative.  To hook up the department would have to ask all homeowners for right of way.  Sharing with Speedway was denied.  A precedent for private and public entities combining was not what the committee wanted to do.
    4. Ron Rose did an evaluation of the current system and has made some suggestions.  One idea is to fix the current system with a mound system, but Chief Brown believes that grease poured down sink drains causes problems with mound systems.
    5. The current system was installed incorrectly and cannot be shut down because it was signed off on before construction on the building was even started.

 

  1. SOG for Churches and School with no power – Chief Brown
    1. Chief Slauter wanted Chief Brown to come up with an SOG to cover any circumstance that would arise in either a church or a school when the power to the building is down and business continues as usual in the building.  Chief Brown handed out the SOG for review.

 

  1. Hiring Process – Chief Thacker
    1. A timeline for PT firefighters was handed out.

                                                              i.      Raise the cost of the application to $10

                                                            ii.      Test score cut-off also raised to 80%

                                                          iii.      Kyle Blue will likely be considered.  He was a cadet that Chad Witham said was the best kid we had in a while.

                                                           iv.      B-shift inspector will be part of the process also.  This position will not respond to fires but may help in other aspects (water, pictures, etc.).

                                                             v.      The CPAT cut-off should be around six months.  The decision is department dependant and looks at the date the test was taken.

    1. A timeline for career firefighters was also disbursed

                                                              i.      The department is just looking for firefighters for this list.  Once the department has hired the best candidates they will be trained for the driver/operator test through the department.

                                                            ii.      The CPAT test will be taken tentatively though Pike, Wayne could be another possibility, depends on cost.

                                                          iii.      During the Senior Staff Meeting near the end of September the timeline will be finalized and the process can be started.

 

  1. Tim Smith – He is on light duty on shift and may be released next week.

 

  1. Chief Thacker
    1. Chief Thacker did NIMS training with the Johnson County Sheriffs Department last week all the brass attended.  It was suggested that shift training be done with their deputies.
    2. A new program  A CHILD IS MISSING  was brought to Chief Thacker’s attention.  While the Amber Alert is for children in danger this program is just for missing children.  They call every house in the area where the child was last seen with the child’s description and information.  This program is for any child, disabled children in danger or even Alzheimer patients.  All calls are investigated immediately.  The program can be called at 954-763-1288 or 888-875-2246.  If you would like more information on the program contact Chief Thacker.

 

  1. Training – Chief Thacker
    1. The Marsh store is to be torn down in 30 days.  Training will be done in the building prior to demolition for ventilation and sprinkler.
    2. Maple Grove will also be available to the department for training.  The school system is still not sure what they are going to do with the building so non-destructive training only.

 

  1. Captain Settles has received the camera and training for the equipment was this past weekend.  He will have the equipment located on the Rescue.

 

  1. There is a question on who is able to Ride-out on Battalion.  All Captains and all Battalion Chief can ride-out for Battalion.  As a last resort Lt. Smith and Lt. Williams can work Battalion.

 

  1. Chief Tibbetts is currently day to day.  He would like to thank everyone for their support for him and his wife during this rough time.

 

  1. Meeting called at 0910.