Transcript Document 7534718

SERVICE
TO OTHERS
A HISTORY
OF THE
DEPARTMENT
A PROUD TRADITION
A NEED ARISES
• July 10, 1888
– the Volunteer Fire Company Of Ellicott City
No.1 was formed
• only organized fire protection for Howard County
until the 1930's
• August 7, 1937
– Savage Volunteer Fire Company
A NEED ARISES
• February 25, 1943
– Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department
• September 4, 1944
– West Friendship Volunteer Firemen’s
Association
• October 26, 1944
– Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company
• October 16, 1947
– Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department,
Clarksville
A NEED ARISES
• 1955 Legislative Session
– Senate Bill 391 was passed by the Maryland
General Assembly
• allowed for a special district fire tax for Howard
County.
• developed the funding for the six volunteer fire
departments in the County.
A NEED ARISES
• 1959
– The all volunteer fire department was changed
to one supplemented with paid personnel
– Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's Association
hired its first paid firefighter on May 4, 1959.
– Another firefighter was hired on a part time
basis during that same year.
A NEED ARISES
• 1968
– The Howard County Fire Department was
established through legislative action
– B. Harrison Shipley, Jr. was the first Fire
Coordinator for the fire department
appointed by the County Commissioners.
– He served in that position until July 1971.
A NEED ARISES
• May 17,1969
– Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department
dedicated the Banneker Station
• the first fire department in the new town of
Columbia
• became the seventh station in the County
CHARTER GOVERNMENT
ARRIVES
• 1969
– Howard County adopted Charter Form of
Government
– The three County Commissioners were
replaced by a County Executive
– Omar J. Jones was elected as the first
Executive for Howard County
CHARTER GOVERNMENT
ARRIVES
• June 8, 1969
– County Executive Omar Jones, continued the
position of Fire Coordinator for the Howard
County Fire Department
• 1971
– the Fire Coordinator’s title was
changed to Fire Administrator
– B. Harrison Shipley, Jr. continued
to serve in this position
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR &
CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
• Fire Service Study Committee of the
Howard County Fire Advisory Board
recommended to the County Executive
that
– a full time Fire Administrator be appointed
– all employees of the volunteer departments be
transferred into the Howard County
Classified Service as public safety employees
– Fire
– Administrator operate a Volunteer Fire
Service supplemented by full- time paid
career trained personnel
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR &
CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
• County Executive accepted the
findings of this study and
implemented these measures
• May 3, 1971
– Paul F.J. LePore was appointed to this
position.
– He was charged with the overall
administration, direction and control of
the Fire Department
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR &
CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
• 1971 the department's seven fire stations
responded to 4,487 emergency incidents
• There were 46 pieces of fire equipment in
the County
• fire service budget of $333,755
• The population of Howard
County was approximately
62,000
FIRE ADMINISTRATOR &
CAREER FIRE SERVICE
EVOLVE
• July 1, 1971
– 29 career employees were assigned to four
of the six volunteer fire departments
– These firefighters were transferred into
the Howard County Classified Service as
public safety employees
– Today only one of these individuals is still
in the system
• Deputy Chief Richard Freas
CHARTER GOVERNMENT
ARRIVES
• July 1, 1974
– Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's
Association placed in service the
Bethany Fire Station. Station 8
• became the 8th fire station in the County
• October 5, 1974
– Savage Volunteer Fire Company
dedicated the Long Reach Fire Station
#9
• became the second fire department to be
located in Columbia
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• 1975
– the Fire Administrator, Paul F.J LePore, by
administrative directive, divided the
Department into three bureaus
• Operations
• Services
• Fire Prevention
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• Bureau of Operations
– responsible for managing emergency
services
• including the career and volunteer fire
fighters and emergency medical
technicians
– provides guidance and direction for
day to day operational activities of
the department
– coordinates the capital budget for
facilities and equipment
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• Bureau of Services
– responsible for training, testing and
certification
• both career and volunteer personnel
– responsible for information systems,
records management and duties of the
quartermaster
– operate from headquarters
– provide training for career and volunteer
personnel at headquarters, fire stations
and other locations
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• Bureau of Fire Prevention
– administers county-wide
•
•
•
•
•
•
fire prevention programs
code enforcement
fire lane designation
public safety education
plans review
departmental statistical analysis
– assist the State Fire Marshall in
fire investigations
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION
• The Office of Emergency
Management and Civil Defense
– also the responsibility of the
Department of Fire and Rescue
– emphasizes disaster preparedness and
coordination of the Federal
Government Super-Fund
Amendments and Re-Authorization
Act(SARA)
THE BEGINNING OF ADVANCED
LIFE SUPPORT SERVICE
• June of 1975
– The Department began advanced life
support service
– Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's
Association placed the first Cardiac
Rescue Unit in service at Station 2
– the department appointed a qualified
physician to serve as an EMS
consultant
– Savage Volunteer Fire Company
placed an ALS unit in service in the
fall of 1975
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1979
– Paul F. J. Lepore retires
• January 15, 1979
– B. Harrison Shipley, Jr.
returned as the full time Fire
Administrator
– served in that position thru
March 31, 1981
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1979
– Banneker Station, Fire Station
# 7, was transferred from the
Fifth District Volunteer Fire
Department to the Howard
County Fire Department
• first career operated fire station
in the County
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1981
– the Department was serving a
population of 125,187
– responded to 10,781 emergency
incidents that year
– Combination department of 90 career
and 376 volunteers
THE GROWING YEARS
• April 1, 1981
– Robert Moore was appointed the
third Fire Administrator
– administering a budget of
$3,427,845
– he served until April1, 1983
– May 9, 1981, Medic 1 placed in
service
– Captain Donald
Howell(augmented Lisbon and
other units to ALS)
THE GROWING YEARS
• August 11, 1983
– William H. Austin became the fourth Fire
Administrator
– Served until August 2,1985
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1985
– Richard W. Shaw became the fifth
Fire Administrator
– served until March 31, 1991
– the first Fire Administrator to have
served as both a career and
volunteer firefighter in Howard
County
THE GROWING YEARS
• May 18, 1987
– SOP was issued for all departments
to discontinue riding on the rear step
• October 31, 1987
– Rivers Park Station was dedicated
– It was the tenth fire station in the
County
– Station is located in the Village of
Kings Contrivance.
THE GROWING YEARS
• Spring of 1987
– a position of Emergency Medical
Services Coordinator was
established by the Fire
Administrator.
• Fall of 1987
– position was retitled as EMS
Officer and became a Division
under the Bureau of Operations
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1988
– a change to the Charter resulted in a title
change from Fire Administrator
toDirector.
– The name of the Department was also
changed to the Howard County
Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
– The operational concept for the
Department shifted to one of career
firefighters supplemented by volunteers
THE GROWING YEARS
• 1989
– Communications, which had previously been under
the operation of the Fire Administrator, was moved
to the Department of General Services
THE GROWING YEARS
• April of 1991
– Darl R. McBride became the sixth
Director of Fire and Rescue Services
– formerly of the Washington D.C. Fire
Department
– brought the team building and
effective delivery system concepts to
the Department
THE GROWING YEARS
• July 1,1991
– the Long Reach and Rivers Park
Fire Stations were transferred to
the Howard County Department of
Fire and Rescue Services from the
Savage Volunteer Fire Company.
– Three fire stations are now
managed and operated by the
career fire service
THE GROWING YEARS
• December 14, 1993
– James E. Heller became the seventh
Director of Fire & Rescue Services
– started his career with DFRS in
March of 1974 as a Lieutenant in
charge of Training
THE GROWING YEARS
• April 19, 1994
– Scaggsville Fire Station was dedicated
– becoming our eleventh station
– is located in the Public Safety Complex at Md.
Rt. 29 and Rt. 216
THE GROWING YEARS
• December 4, 2000
– County Executive James N. Robey
appointed Joseph A. Herr
– became the eighth Chief of Fire &
Rescue. Chief Herr
– had served previously for 26 years as a
member of the District of Columbia Fire
Department
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• July 1, 1991
– The Department initiated a Customer
Service Program
– organizational approach to creating
service excellence within the Howard
County Department of Fire and
Rescue Services.
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• November 1, 1991
– the Department implemented a team of
personnel dedicated to provide operational
support during special emergency incidents.
• This team is referred to as the Special Incident
Response Team (SIRT).
• made up of both career and volunteer participants
• The team is activated for special emergency
incidents such as
–
–
–
–
hazardous materials
mass casualty,
water rescue,
and other special incidents
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• January 1, 1992
– the department placed in-service a
Mobile Command Van
• operated by the Special Incident
Response Team
• the van is called "'Mobile One"
• features an on board Apple Macintosh
Computer
– allows team members to implement the
CAMEO Program, Computer Assisted
Management of Emergency Operations
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• features a weather pack
– allows for remote weather condition monitoring in
conjunction with the CAMEO program.
• Building pre-plans and drawings are also stored on
the unit
PROGRESS CONTINUES
• May 1996
– approval was given for a compensated Medical
Director
• Kevin Seaman presently serves in this position
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• The Howard County Department of
Fire and Rescue Services is divided
into six bureaus
– Operations
– Life Safety
– Support Services(Emergency
Management)
– CIT
– Training
– Administration
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• There are eleven fire stations
• House over 175 fully equipped pieces
of emergency apparatus.
• There are
– 287 career uniformed employees
working
– approximately 175 operational and 225
administrative volunteer members
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• Serve an area of 256 square miles.
• Provide emergency medical, fire
and rescue services
• Career personnel are trained at the
minimum level of EMT
• Eleven stations provide 24 hour
dedicated ALS Units.
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• The department's career personnel use
a A, B, C shift platoon system to
provide 24 hour staffing
• Career personnel are assigned to a shift
and work 24 hours on and 48 hours off
• Each company is managed by a
Captain.
• Field supervision is overseen by nine
Battalion Chiefs.
THE FIRE SERVICE TODAY
• Our department is one of 21 original
internationally accredited fire
departments in the world.
– was achieved in 1999
– we were re-accredited in 2004.
– This effort will increase the level of
professionalism within the fire and
rescue services
THE COST OF SERVICE
• 2001
– The Department of Fire and Rescue Service
responded to 26,154 emergency incidents
– generated over 50,000 emergency responses
– provided fire and emergency medical protection
to a rapidly growing population of over
253,076
THE COST OF SERVICE
– The cost of services has increased by 40% over
the last six years.
– The operating budget for fiscal year 2002 was
in excess of 35 million dollars
THE ROAD AHEAD
• Several new fire station sites are
currently under consideration
– Mayfield and Cooksville
• plans to expand the number of
department personnel are underway
• The department is preparing itself for
the future challenges of a growing
population and the urbanization of
the County.
Significant Incidents
• June 21, 1972
– Tropical Storm Agnes
• 1974
– Royston Auto, 10 Alarm, New
Car Preparation Facility
• September 25, 1975
– Tropical Storm Eliose
Significant Incidents
• November 8, 1976
– Normandy Bowling Lanes, Ellicott City
• December 10, 1976
– Howard County Bureau of Highways Garage,
Rt. 97
• December 29, 1976
– 5565 Harpers Farm Road
• January 16, 1977
– 4931 Hale Orchis Court
Significant Incidents
• January 17, 1977
– 5174 Brookway
• September 17, 1977
– C. R. Daniels Mill, Daniels Md.
• 1982
– Vantage Point Rd. Townhouse
• 2 Firefighters seriously injured
Significant Incidents
• November 14, 1984
– Ellicott City Main Street - 6 Alarm
• October 30, 1988
– 10338 Lombardi Road, Ellicott City 2 fatal (5yr, 8yr)
• 1989
– Turf Valley Overlook - Trench Rescue
- 1 fatal
• 1992
– Tornado
Significant Incidents
• May 13, 1993
– 9623 Basket Ring Rd. Apartment fire
• December 26, 1993
– 10540 Gorman Road, $500,000.00
Loss
• July 16, 1994
– 10320, 10322 Hickory Ridge - Chase
Glen Apts. $ 1.9 Million loss
• April 2, 1995
– 5134 Thunder Hill Rd. - $ 150,000.00
Significant Incidents
• May 8, 1995
– 12130 Fulton Estates Court - $
550,000.00 loss
• January 2, 1998
– 10665 Gramercy Place - $1 Million loss
• November 9, 1999
– Ellicott City Main Street - $ 2 Million
loss - 6 Alarm
“EDUCATE
PROTECT
SERVE”
Elkridge Station # 1
Ellicott City Station #2
West Friendship Station #3
Lisbon Station # 4
Clarksville Station # 5
Savage Station # 6
Station 7
Bethany Station #8
Long Reach Station # 9
Rivers Park Station # 10
Scagsville Station #11