Annual Report
Cascade Charter Township Fire Department
2007 Annual Report
Our Mission Statement
"Cascade Charter Township Fire Department will deliver
quality, preventive and emergency services to the community."
This year we saw another increase in our call volume. We responded
to 1,404 calls. This is an increase of 137 calls from 2006. The
majority of our responses were medical emergencies and fire alarms.
With the continued growth of the township, the homes and businesses
getting older we feel our responses will continue to increase in the
coming years.
In 2007, we hired two (2) paid on call firefighters. We continue to
look at ways to recruit and retain paid on call firefighters. These
are very important positions in our department and we need to have
enough paid on call available to assist fulltime staff. We hired two
(2) fulltime firefighters. One (1) was for a permanent position and
one (1) was a temporary position to cover Firefighter Porter who went
to Iraq and returned to duty in October of 2007.
GRANT
In 2007 the Cascade Fire Department was awarded funds from the
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG). The AFG program is structured
to operate under the supervision and protocols of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS). In applying for this grant, fire departments
must operate according to DHS criteria. This grant program requires
fire departments to write an essay and provide a numerical cost
analysis showing what they would use the money for if their department
was awarded the grant. Many fire departments hire professional grant
writers in hopes of increasing the possibility of receiving these
funds. Cascade Fire Department staff joined together and developed
estimates and ideas for the grant; we worked together to successfully
complete all the necessary paperwork without outside professional
help. Lieutenant Larry Moore, Lieutenant Ron Rowland, and firefighters
Matt Groesser, Jan Fair, and Jim Walker all gave extraordinary efforts
with the process. The Grant that we were awarded totaled $65,100.
The AFG funds awarded were used for increasing communications
within the department as well as upgrading our Self Contained
Breathing Apparatus systems (SCBA's). A portion of the funds allowed
the department to purchase 25 portable radios, 4 mobile radios and 25
pagers. The department purchased the new in-house programmable
Motorola Minitor V fire pagers. These pagers serve as a one-way
communication device and are a first line notification system to give
information from the Kent County dispatchers to the Cascade
firefighters about emergency situations. By using grant money to
update the pagers we were able to replace a growing number of outdated
and, at times, unreliable fire pagers. The fire department also
purchased new portable radios. Some firefighters had radios that were
over 15 years old while others did not have portable radios at all.
The grant money allowed us to give everyone an updated and dependable
radio. These radios are used to increase firefighter's safety and to
communicate with neighboring departments during emergency situations.
The funds also allowed our department to continue our commitment to
quality and safety by helping us meets the newer and more stringent
National Fire Protection Association rules regarding SCBA's. SCBA's
are a critical and vital part to keeping our firefighters safe during
fires. The grant allowed us to upgrade our existing equipment and
purchase new equipment so that all of our department would be using
the same dependable apparatus. The upgrades included replacing key
parts in the air pressure regulator assemblies, PASS devices and
masks. Each mask is now able to wirelessly communicate with the PASS
device to tell a firefighter how much air they have left in their air
bottle. This is done through a series of LED lights that fire
personnel can see in the corners of their mask through what is called
the "heads up display." The upgrades to our equipment will
help keep firefighters safe while they work hard to protect the
community.
TRAINING
This year we had a lot of changes and challenges in our training
program. The fire training calendar changed from single monthly
training meetings to a new bi-monthly meeting schedule. As
firefighters we are expected to do more and like most organizations we
face changing technology and techniques. To ensure that our skills
remain current, this additional training is critical.
While we receive general information, we need the training committee
to turn it into an actual training program. Doug Poolman, Bob Norris
and Jim Walker stepped forward and became Michigan State certified
Fire Instructors to help deliver the subject matter. This program is
based on subject matter approved by the Michigan Firefighters Training
Council (MFFTC). The MFFTC approved the Firefighting Essentials
Curriculum as the core curriculum from which all firefighters are
taught. With the help of firefighter Dan Gillespie who is a Michigan
State certified EMS instructor the department was able to intertwine
the critical continuing education credits needed to help its personnel
maintain their state emergency medical licensure while conducting
these monthly trainings.
Members of the Cascade Fire Department continue to actively train
beyond the physical boundaries of the Township. Firefighters Jeff
Knowles and Jim Walker went on to become certified as Urban Search and
Rescue specialists. Urban Search and Rescue specialists are called on
to help in complex and often taxing rescue situations involving
confined spaces, building collapses or excavating cave-ins. Lt. Ron
Rowland and Firefighter Bob Norris went to one of the largest
nationally recognized conferences for Fire Instructors in
Indianapolis, Indiana. They were able to research and develop ideas
for better fire education of both firefighters and the public.
Firefighter Jim Walker completed a course at the National Fire Academy
in Emmitsburg, Maryland about the challenges local training
instructors face and what they can do to overcome those challenges. He
completed a course in vehicle extrication and became a CPR instructor
for the department through LIFE EMS.
While this years training has been a learning experience for the
training committee it has been equally rewarding. Through continued
training and diligence, another year of quality training is sure to be
developed.
FIRE PREVENTION
Fire prevention has multiple responsibilities within the Fire
Department. The focus is on prevention of fires, education and
providing for the safety of our citizens. This is accomplished through
public relations, education, inspections and code enforcement
programs. Some of the educational programs the Fire Inspector and I
worked on this year were fire extinguisher training for 230 employees
of township businesses; weather safety for 58 employees and assisting
seven businesses with developing emergency evacuation plans. We also
performed nine fire drills for businesses and schools in the township
with approximately 400 people attending those drills. Other items we
continue to work on are a maintenance program for businesses that have
private fire hydrants on their property, installation of Knox Boxes on
buildings in the township, gates, speed bumps, chemical surveys of all
businesses, basic fire inspection program for staff and more education
of businesses, employees and citizens on fire prevention and fire
safety. We continue to look at the programs we offer and make any
changes that will make them better for the community.
SITE PLANS
We reviewed 23 new and revised site plans for businesses and
developments in the Township. These reviews include meetings with our
Planning Department, property owners, and project engineers. Many
additional meetings were needed for the larger projects that had
changes to their plans. The fire department works with the building
and planning departments to ensure that new construction meets the
minimum fire safety requirements. This is an important part of our
duties so all fire related items are covered in the initial stages of
the planning process.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
In 2007, we attended 85 events with approximately 3,000 people in
attendance. We attended numerous neighborhood block parties, birthday
parties, community and business events. We held fire drills with the
schools located in our township. We gave fire safety and first aid
talks to numerous Boy and Girl Scout Groups. We taught CPR to nurses,
and employees of businesses in the township. We attended the Kent
County Sheriff Department child ID program at the East Precinct.
We held "Camp 911" again this year, which is a program
put on by Life EMS and our department. It teaches classes dealing with
medical emergencies, fire extinguisher usage, fire related material
and bike safety. We held classes for local businesses dealing with
weather emergencies, fire evacuation procedures and fire extinguisher
training.
The Township programs we participated in were the Memorial Day
program at the Township Library, 4th of July celebration, River Beat
Concert series and the Halloween celebration at the Fire Station. We
participated in several local church functions, holiday shopping for
underprivileged kids and the Ada/Cascade clean up day. We feel these
are very important to our community and the public relations events we
do help us stay connected with our community.
Our on-site program was another big success this year. We visited
the following sites: Meijer, Wal-Mart, Family Fare, Dickenson Press,
Gaylord House, Costco, Cascade Township Library, Cascade Engineering
and Walgreens. For the year, we held 23 on-sites. We had 794 people
stop by our table and obtained 736 blood pressures. Out of the 794
people that stopped by our table, 298 were Township residents. We
continue to hear positive comments from the businesses as well as
people who stop and use this service.
As part of our Child Safety Seat Inspection program we inspected 32
car seats for residents. We offer this very important program to our
community and for the safety of their small children. We currently
have two (2) firefighters that are certified to conduct car seat
inspections.
FIRE INSPECTIONS
This year we contracted with another fire department to have Fire
Inspections performed on a part-time basis. For the year, 250 fire
inspections were performed and the number of hours worked for the year
was 972.5 hours. Out of those fire inspections there were 1,826
violations found. The majority of the violations were related to
housekeeping, storage of items and maintenance. We completed as many
businesses as possible and are working on improving our inspection
program. We work with business owners to correct any fire hazards and
educate them in fire safety. We feel with proper inspections, training
and education we can help reduce the number of fires and increase the
safety of these businesses.
Below is a list of all apparatus in our fleet.
 |
Apparatus |
|
|
 |
| |
Fire Chief |
2007 |
Chevrolet Suburban |
|
| |
Fire Inspector |
2001 |
Chevrolet Impala |
|
| |
Tanker 4 |
2005 |
International Tanker/3000 gallons of
water |
|
| |
Engine 5 |
1990 |
American Eagle Pumper/1000 gallons of
water |
|
| |
Engine 6 |
1992 |
American Eagle Pumper/1000 gallons of
water |
|
| |
Engine 8 |
1992 |
American Eagle Pumper/1000 gallons of
water |
|
| |
Rescue 7 |
2000 |
550 Ford Rescue Vehicle |
|
|
Medic 7 |
2001 |
Chevrolet Suburban |
|
|
Medic 11 |
2005 |
Chevrolet Suburban |
|
|
Truck 9 |
1998 |
Ford Expedition |
|
|
Truck 10 |
2005 |
Chevrolet Pick up/Grass Truck |
|
|
Truck 13 |
1993 |
Chevrolet Pick up/Plow Truck |
|
|
Boat 1 |
|
Recovery Boat |
|
|
|
Station 1 Apparatus includes:
Medic 11
Engine 5
Engine 6
Rescue 7
Truck 10
Truck 9
Truck 13
Station 2 Apparatus includes:
Medic 7
Engine 8
Tanker 4
Boat 1
PERSONNEL
Our department consists of one (1) full-time Fire Chief; one (1)
Paid on Call Deputy Chief, one (1) full-time Fire Inspector, sixteen
(16) full-time firefighters and 13 paid on call firefighters. Our
full-time firefighters operate three (3) shifts consisting of six (6)
personnel on one (1) shift and five (5) personnel on two (2)
shifts. They operate out of two stations. Both stations
are staffed 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
A list of department employees is listed below according to their
original hire date.
 |
Personnel |
|
|
 |
| |
John Shipley |
12/02/1970 |
Deputy
Chief |
|
| |
John Sigg |
01/01/1985 |
Fire Chief |
|
| |
Ron Rowland |
06/01/1986 |
Lieutenant |
|
| |
Doug Venema |
03/17/1987 |
Lieutenant |
|
| |
Dan Gillespie |
08/06/1987 |
Fire Fighter |
|
| |
Phil Monterusso |
03/08/1990 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Stephen Korhorn |
08/01/1990 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Steve Bennett |
01/21/1991 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
John Porter |
02/04/1991 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Matt Groesser |
03/22/1993 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Jan Fair |
12/07/1993 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Andrew Albright |
07/18/1994 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Kreigh Deering |
04/01/1995 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Jeff Rashid |
11/20/1995 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Mike Buys |
01/11/1999 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Rick Toppel |
06/01/1999 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Douglas Poolman |
03/15/2000 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Robert Norris |
07/01/2000 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Brian Currier |
10/01/2001 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Jeff Knowles |
04/26/2002 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Andrew Marsman |
12/01/2002 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Randy Hoffman |
08/11/2003 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Dan Lucas |
11/01/2003 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
David Faber |
12/01/2004 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Jim Walker |
1/24/2005 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Larry Moore |
2/9/2005 |
Lieutenant |
|
|
Colin Forzley |
11/24/2006 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
John Makuch |
11/24/2006 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Todd Stevenson |
5/14/2007 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
Lance Korhorn |
7/01/2007 |
Fire Fighter |
|
|
|
STATISTICS
|
Fire Calls |
Number |
|
| |
Fire Alarms |
174 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Aircraft Alerts |
14 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
CO Alarms |
17 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Service Calls |
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Fires |
28 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Grass Fires |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Hazardous Incidents |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Illegal Burn |
37 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Lock Out |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Medicals |
775 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Gas Leak |
17 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Odor of Smoke |
31 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Personal Injury Accident |
96 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Stand By |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Trees Down |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Unknown Accidents |
51 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Vehicle Fires |
17 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Wires Down |
33 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Wash Downs |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Bomb Threats |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Dumpster Fires |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Lift Assists |
24 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Mutual Aid |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Total |
1,404 |
|
|
|
|
Years in Comparison (Total Calls for the Year)
|
Year |
Total Fire Calls |
|
|
2007 |
1,404 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 |
1,264 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005 |
1,216 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004 |
1,249 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 |
1,252 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002 |
1,172 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001 |
1,123 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2000 |
1,207 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1999 |
1,199 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1998 |
1,077 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1997 |
986 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1996 |
946 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1995 |
946 |
|
|
|
|
PROGRAMS
Listed below are some of the programs and activities we provided
this past year. We are committed to the community and offer programs
that will build a sense of community and teach our residents about
safety.
" CPR classes
" Child car seat inspections
" Home fire inspections
" Pre-school fire safety talks
" Safe at home fire safety to the schools
" Fire drills
" Fire prevention talks
" Association board meetings
" Neighborhood association group gatherings
" Local business programs
" Block parties / Birthday parties
" Boy/Girl scout talks and tours
" Forest Hills school tailgate party
" Halloween Community safe candy party
" 4th of July celebration
" Local Health Fairs
" Assist with Township projects
We cannot do our job without the support of the community and the
township board because we are committed to our community.
Some of our goals for 2008 are to improve our shift trainings, look
into trainings with neighboring departments, increase our paid on call
staff and be visible in our community and to educate our citizens.
John C. Sigg
Fire Chief
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