TRAVIS COUNTY ESD No. 9

2013 ANNUAL REPORT

1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ......................................................................... Page 1 Mission and Guiding Principles ..................................................... Page 2 ESD Overview ............................................................................... Page 3 Organizational Chart ..................................................................... Page 4 Accomplishments ...................................................................... Page 5-6 Types of Alarm Summary .............................................................. Page 7 Response Times .......................................................................... Pages 8 Response by Stations ..................................................................... Page 9 Auto and Mutual Aid Responses ................................................... Page 9 Fire Department Vehicles ........................................................... Page 10 Training ....................................................................................... Page 11 Emergency Prevention ...................................................... Page 12 & 13 Public Education ......................................................................... Page 14 ESD No. 9 Board of Commissioners and Command Staff…………..Page 15

2

Travis County ESD No. 9

MISSION STATEMENT

“…To Preserve Life and Property”

Central Mission

“Exceed the expectations of our community protecting life and property”

Core Principles

Protect

We are committed to protecting our community from fire and other disasters.

Provide

We are committed to provide the best emergency medical services possible for the sick and injured.

Safety

We are committed to the safety of the community and ourselves so that we can fulfill our central mission.

Accountability

We will be accountable to our community for providing high quality emergency services, including prevention, response and public education.

3

ESD No. 9 Overview Travis County Rural Fire Prevention District No. 1, known by its common name of the “Westlake Fire Department” was organized by the Western Hills Emergency Council on April 17, 1961 following a potentially disastrous brush fire that burned hundreds of acres in the Westlake Peninsula and threatened the City of West Lake Hills for an anxious two-day period on April 14 and 15, 1961. The District was authorized and established by the Travis County Commissioners Court on April 1, 1962.

From 1961 until 1982, the District existed on the generosity of the residents. Money was raised by periodic “fill the boot” collections at the door of Rylander’s Grocery (in the heart of West Lake Hills where Walgreen’s now stands) and from mail out cards requesting each family/business contribute $30 to the operation of the District.

In the early 1980’s, the Westbank saw an influx of immigrants coming to the Austin area. Lost Creek became one of the most desirable subdivisions to live in and the Eanes School District became a magnet for parents willing to pay a premium for their children’s education. While the assessed valuation of the District exploded, the voluntary revenue to the Fire Department did not keep up with the growth. The common theory at the time was that many of the newcomers were from cities where support for the fire department came from tax revenues and mailing in money to a group of volunteers was an alien concept.

Facing an exploding need for service, the Commissioners of the District implemented their taxing ability and set the tax rate at the regulatory three cents per $100 of assessed valuation. At the time of this decision, the “average” home in the District was valued at approximately $100,000. With the three-cent tax rate, the average homeowner began paying $30—exactly what the voluntary contribution had been. The difference was now everyone was paying their fair share and the District suddenly saw the annual revenue increase from less than $100,000 per year to $300,000.

From the early 1980’s to the mid-1990’s, the three-cent tax rate was more than adequate to cover the needs of the volunteer department. In 1995, the District hired the first full-time 24-hour employees and the need for additional revenue became apparent. At that time the Board of Commissioners held an election to convert the District from a Rural Fire Prevention District to an Emergency Services District with a maximum taxing authority of ten cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The election passed and the initial tax rate for the first year of the new district’s existence was seven cents.

Over the next few years, the tax rate drifted downward as the District’s assessed valuation rapidly increased. This downward trend ended in the tax year 2001-2002 when it became necessary to move the tax rate back to 6.8 cents to accommodate the aggressive acquisition of replacement vehicles and the hiring of additional paid personnel. The current tax rate is $0.0858 per $100 of assessed valuation.

The District provides emergency medical, rescue, and fire protection services to a 15 square mile area with a population of approximately 17,000. The District serves the cities of Rollingwood and West Lake Hills and the unincorporated areas of Travis County generally south and west of the Colorado River and north of MoPac. In addition, the District provides Automatic Aid with the City of Austin six other agencies in Travis County.

In 2005, the Texas Department of Insurance approved changing the District’s Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating to a 3 in the Cities of Rollingwood and West Lake Hills and a 4/8B in the unincorporated areas of Travis County.

4

Organizational Chart

Fire Chief

District Chief

Fire Marshal

Office Manager District Chiefs

A-B-C-Shifts

Shift Lieutenants

Driver/Engineers

Shift FF’s

Volunteer FF’s

Fire Officer

5

Accomplishments 2013 was filled by educational opportunities. Five members completed the Advanced EMT (AEMT) Class, formally known as the Intermediate EMT Certification Level. Two members were declared EMS Preceptors by the Office of the Medical Director allowing them to check off newly certified AEMT’s. WFD continued to participate in county-wide Multi-Company Drills and Rope Recuse Training with our neighboring departments. Five members completed Spanish testing for First Responders. All firefighters participated in the Fire Fitness Initiative Annual Assessments and Pro Run. All firefighters applied for and received the Texas Commission on Fire Protection Basic Wildland Certification as a minimum. We promoted one personnel to a Lieutenant position in the Prevention Division. During 2013, the District responded to 1,551 incidents and compiled over 1,300 training hours. Effective February 2013, the Travis County Hazardous Material Team incident response was taken over by the Austin Fire Department due to the small number of incidents in Travis County. The Department participated in a HazMat Tabletop Exercise involving a gas leak at the Ulrich Water Treatment Plant in March. The cities of Rollingwood and West Lake Hills and the unincorporated areas of ESD No. 9 upgraded to the 2012 Fire Code in March 2013. In April of 2013 Board of Commissioners approved an updated Auto Aid Agreement to allow the Department to continue automatic aid with the Austin Fire Department and other ESDs. During 2013, a group of Travis County Fire Chiefs that were all involved in auto aid continued meeting as Auto Aid Partners. This group restructured the Auto Aid Agreement to include definitions of auto aid, certification and personnel requirements, response plans and equipment standardizing. Also in April, the Department was inspected by the Insurance Service Office (ISO) which resulted in the unincorporated areas of the District receiving an upgrade to a Class 3 Public Protection Classification (PPC) from a Class 4. Three Officers attended a Helicopter Training Class in April to help augment the staffing of the new Travis County Helicopter Starflight 4. Training will continue in 2014. In May of 2013 the Department held a Community Safety Day which included educational aspects of wildland fire danger, Ten Minute CPR, fire safety tips, and fire station tours. In June of 2013 the Board of Commissioners signed a contract to purchase two new brush trucks from Siddons-Martin Emergency Group to replace aging equipment. The new brush trucks will be delivered in early 2014.

6

Also in June the Department hosted the 8th Annual Emergency Planning Session involving a wildfire scenario that included city and county planners, local law enforcement and fire departments. The Department applied for a Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) grant for a brush truck in June. The grant was not approved for 2013 but will be reviewed in 2014. Residents of The High Road completed fund raising to build a wildfire emergency escape route at the end of The High Road in July. The project was organized by the residents with assistance by the Prevention Division. The Board of Commissioners approved the 2013/14 Budget and reduced the tax rate slightly. The District saw approximately a 5% increase in assessed valuation in 2013. The Department held the 2013 Annual Awards Banquet in January 2014 to honor those who served in 2013. The Department goals for 2014 include working with Water District No. 10 and the city of West Lake Hills to identify the fire flow needs of a changing community of larger homes and building in the District. The Department will provide educational opportunities for the public to learn about the new Wildland Urban Interface Code and how to make the community safer.

7

Type of Alarm Summary

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Fire Rescue & EMS False/GoodIntent Alarm

HazardousCondition

Service Calls

2010

2011

2012

2013

8

Fractal Response Times

Percent of Time Code Three Emergency Response Time

10% 2:09 20% 2:50 30% 3:15 40% 3:35 50% 3:54 60% 4:11 70% 4:28 80% 4:47 90% 5:09

100% 5:54

Extreme fire behavior in Texas

9

Incident Responses by Station

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Station 901 Station 902 Auto Aid

Aid Responses by Department

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

AFD Oak Hill FD CE-Bar FD Other ESDs

Auto Aid Given

Auto Aid Received

Mutual Aid Given

10

Fire Department Vehicles

Command 901 2008 Ford Expedition Fire Chief Vehicle Battalion 901 2010 Chevrolet Suburban Shift Commander Vehicle Battalion 902 2005 Chevrolet Suburban Fire Backup Shift Commander Vehicle Investigator 901 2012 Ford Escape Fire Marshal Vehicle Investigator 902 2012 Ford Escape Fire Inspections/Investigations Brush 901 2000 Ford F-450 Brush Truck Brush 902 2001 Ford F-550 Brush Truck Brush 903 1999 Ford F-450 Bruch Truck Support 901 2008 Ford F150 Pickup Engine 901 2009 Pierce 1500 GPM CAFS Pumper Engine 902 2012 Pierce 1500 GPM CAFS Pumper Engine 903 2009 Pierce 1500 GPM CAFS Pumper

11

Training Training in the fire service is an ongoing process with continual changes in technique, equipment, and methodology. Firefighters are expected to have training and skills to handle emergencies by training in firefighting, emergency medicine, hazardous material and technical rescue that meet the requirements of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS). In 2013 the Westlake Fire Department trained over 1,300 man hours. Below is a list of some of the instruction the Department received:

Fireground Operations Multi Company Drills TCFP Fire Officer I & II TCFP Driver Operator

Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Advanced Emergency Medical Technician - Intermediate

Travis County Clinical Operating Guideline Testing RESET Rope Rescue Courses Advanced Vehicle Extrication

Saving Your Own Course

12

Emergency Prevention Division

The Emergency Prevention Division of Travis County Emergency Services District No. 9 has the primary duties and responsibilities of two sectors. One is the Inspection Services Sector and the other is the Fire Investigation Sector. All of the services we provide to the community we do while keeping our focus on the core principles of the Fire Department – Protect, Provide, Safety, & Accountability. The Inspection Services Sector performs many functions to facilitate the District’s development process. The District is comprised of the City of West Lake Hills, City of Rollingwood, and the unincorporated portion of Travis County Emergency Services District No. 9. Each of these jurisdictions has their own fire code, processes, ordinances, and orders that we utilize in order to provide a safe development process throughout the entire district for all who work and live here. The Fire Investigation Sector is responsible for investigating the origin, cause, and circumstances of a fire, and determining whether it was accidental or criminal in nature. In addition to the fire investigations conducted throughout the year, we perform internal affairs investigations and conduct fire department background checks.

HIGHLIGHTS (2013)

We completed many of our goals throughout this past year. A few of these goals include:

• We completed our work with Travis County Transportation & Natural Resources Department to

improve our notification program directed to applicants planning to build a new home, informing them

of our requirement to install a residential fire sprinkler throughout their new residence by adding the

notification to the Travis County residential building permit applications.

• The Emergency Prevention Division provided numerous training opportunities to the community

throughout the year. Some of the topics covered during the training included: Wildfire Preparedness,

hands-on fire extinguisher use, fire warden and building evacuation, school related fire code

compliance, school based incident command, fire safety and first aid training for Westlake High School

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) program, building intruders and facility lockdown

principles, and general home safety awareness.

• We completed our work with residents and the City of Austin Water and Wastewater Department to

pave the final section of roadway necessary to establish the permanent emergency evacuation and

13

access route from the end of the High Road to Capital of Texas Highway. Throughout the final stages of

the project, we provided numerous interviews with news outlets to increase awareness of the project.

• We worked closely with the City of West Lake Hills, Water Control and Improvement District No. 10,

and State Capital officials to modify legislation in an effort to improve water infrastructure with the

intention to boost area wide fire flows to meet current and projected needs and to protect our

adopted residential fire sprinkler and wildand urban interface code regulations.

• The City of West Lake Hills, City of Rollingwood and our Emergency Services District upgraded to the

2012 International Fire Code. Our Emergency Services District also incorporated the 2012 International

Wildland Urban Interface Code into our Fire Code.

• We provided updated information to the Insurance Service Office (ISO) that helped to improve our

Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating from the current 4/8B to a single class rating of 3.

YEAR END INSPECTION STATISTICS

1/1/2013 – 12/31/2013

Item Description ESD 9No. OF MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS 66No. OF CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY INSPECTIONS 55No. OF COMPLAINT INSPECTIONS 3No. OF LICENSE INSPECTIONS 14No. OF FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM INSPECTION 150No. OF RE-INSPECTIONS 216No. OF PLAN REVIEWS CONDUCTED 170No. OF PERMITS ISSUED 213No. OF KNOX EQUIPMENT ORDERED 13No. OF HYDRANT FLOW TEST CONDUCTED 93No. OF HYDRANT MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS (SP Crew) 406No. OF INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED 6

14

Public Education The Westlake Fire Department offered the communities several opportunities to learn about wildfire prevention, evacuations, and preparedness throughout the year. The Wildfire! Ready! Set! Go! Program is a national based effort to educate communities that exist in the wildland urban interface. This program has been adopted by many states in America because it prepares the public for evacuating in the case of a wildfire. Westlake Fire Department helped provide opportunities for Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) at Fire Station 902 throughout the year. Other public educational activities that were provided during 2012 include Wildfire! Ready! Set! Go! Programs, National Night Out, Fire Prevention Week and various organizational groups. The Department logged in over 366 hours of time providing public education, public service and visits to local schools.

Firefighter Micah Fain discusses fire safety in a way small children can understand.

15

2013 Board of Commissioners

President Dr. John Hogg Vice President Krista Moy Treasurer Steve Scheffe Assist Treasurer Dr. Tad Davis Secretary Kirt H. Kiester

Command Staff

Fire Chief Mike Elliott A Shift District Chief Walter Groman B Shift District Chief David Wilson C Shift District Chief Chris Ham Fire Marshal Mike Lacey

Westlake Fire Department Travis County Emergency Services District No. 9

1301 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite B-123 Austin, Texas 78746

512.539.3400