2003-087-RES RATIFY APPLICATION FOR US FIRE ADMIN FROM FEMA TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT

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Print Application Page 7 of 13 Operations and Firefighter Safety Program to purchase the following personal protective equipment: 54 Self- Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), 64 spare cylinders. The addition of this important safety equipment will allow us to provide equipment that is in total compliance to OSHA, NIOSH and NFPA standards, which in turn will assist our efforts in better protecting our valued personnel and in serving the people of our community and the surrounding area. For the last two years, the Paris t"ire Department has been working toward a total transition from the old BMR (Belt Mounted Regulator) style SCBA to the newer. more technologically-advanced MMR (Mask Mounted Regulator) style of SCBA that meets NIOSH approval and the requirements of NFPA 1981. With the ever-increasing risk of possible terrorist action within the United States and the associated dangers to first responders, it is important that we provide our staff with SCBA equipment that has a high resistance to chemical penetration and permeation and that is appropriate for use against CBRN agents. However, procuring the necessary funds at the local level to complete such a transition has been impossible given the economic strain of our area. That is why this grant is so important to us. We average approximately 150 to 180 structure fires out of an average annual total call volume of 1550 to 1650 calls. Our SCBA experience heavy use as we service a city of 43.5 square miles with a population in excess of 25,000. The city has a large concentration of older homes and structures. a large downtown square area with old (1916-era) multi-story buildings, two major hospital facilities of five and seven stories, multiple hospital service and medical aide buildings. seven nursing home facilities, six major industrial complexes, a large ammonia nitrate and agriculture fertilizer facility, an agricultural chemical retailer and a host of other commercial and light industrial businesses. Though the City of Paris has a formal Mutual Aide agreement with Lamar County, in the event of a major disaster, the city would be and is the primary source of expertise, mitigation equipment and staffing. The following table gives a visual representation of cities that are of comparable size to Paris and statistical information in regards to population, fire department budget, nLlmber of personnel. number of total alarm responses and number of structure fires during last fiscal year: Paris 25,8983.286.60856 1615179 Big Spring 25,233 3,700.000 64 249 48 Corsicana 24,600 3.531,632 59 266 105 Farmers Branch 27,9006,178,70064 3,596 23 Greenville 25,051 3,517,63948 Unavailable Of the cities compared. Paris has the least budget and next to least number of personnel, but responded to the most structure fires. This should help to validate the need for the SCBA. The overall goal of this department is to purchase sufficient SCBA with extra bottles so that we can efficiently equip 100 percent of our entire firefighting staff. Currently,we are forced to equip only first-line personnel and keep other SCBA in reserve. We are a smaller department with minima! staffing. Because the City of Paris is geographically isolated from any city and fire department of comparable size we are forced to be self-sufficient. On many occasions we have had to call in additional staffing (from our off-duty ranks) to support suppression/mitigation efforts. The ability to provide each employee with his/her own NIOSH approved,SCBA would greatly increase the overall safety capabilities of this department. expedite mitigation efforts. provide the necessary SCBA for use with Haz-Mat and CBRN incidents and assist us in providing better service for our community and area. Budget Activity Explanation The City of Paris Fire Department will utilize the $271,978.00 in FEMA funding to purchase the following personal protective equipment to efficiently equip 100 percent of our entire firefighting staff: . 54 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) . 64 spare cylinders We realize that the overall request of 5271 ,978.00 represents an extensive amount of funding (if you say it real fast it doesn't seem quite so bad though!). However, given the increased purchase price of new SCBA due fo the manufacturers' efforts at complying to mandated changes and enhancements as required by NFPA and other regulatory agencies, the total number of packs needed and the total number of extra cylinders needed, we truly feel that the request is warranted. This extensive cost is the very reason we have not been able to accomplish the wholesale transition to the newer and safer SCBA through the standard city budgetary process. If we cannot procure this much needed grant, then this department will not be able to complete the wholesale transition for several years as we try to replace the equipment a little at a time. Such action would force us to utilize SCBA of at least two (2) different brands and types, which could greatly compromise personnel safety. The most important aspect of this request is that it will allow for a 100 percent - one time transition in which this department can replace all our current SCBA with a new more technologically advallced model. We are currently on course in our efforts to provide specialized training to our personnel to enhance our ability to respond to and properly mitigate incidents related to WMD, CBRN and terrorist actions, and our total success hnps:l/portal. fema. go\'/tiregrant/j sp/tire/pri n t_ app.j sp ?prin t==true&app _ num ber== 411 0/2003