| Project Description |
| * Please enter your narrative statement using no more than six single-spaced pages in the space provided.. |
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------- Project description:
Some leaders and residents of Vermillion Township feel that the
community should be more engaged in firefighting and rescue activity
within the township and surrounding area. Vermillion Township does not
have its own fire department at this time and there is no official
resolution to establish one yet, but a vote of the township residents
is planned for the March 2010 annual meeting. Applications are being
written to assess the feasibility of grant funding, and results will be
reported to the voters prior to the meeting. The township residents are
well aware that a fire department is not a trivial undertaking, and
want to be sure of their costs and funding sources before starting.
The township currently contracts fire services from a neighboring
town, but there are several areas in the township that are unprotected
due to the distance from the fire station. Also, the cost of the
contracted service has risen dramatically over the last three years,
and it is time for the township to consider alternatives.
Vermillion Township is actively recruiting volunteers within the
township in order to increase the number of trained firefighters and
first responders in the region and to eventually form the Vermillion
Township volunteer fire department. Vermillion is central to seven
other townships and five cities; a fire department in this area would
be beneficial to the residents and mutual aid of the other fire
districts. Benefitting regions are: Empire Township, Castle Rock
Township, Hampton Township, Douglas Township, Marshan Township,
Farmington Township, city of Vermillion, city of Hampton, city of
Miesville, city of Coates city of Rosemont and the city of New Trier.
The reason for pursuing this grant is to secure funding for
recruitment, training and retention of local volunteer firefighters and
first responders. Vermillion Township has secured volunteers, but local
funding is scarce due to the harsh economic climate and startup &
training is difficult without federal funding.
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----- Application Clarifications
On Applicant Characteristics (Part I), selected "services provided"
are what the currently contracted fire department provides at this
time; it is intended that, if created, these services will also be
provided by the Vermillion Township Fire Department. Also, on Applicant
Characteristics (Part II), the operating budget reflects the expense of
the currently contracted fire department.
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-----General Plan and Timeline for Establishment of the Vermillion Township Fire Department
If township approval is granted in March 2010 and a resolution for
a fire department is established, The Vermillion Township Fire
Department would begin official operation on December 31, 2012.
Projected Time Table:
Township vote - March 2010
Resolution for fire department establishment - May 2010
Begin formal recruitment of volunteers - May 2010
Fire committee begins formulation of the following processes and documentation - June 2010
NFPA 1720, section 4.1.1 - administrative regulation
NFPA 1720, section 4.1.1 - standard operating procedures (SOP)
NFPA 1720, section 4.1.1 - departmental orders
NFPA 1720, section 4.2 - community fire and EMS risk management plan
NFPA 1720, section 4.2.3.1 - community risk management plan with respect to hazardous materials
NFPA 1720, section 4.9.6.2 - quality management
NFPA 1720, section 4.4 - reporting system
Volunteer training begins - July 2010
Formal written mutual aid agreements in place - March 2011
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-----Call Volume
Projected call volume is based on data collected from the
sub-contracted fire department for 2006, 2007 and 2008. A summary of
those three years:
14 structural and vehicle fires
3 vegetation fires
48 EMS requests
2 hazardous material
A more detailed breakdown can be found in the application entries under "Department Call Volume".
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-----Staffing Projections
As per NFPA 1720, section 4.3, table 4.3.2, Vermillion Township
would fall under the category (demand zone) of "Rural Area, <500
people per square mile. Vermillion township has 1371 residents in a 36
square mile area, and based on table 4.3.2 a minimum of six volunteers
would be needed to safely and effectively provide fire protection or
emergency medical services for each incident. To guaranty a minimum of
6 volunteers on a 24/7 basis, it is estimated that the fire department
should have 25 volunteers on staff; this takes into account normal
absences due to work schedules, illness, attrition, and vacation.
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-----Startup
Pending the township vote and resolution, land is available for The
creation of the Vermillion Township Fire Department; the location is
central with respect to the township borders. The plan is to start with
basic necessities and then grow as needed. Cost of land and building is
estimated to be $200,000.00 to $250,000.00.
It is estimated that the following vehicles (certified used equipment) would be needed as a minimum:
1 engine (5 riding positions) ~ $45,000.00
1 tender (2 riding positions) ~ $35,000.00
1 Brush / Quick attack (2 riding positions) ~ $25,000.00
1 rescue vehicle (2 riding positions) ~ $50,000.00
vehicle total = $155,000
Note that the above vehicles were listed under "Applicant
Characteristics II, Type or Class of Vehicle", and are an estimate of
what will be purchased pending township approval and resolution.
The turnout gear is estimated to be $6400 for each volunteer; gear total = $160,000.00
Training for 25 volunteers is estimated to cost $35,000.00.
MFSCB certification is estimated to cost $3,500.
Besides the training and certification, Vermillion Township would
work closely with and be mentored by the Randolph Hampton Fire
Department.
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-----Annual Operation
The annual operating budget is estimated to be $70,000.00 per year
and would be derived by tax levy; the current sub-contracted fire
protection and EMS is funded this way.
Estimated cost of Fire Relief and workman's comp is $11,000 per year.
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------- Impact on daily operations:
People in the southwest region of the township do not have adequate
fire protection under the current system; response times are long due
to their distance from the contracted fire department, and a fire in
this area would most likely result in a total loss. This situation
creates the additional hardship of high fire insurance premiums for the
people in this area. If the grant is secured, Vermillion Township could
fulfill recruitment and training needs, and continue to work toward
creating a fire department that is more central to the township.
State Highway 52 corridor runs through Vermillion Township. When
accidents occur, more regional firefighters and first response people
in the area will decrease the response time of fire and rescue
personnel.
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------- Financial need:
Vermillion Township has 1317 residents scattered over six square
miles. Currently all funding is through tax dollars. The tax base
cannot afford the cost of startup (marketing, planning, training and
equipment). Federal funding is needed to start the effort, then
eventually community fund raising and tax dollars would cover the costs
in later years.
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------- Minority Recruitment:
All residents will be welcome to participate and activities will
include recruiting to achieve diversity. The marketing committee will
be responsible for identifying underrepresented groups within the
township and organizing quarterly social events and advertising. The
emphasis needs to be on face-to-face interaction and developing
relationships first with individuals and then expanding to groups.
For many people, firefighting brings to mind tasks that require
great strength and agility, and this perception causes some to doubt
their ability to participate within the organization. The marketing
committee needs to highlight the many essential tasks such as equipment
monitoring and repair, facility maintenance, community outreach,
mentoring, fund raising and vehicle driving. Introduction to these
tasks and the people associated with them could be the key to
connecting with underrepresented groups; this could be the first step
in establishing the confidence needed to become trained volunteer
firefighters and first responders.
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------- Recruitment and Retention Plan Summary:
Minnesota State Volunteer Firefighters Association (MSVFA) is
working on guidance, but until that is ready, the Vermillion Township
plan is modeled after the Ontario Public Fire Safety Guidelines,
Volunteer Fire Service Personnel Recruitment and Retention
http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/english/FireProtection/munguide/04-84-13.asp
The Township funds the cost of:
training for FF1, FF2 and first response,
NFPA 1582 compliant physicals,
Minnesota State Volunteer Firefighter Retirement Plan,
Workman’s compensation,
Stipend paid for each call attended by the volunteer
The plan includes:
proactive leadership with Fire Chief and an assessment coordinator;
the assessment coordinator identifies the number, type and quality of
volunteers needed for the community as well as shortfalls and
availability of volunteers.
establishment of a fire committee with a project coordinator; the
committee is responsible for marketing activities, fund raising,
recognition of volunteer service time and accomplishments and general
engagement of the community.
documented policy & guidelines that govern the recruitment,
selection, orientation and probation, training, advancement, retention
efforts and exit process.
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------- Grant Request Summary:
4 sets of turnout gear = $6,400
Training (FF1, FF2, Haz Mat Ops) for 25 people (over 4 years) = $35,000
MFSCB certification = $3,500
Firefighters relief and workman’s comp for 4 years = 4 x 11,100 = $44,400
Marketing and assessment for 4 years = 4 x $1,300 = $5,200
Total Grant Request = $94,500.00
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* Please describe any grants that your department has received from
DHS including the AFG. For example:
2002 AFG Fire Engine, 2003 UASI Equipment... (Enter "N/A" if Not Applicable).
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N/A
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