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Station / Facilities

As reported in past years reports, the building is showing its age. We have had to address several plumbing issues over the past year in the 1966 portion of the building. As I write this report, we are applying a fresh coat of paint to the front entry area of the station which is much needed as is in other areas of the building.

The roofs of the 1995 Emergency Medical Service (EMS) addition and the 1982 addition were replaced in 2008. These roofs now have a 15 year warranty. The fire department part of the project came in under budget by $500.

It is budgeted in 2009 to have work completed in the station to meet the new State of Wisconsin code for water back flow prevention. As this will cost an estimated $7,000 to complete and to come up to code it will be the station improvement project for the year.

As I have reported in my past annual reports, we are out of space within the station for equipment, record storage, administration and staff.  Walking space between equipment is even limited in areas of the station. The ceiling /roof height of the apparatus bays also does not allow one to work on the pumper’s within the station as they are tilt cabs. This means we have to work on the trucks outside where the cabs can be raised.

The diesel exhaust from the vehicles / apparatus running in the station continues to be a health concern of mine for all members and staff of the department. The exhaust soot can be seen on the walls through out the station. This possibly could be addressed with a grant for station vehicle exhaust system.

The heating of the station has noted to have increased greatly in December. I am not sure of the total reason behind this but have had some bay doors left open after apparatus has left for calls, which plays a part of the increase.

Given the Department has a large flat roof area and also given that solar panels have improved, I think looking into solar heat may prove to benefit the department. 

A new station is in the Department’s outlay schedule but not until 2020.

2008 Alarm Review

The Department had another busy year responding to 224 alarms for the year which is down by two alarms from 2007. The ten year average is 191 alarms.

The 2008 fire loss / damage estimate is $2,322,018. The year’s fire loss estimate is up $951,401 from 2007 and the ten year average is $775,612.70. Attached is a “2008 Alarm Data” report. This report breaks down the alarms by type and there location for the year.

There were two large loss fires within the district in 2008 that attributed to the year’s large fire loss estimate and both were commercial fires. The largest happened on December 13th in the city’s industrial park at Levis Creek Forest Products. The damage estimates for this fire is over $1.3 million. Although this number is high, it does not reflect the great job and fire stop the Department did on this fire. The Department also had assistance on this fire with mutual aid from the Hixton and Merrillan Fire Departments. Had the building and equipment been a total loss from the estimate given on the fire, I would estimate the loss could have been as high as four or five million dollars.

The cause of the fire at Levis Creek Forest Products has been narrowed down to a bathroom fixture and remains under investigation at this time by this Department and the insurance company(s).

The second large commercial loss occurred on July 9th at the Palms Supper Club in the township of Komensky. The estimated loss for this fire is $613,000. This fire was a difficult fire in several aspects. The building had had a number of additions over the years which made it difficult to get at and the building had so much fire involvement an interior attack could not be made. As the location was in the rural setting, there are not fire hydrants and all the water needed to be transported by tankers. Seven area Departments assisted as mutual aid to supply tankers as well as firefighters during the fire. An estimated 90,000 gallons of water was transported to fight this fire. It was also difficult for many emotionally as the Palms had so many memories for so many people.

The area of the fire origin is believed to be in or above the kitchen area. Due to the heavy fire damage a fire cause was not determined.

A fire on March 30th in the township of Brockway was the single largest residential loss fire for the year. The fire damage estimate for the fire at N5495 Buckeye Road, the home of Pamala Ellenberger is at $98,000. The cause of the fire has not been determined but appears to have started under the manufactured home.

The Department is continuing to investigate and work with local law enforcement and the State Fire Marshals Office on a residential fire that appears to be an arson fire within the district. There has also been information gained that may assist with a suspected arson fire that the Department is investigating from 2007.

There were 18 vehicle fires that the department responded to. On February 29th , a fire in the City of Black River Falls and in the parking lot at the Flying J Truck Stop a recreational vehicle (RV) being delivered by a transport company to a dealer burnt. The RV’s value was listed at $93,913.

The fire appears to have started in the roof area and possibly a ceiling furnace.

By far, as in past years, the largest numbers of alarms are for motor vehicles crashes. The Department responded to 74 of these alarms in 2008.  24.5% of the time the Department was tasked with extricating the vehicles occupants in these crashes.

On January 21st , the Department responded to a multi-vehicle crash on I-94 starting at mile post 113 east bound. This crash had 24 vehicles involved of which parties needed to be extricated from two. Due to the number of vehicles in the crash, mutual aid was requested from both the Hixton and Merrillan Fire departments.

A maxi size van left I-94 mile post 114 west bound and crashed down between the McNulty Road overhead on August 23rd , in the township of Adams. The van heavily damaged vehicle had a total of seven passengers (the Koko Taylor Blues Band) of which some were pinned in the vehicle and others were partly ejected from the vehicle requiring extrication. All seven vehicle occupants were transported to Black River Memorial within 38 minutes of the Department getting the call. The Department did an outstanding job of extrication and team work to accomplish this! It is my understanding that almost all of the seven occupants were airlifted from Black River Memorial to area trauma centers and were expected to fully recover.

The Department responded to a motor vehicle crash on Hwy 12 South in the town of Brockway. Two occupants were to be pinned in the vehicle per the 911 Dispatch Center report. Upon arrival, the vehicle was found to be resting on its passenger side and was on fire with one party still pinned in the vehicles drivers’ seat. One party had been freed from the vehicle by passersby’s just as emergency personnel arrived.  The fire was knocked down and pushed away from the party still pinned in the vehicle with the use of fire extinguishers by Sheriff’s Department Deputy Kyle Nosbisch and a Fire Department member until the Department arrived with its pumper. The fire was put out and the party then extricated from the vehicle with severe burns. Both parties were air lifted from Black River Memorial. Both are to make a full recovery. The driver is reported to have lost a leg and hand due to the burn injuries and is last known to be in rehab / burn unit.

There was not much for spring or fall wildland fires in 2008. The Department responded to a total of 11 wildland fires that burned and estimated 11.36 acres. The largest wildland fire occurred on April 15th in the township of Millston on I-94 at mile post 132 west bound (the old rest area). This fire consumed 4.1 acres. There were a couple wildland fires reported almost at the same time along I-94 also on April 15th. It was reported that someone was throwing fireworks out of a vehicle traveling the freeway. Evidence of fireworks was found in the burn areas.

Most of the wildland fires occurred in June and July. The cause for most of these fires was fireworks from evidence found at the scenes.

12 alarms were for search and rescue. Two of these alarms required a large number of hours by the Department. The first was for a missing canoeist on the lower Black River. This alarm occurred on August 6th and the Department logged 49 firefighter hours in an eight hour period of time. The second was assisting with the Sidie case in the township of Adams in November. The Department logged 142 hours over 5 days in this search and rescue effort.

14 hazmat alarms were responded by the Department and County Level B Hazmat Team. Most of these alarms (six) were for diesel fuel leaks and spills from motor vehicles and five were for natural gas leaks or natural gas lines struck during construction work.

The Department was dispatched for 16 false alarms which were caused by equipment malfunction, construction taking place in a building, and juveniles pulling alarm stations or calling 911 on a cell phone given to them as a toy.

ATV, off-road dirt bike and snowmobiles accounted for eleven alarms.

Three civilians were injured by fire 2008. Two of the three were minor and did not seek medical attention. The third was due to the vehicle crash talked about above.

There were no fire deaths in the district in 2008.

Fire Prevention / Inspections

The Department had contacted with 827 students during National Fire Prevention Week within the schools and day care centers. This is an167 student increase over 2007 mainly due to the “Pre K” program now in the schools.

The materials for this program are purchased through the “National Fire Safety Council” with monies solicited and donated from the areas business community. The support from the business community has been outstanding even in this difficult economic time having donated $3,111 to purchase fire prevention materials. These materials are used for the annual baby sitting clinic which is hosted by Black River Memorial Hospital.

The Department provided 17 station tours for various groups which include school groups, Scouts, the Boys & Girls Club to name a few.

Scholze Ace Home Center’s fall safety day was again attended by the Department and has been an excellent opportunity for the Department to have contact with the public. We have some of our equipment on display, provide fire prevention information, fire extinguisher education and it gives the public a chance to ask questions of the Department.

Fire inspections of commercial and public properties were conducted. The number of properties and the size of some the properties has increased (hospital, D&S Mfg.) which has increased the amount of time spent at a property.

Burning Permits

Burning is not encouraged within City limits and citizens are advised of the monthly curb side pickup as well as the drop off location at the street department for brush and yard waste.

The Department issued just three (3) burning permits for within the City limits.

2008 did see a large increase in illegal burning taking place within the limits. The Department responded to and / or investigated eight illegal burning incidents. A letter to the editor or article in the local papers in the spring may help stop some of this activity.

The majority of the rural district, including the sanitation District of Brockway Township, is covered by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fire Control regulations.

Personnel

I believe 2008 was the most stable the Department’s membership has been since becoming Chief in 2003.

Jody Hodge having served the community resigned from the Department in February after one year of service and Brad Overlien resigned in December after serving for 6.5 years. Dan Clason requested a one year leave of absence as his family moved outside the fire district. At this writing, Dan is living back within the fire district and has requested reinstatement on the Department which will give the department a full roster of 32 firefighters.

Two new firefighters were placed on the roster in 2008. In March, Brian Huebner became a member and in November Collin Carriere was placed on the Department’s roster. Brian is new to the fire service and is working on completing Entry Level Firefighter (ELF) training. Collin was on the Shawano Volunteer Fire Department before coming to Black River Falls.

Every firefighter on the Department was issued a complete new set of  personal protective equipment (helmet, coat, pants, boots, hoods and gloves) in 2008 that was purchased with monies from the 2007 Assistant Fire’s Grant awarded the department in October of 2007. It was much needed!

Drills and Training

There were 33 drills conducted by the Department in 2008. Some of the topics addressed at the drills in the class room or out in the field include water drafting operations through ice, building ventilation techniques, confined space rescue, wildland fire operations, vehicle extrication and pump operations just to name a few.

The Department participated in a mock vehicle crash in Sand Pillow Village in cooperation with the Ho-Chunk Nation. The mock crash was between two (2) vehicles caused by the use of alcohol. The mock crash victims were high school students. While students and parents watched their fellow students and kids were extricated from the vehicles, loaded into ambulances for transport to the hospital or pronounced dead at the scene and covered with a white sheet.

A couple of the drills that I feel should be brought to your attention that were conducted in 2008 are “Elevator Emergencies” which was taught by Wisconsin Department of Commerce Elevator Inspector David Holmes.

The Department also had a house donated to the Department by the Black River Child Care Center in which several drills were conducted. At the end of the Department’s use of the structure it was burned to clear the lot for future use by the day care facility. Because of EPA and DNR regulations this type of learning and teaching opportunity is becoming harder to conduct. I thank the Child Care Center for giving the Department this great teaching and learning experience.

Several members of the Department also attended special training on topics of interest to them which the Department paid for. These members in turn bring back information from the training and share it with the rest of the Department.

Grants, Donations and Memorials

The Department received five (5) grants over the past year, some of which require some type or percentage of matching funds and others that did not. $15,696.25 was received by the Department in grants for 2008. The required Department match was $2,432.25.

The Lunda Charitable Trust granted the department $2,664 to purchase a traffic safety vest for each firefighter and traffic control signage. These grant dollars allowed the department to come compliant with a federal highway safety requirement.

Hazmat protection suits and Class B foam was purchased with a $3,000 State of Wisconsin Hazmat grant. This was an 80/20 matching grant.

On July 4th , the Department was awarded 2008 Assistance to Firefighters Grant for $8,550 to purchase two self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) fill stations. These fill stations have been purchased, installed and are in service. The grants dollars allowed the Department to purchase a two cylinder fill station for in the station and a single fill station for Squad One and it’s on board SCBA cascade system. This is a 95/5 matching grant. The Department will be paying the required 5% match from their funds.

Black River Falls Municipal Utilities awarded the Department a $500 grant which was combined with several other donations and memorials to purchase an extrication ram.

Scholze Ace Home Center continues to be a great supporter of the Department. They donated $1,009.86 from their hot dog sale during their annual safety day. These funds were some of those combined with the utilities grant to purchase the extrication ram.

The Department’s annual fundraiser letter raised $15,571 in 2008. The funds are being used to purchase a large wash machine for the firefighter’s turnout gear. At the current time, the department has completed some plumbing work and is waiting for an electrician to complete some work before taking delivery of the machine.

A complete list of the department’s grants, fundraiser, donations and memorials for 2008 is attached to this report.

Apparatus and Equipment

Engine 1: (2001 HME / Rosenbauer [Rural Pumper Delivered New in 2003]). 3,262 miles, 819 engine hours and 267 pump hours.

The Rural Fire Board was updated on the pumper at the annual meeting. The pumper continues to be costing a lot to maintain. Several valve kits were placed, primer motor was burnt out, rear suspension springs were failing and several other items were found to be needing attention on the pumper. These items were found during the trucks annual service / DOT inspection at the cost of $8,036.

We also continue to have trouble with the truck’s windows, wipers, door handles and keeping the windows from fogging over while returning to the station after a fire.

The Rural Fire Board wants to be and will be kept informed on the pumper.

Old Engine 2: (1993 Freightliner Chassis, 1986 General Safety Body, 1975 Darley Pump [City Pumper]) has 5,127 miles and 1,012 engine hours.

The City’s Public Safety Committee has advised the Fire Chief to dispose of this chassis in the best interest of the city. There is a local fire department that has expressed interest in the chassis and the chief is working with the department at this time.

Engine 2: (2007 Pierce Contender [City Pumper Delivered New in 2007] has 3,744 miles and 175 engine hours.

The unit has not seen much for fire activity but has been used during department drills and is a great asset to the department and community. The firefighters really like this unit for its ease of operation and handling on the road.

Engine 3 (1996 Pierce [City Quint] Telesquirt) has 15,944 miles, 1,113 engine hours and 323 aerial hours.

The Quints biannual aerial test and five year nondestructive was completed in 2008 as required by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1911. The unit passed these tests and the technicians performing the test commented a number of times that the unit is in excellent and very clean condition.

A water leak was found at a “tee” connection on the waterway in the turntable area during the pressure test.

When the truck was taken in for its annual service and DOT check a couple of attempts to have the old tee machined did not work the tee was replaced at a cost of $3,621.

Engine 4 (2008 Ford E-450 Super Cab Chassis) 2,822 miles and 164 engine hours.

A ticking noise was noticed and developed in the motor of this unit while on a trip to pickup another one of the Department’s units from service with just 2,542 miles. The unit was taken directly to a service center and upon arrival the ticking had developed into a knocking noise. The service center found that a wrist pin had come out of the number five cylinder piston. A long block replacement was made under warranty.

The truck seems to be running well at this time and the Department has not experienced any other trouble thus far.

Squad 1 (1993 Freightliner) has 20,728 miles and 2,059 engine hours.

The paint is bubbling all over the beverage body area of the truck. The cab door latches are rusted and the rust is running down the doors discoloring the paint. The units frame is also showing heavy corrosion and we have had trouble with the trucks electrical wiring. The reason behind the corrosion is that this unit is out in the worst road conditions when salt and other chemicals are being used on the roadways.  The truck is also under powered for the load it carries. This unit is the Department’s busiest piece of apparatus and the wear is showing!

The unit responds to most all motor vehicle crashes as it carries extraction tools, hazmat supplies, lighting equipment and is used to protect those on a scene with the use of the traffic advisor roof mounted arrow board. The unit also carries a breathing air cascade system to refill self contained breathing apparatus bottles on scene.

The unit is listed for replacement on the Department’s recommended replacement schedule for 2008 / 2009. It estimated it will cost $300,000 to $450,000 to replace the unit. The project was included in the city’s economic stimulus request submitted to the State of Wisconsin.

Tanker 1: (1994 Freightliner) with 14,488 miles and 1,340 engine hours.

The truck has a 2000 gallon poly tank. The unit is in very good condition and should serve the district well for several more years.

We have been having some trouble with the beaver tail mounted pump and may look at a 2009 DNR grant to replace the pump.

Tanker 2: (1989 GMC) with 12,460 miles and a 1700 gallon steel tank.

The tank has been recoated once. The rust / orange colored water and metal rust flakes coming from the tank shows that corrosion is taking place. There is one area near the top of the tank that has rusted through and when the tank is completely full will leak water for a time.

At the annual meeting of the Rural Fire Department, the Chief was advised to look into replacing the tanker. The Rural Board directed the Chief to get some price information on a new tanker and then call a special meeting to discuss the project further. I hope to be able to have this meeting in January 2009.

The Command Vehicle: (2005 Tahoe) with 32,783miles and 1,754 engine hours.

The vehicle continues to serve the Department and Chief well. The vehicle is used on weekends by the “On-Call Chief” which allows them to respond to any alarm directly from their residence. Having a Department officer arrive on scene ahead of other responding units has been working well. This allows the officer to complete a scene size up, determine how to mitigate the problem and if other resources or mutual aid will be needed.

Black River Chief would still like to have the equipment and reference material storage better organized in the vehicle. A pull / slide out system has been looked at but the price tag is high.

The Hazmat and Fuel Spill Trailers continue to serve the Department, District, and County well. The Department has been able to reduce the environmental impact of fuel spills and leaks with the fuel spill trailer. We have pumped hundreds of gallons of fuel from vehicles involved in crashes that had their tanks damaged. The trailer also contains a large amount of floor dri material to cover spills, absorbent booms to protect waterways and drums to pump fuel into.

The Mule: Off road rescues of the ATV, dirt bike and other outdoor activities is the job for the Department mule. The 1997 Kawasaki off road vehicle has 153 engine hours. The unit is towed to the location of the rescue and used to transport medical personnel and equipment to the injured person. The unit is setup to transport one injured person in the supine position while allowing medical staff to continue treatment during the transport to a waiting ambulance. The unit is also used at wildland fires transporting equipment and firefighters to remote fire locations.

The trailer the mule is transported on was replaced in 2008 as proposed in the Department’s budget. The new trailer is aluminum construction with 2”x 6” plank bed and should serve the Department well.

A complete list of suggested equipment replacement is attached to this report.

Chief’s Report

As you have read through this report, you can see the Department as a whole has had another busy year. It is in this area of the report the Chief will summarize his activities through out the year.

As reported, the Department responded to 224 alarms during 2008 of which the Chief responded to 184 or 82% of the total alarms.

The Chief wrote / applied for several grants for the Department during the year. It is from this effort that the Department did receive grants in an amount of $15,696.25 in 2008.

The Chief located a source to get rid of the Department’s old firefighter turnout gear instead of sending it to a dump. As it had reached its life span by NFPA standards here in the States it was sent to Nicaragua through “Wisconsin / Nicaragua Partners of the Americas, Inc” at no cost to the Department.

The Chief also attended three (3) conferences in 2008. Those attended were the Wisconsin State Fire Chief’s Conference, the Wisconsin Arson Investigator Conference and the State Fire Inspectors Conference.

The work load / demands on the Chief are extremely high. At times, the task that gets completed first is the one with the closest due date or the person that gives the strongest demand. As the Chief has reported in the past, there are more tasks and requirements than one person can complete! The City and Rural Fire Department really need to look at getting more full-time staff and where they see the Department’s future going!

There is plenty of work for a second full-time position on the Fire Department with fire inspections, equipment maintenance and fire prevention activities to name a few. Until this time, the Chief will to do the best job he can.

Outlook

As the community continues to grow, so also do the demands and requirements upon the Department. Some examples are: increased number of properties to inspect, increased demand on Department to provide fire safety and prevention training, firefighter recruitment and retention, new NFPA standards to comply with, firefighter training, increased equipment and station maintenance to name a few.

The Department has been serving the Community for 137 years. It will take the cooperation of both elected officials and the Department to address these increased requirements, demands, Department needs, and maintenance issues in the present economic state that the State and Country is in, as well as, in the years to come.

Respectfully,

Steve Schreiber
Fire Chief