HomeMy WebLinkAboutReport - Mail Packet - 7/17/2018 - Poudre Fire Authority Annual Report - 2017A Community Partner
Poudre Fire Authority Annual Report
A Note From The Chief
You are the heart of what we do. Poudre Fire Authority is constantly working
to improve and be proactive in the ever-evolving fire service. We are a proud
community partner in Northern Colorado and beyond.
Collaboration with partners in emergency services such as 911 dispatch centers, education, law enforcement,
health care, and private partners helps us reduce risk, provide services that save lives and potentially increase
quality of life.
In 2017, PFA developed a new Strategic Plan through a community-driven process to determine critical issues
and service gaps. Goals moving forward include providing innovative core services such as Emergency Medical
Services (EMS), structural and wildland firefighting and rescue; proactive communications; and continued financial
responsibility. The 2018 budget focuses on funding capital needs (technology, facilities, and equipment) and staffing
for EMS, inspections, firefighting, mechanics, and Information Technology. PFA prepaid its Lease/Purchase Agreement
for Station 4 (1945 W. Drake Road), saving $450,000 in interest payments.
Looking forward, PFA will be innovative with fire-behavior research, drone technologies in public-safety applications,
right-sized response deployment models, community-risk reduction, and educational opportunities. We will continue
to be an active and engaged community partner.
- Chief Tom DeMint
“
“
We strive every day to be proficient,
professional and compassionate
for our community.
Our Mission
To protect life and property by being prompt, skillful
and caring. Our actions are anchored in the core values of
Courage, Leadership, and Duty.
About Our Governance
PFA was established in 1981 through an Intergovernmental Agreement
(updated in 2014) between the City of Fort Collins and the Poudre Valley
Fire Protection District (PVFPD).
A five-person Board of Directors, composed of elected members from the PVFPD Board and the Fort Collins City Council,
governs PFA. Both the PVFPD Board and City Council appoint two members to serve on the PFA Board of Directors. The
fifth member of the PFA Board is appointed by these four members and has historically been the Fort Collins City Manager.
The Intergovernmental Agreement outlines PFA’s funding through a revenue-allocation formula. The City of Fort Collins
contributes a proportion of sales and use tax, property taxes, and the voter-approved “Keep Fort Collins Great” tax measure.
The PVFPD contributes its mill levy (property tax) revenue, as well as pass-through Tax Increment Financing from a
partnership with the Town of Timnath.
Who We Are
Poudre Fire Authority is a multi-faceted entity — an organization, a family,
and a community partner that is professional, committed, and responsible.
Providing exceptional customer service through the values of Courage,
Leadership, and Duty, is our number one priority.
313
Child car seats
installed and
checked by PFA’s
certified technicians
5x
PFA firefighters deployed
to other communities
to help during wildfires
and hurricanes
611
Smoke alarms
installed in
high-risk
homes
6,846
Building-safety
inspections
conducted by
PFA personnel
PFA BOARD CHAIR
Gerry Horak
VICE CHAIR
Dave Pusey
MEMBER
Kristin Stephens
MEMBER
Mike DiTullio
MEMBER
Darin Atteberry
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
$500K
$0
$1.5M
$2.0M
$1.0M
CAPITAL BUDGET
Station 4 Lease/Purchase
Apparatus Replacement
Radio Replacement
Facilities Maintenance
Station 8
Major Station Remodel
Computer/Technology
Air Pack Replacement
Staff Vehicle
Replacement
Future Station 15
Hose Replacement
Burn Building
Thermal Imager
Replacement
SAVED450K $
in interest payments by
pre-paying the Station 4
lease/purchase
GROSS OPERATING
BUDGET BY
EXPENDITURE
Salaries & Benefits
Purchased Services
(Radios, Liability Insurance)
Materials, Supplies
& Equipment
Other
86% of the gross operating budget was
allocated to salaries and benefits
RESERVES
PFA REVENUE
BUDGET EXPENDITURES
$6.6M
20% of operating revenue
UNDERSPENT BY 3%
Misc. Fees, Charges, 4%
Earnings on Investments,
Grants/Projects
2017 Budget & Funding Outcomes
96% of the revenue is
Intergovernmental
17%
Poudre Valley Fire
Protection District
70%
City of Fort Collins
9% KFCG Funds
(City of Fort Collins)
Funding Critical Services
Keep Fort Collins Great (KFCG)
is a voter-approved sales tax that
ensures people receive the level
of government services they expect.
Poudre Fire Authority strives
to reduce risk in our community
by empowering people to live
their safest lives. Through
in-person classes, events, and
other platforms, in 2017, PFA’s
staff collectively interacted
with 11,456 members of
the community.
Poudre Fire Authority
has 24 volunteer firefighters
who give their talents and
hundreds of hours of their
time to serve the communities
of Stations 9 and 11, in the
areas of Horsetooth Reservoir
and Redstone Canyon,
respectively.
The calm, collected, and
compassionate regional
dispatchers, who handled
200,000+ calls in 2017, assure
Poudre Fire Authority firefighters
arrive when you need them. You
can help by registering your
phone number for emergency
notifications at LETA911.org.
Community Connections
Firefighter Travis Garcia talks with a young attendee at a 2017 event where
firefighters demonstrated how they help remove people trapped in crashed
vehicles, a process called extrication.
Keeping People Safe
PFA responds to emergencies. More importantly,
we work to prevent them from ever happening.
Before you step foot in a new building, PFA fire-safety experts have worked with
developers, design partners, and contractors to make a space as safe as possible
by checking items such as exit signs, alarm systems, and fire department access.
Our staff works with partners who install and maintain fire-sprinkler systems, two
of which successfully put out fires in 2017, no doubt saving lives and potentially
millions of dollars in property damage.
Emergency Medical Services
Be it falls, heart attacks, or broken bones,
our firefighters are there.
Poudre Fire Authority works with public organizations, as well as through
public-private partnerships and formal agreements, to provide world-class
emergency medical services to people within Northern Larimer County.
Smart Science
Innovation across PFA is key to providing
the best-possible services.
Firefighting has greatly changed in recent decades. The study of fire science,
knowledge shared by fire service partners, and new tools mean PFA’s firefighters
are more effectively and safely fighting fire and, in some cases, reducing the
damage caused to a home in the process. Along with other Larimer County partners,
PFA is also using public-safety drones in ways that are saving time and taxpayers’
money. Also, PFA hazardous materials (hazmat) technicians, who study chemistry,
work with community partners to keep people safe during hazmat incidents.
It Takes a Village
to Save a Life
When you need help, you want to
know you are receiving the highest-
quality care from prompt, skillful,
and caring emergency responders.
Rest assured that is the case with our 189 full-time
firefighters who, in 2017, trained for a collective
51,708 hours to ensure they are as prepared as
possible for any call that could come their way.
Seven days a week, 365 days a year, many people
from emergency-response agencies and partner
organizations across the state, nation – and in some
cases, the globe – come together at PFA’s northwest
Fort Collins Training Center to work together, learn
new skills, and practice existing skills so they can
be the best for their communities.
Poudre Fire Authority protects
about 206,000 people and more than
$29 billion worth of property within its
235-square-mile service area.
A partnership of the City of Fort Collins and the Poudre Valley Fire Protection District, proudly serving Fort Collins,
Timnath, Laporte, Bellvue, Horsetooth Reservoir, and Redstone Canyon, in Colorado.
PFA RESPONSE AREA IN YELLOW
Fire
Stations
Training
Center
Admin.
Building
STAT��� 2 STAT��� 1
STAT��� 3
STAT��� 10
STAT��� 14
STAT��� 5
STAT��� 4
STAT��� 7
STAT��� 12
STAT��� 8
STAT��� 6
�ellvue
�orsetooth
Laporte
Timnath
�ort Collins
�ellington
Masonville �indsor
N
V�L��TEE�
STAT��� 11
V�L��TEE�
STAT��� 9
A Somber Reminder of Fire’s Impact
Our community felt the ripple effects of three fire deaths in 2017
Sadly, three members of our community died last year in unrelated fires in their homes. Two were due to cooking fires,
and another is currently classified as undetermined. Let us be clear: They are not statistics. They are people — those
whom others knew and loved. Their deaths each served as a critical moment during which PFA educated the community
about why fire still presents a danger, even though the frequency of fires and fire-related deaths are decreasing across the
country. Thanks to concerted fire-safety education efforts by nationwide partners, including PFA, the overall 10-year fire
death rate trend in the U.S. decreased 21.6% from 2006 to 2015 (U.S. Fire Administration).
Learn more about PFA and access the 2017 Annual Report online at pfaannualreport.com
Follow us to stay connected.
Our most important community partner is you.
KFCG is critical to PFA’s budget
and sunsets on December 31, 2020.
KFCG revenue is used at PFA to fund
key safety positions, firefighters, and
equipment. Without it, PFA would
not be able to provide the same
high-level services the community
currently receives.