Mokelumne Hill Fire Dept.

Forward / The Strategic Planning Process / Major Factors Affecting the Future / The Vision / The Mission /

Organizational Values / Major Goals / Assumptions / Mandates / Action Plan

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Forward

Today's fire service is undergoing a transition as well as facing many challenges. It is critical that the Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District develop a vision that guides the organization toward improvements in their Fire Service Delivery System. This can only be achieved through deliberate planning and action. There is a quote that states: "those that fail to plan; plan to fail". The fire service is operating in a dynamic environment requiring adaptability and commitment to a future that rewards those courageous enough to serve our citizens, and embrace the challenges and opportunities.

This Strategic Plan was developed through many hours of effort by a dedicated team of individuals from the Fire District. Many challenges and opportunities face the District in the future. This Plan will serve as a guide to navigate and plan the progression of the District for the next several years.

This Plan shall be revised and updated every two (2) years.

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The Strategic Planning Process

The development of this plan started with a Strategic Planning Workshop in December of 2002 and completed in February 2003. It is important that the citizens and members of the Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District know the direction in which this agency will be moving, including the budgetary impact over the next five years.

This Plan is available to the public as of March 2003.

The Plan contains major goals, objectives and action plans in the following areas:

This is the first ever Strategic Plan for the Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District and addresses the major issues (Goals) facing the agency currently and in the near future. From time to time, additional issues may (and often do) arise. This plan shall be adjusted and revised to incorporate those goals as needed.

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Major Factors Affecting the Future

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The Vision

By serving our community with Pride, Excellence, and Professionalism, the District will continue to enhance and expand our services to the public while maintaining a high level of tradition.

The District envisions proudly serving our community with Pride, Excellence and Professionalism as a volunteer and career organization. Continually reaching for opportunities to serve the public through community education on prevention and safety. We will achieve a high level of competency by recruiting volunteers, training in emergency operations, leadership, and human services.

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The Mission

The Fire District exists to provide a professional level of fire and life safety and emergency medical services to the people and property within the District to prevent or minimize the loss of life and property damage.

We will accomplish our mission through prevention, education, fire suppression, medical services and other related emergency and non-emergency activities. We will actively participate in our community, and strive to efficiently utilize all of the necessary resources at our disposal to provide this service to our citizens, visitors and neighbors.

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Organizational Values

We Value.

The faith and trust of the community, and continually work to deserve that confidence through attitude, conduct, and accomplishments. We recognize that the community is the reason for our existence.

The talents of our members and encourage responsible decision making at the most appropriate level. We recognize the importance of personal and professional development.

The level and quality of service we deliver to the community. We are committed to continuous improvement and are attentive to the changing needs of the people we serve.

HONOR-We take pride in our profession and in our appearance.

DUTY-We are committed to our mission; putting others before self.

TRUST-We are honest and reliable.

INTEGRITY-We do the right thing even when no one is watching; we take responsibility for our actions.

RESPECT-We treat others as we want to be treated; we comply with our policies and procedures; we are understanding.

UNITY-Working as one in support of our mission.

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Major Goals

I. Emergency Operations

A. Fire Suppression

Reduce response times to all incidents.
Continue the progress to lower the District's ISO rating.
Continue to contract with CDFFP on an as needed basis for fire investigations.

B. Fire Prevention and Public Education

Develop pre-fire plans for all commercial/public occupancies.
Initiate a study to determine the feasibility of a business inspection program within the District.
Initiate a fire safety education program for the Mokelumne Hill Elementary School .

C. Emergency Medical Services

Continue to provide services at the BLS First Responder and/or EMT levels.

Provide annual CPR classes to District personnel and the public.
Initiate fundraising activities for the training and purchase of extrication equipment.
Initiate fundraising activities for additional automatic defibrillators (AED).

D. Hazardous Materials Response

Continue to train and maintain personnel at the First Responder-Operational Level.
Continue as a support resource for the Calaveras County HazMat Team.

E. Training

Develop a Policy Manual, SOP/SOG Manual and Training Evolution Manual.
Implement the California Incident Command Certification System (CICCS).
Increase funding for training, as the budget will allow.
Explore the feasibility of becoming our own Medical CE provider.

Continue to be a member of and support the Mission of the Mother Lode Interagency Training Officer's Association.

II. Personnel

Initiate compensation for the Fire Chief on a part-time basis.
Hire an additional part-time firefighter and a part-time employee for administrative duties.
Continue to actively pursue the recruitment and retainment of volunteers.

Implement a reimbursement payment program for the volunteers on a per call basis.

III. Facilities

Develop a strategy plan and timeline for the construction of a satellite fire station in Paloma.
Complete the interior construction of the main fire station in Mokelumne Hill.

IV. Fleet Maintenance and Replacement

Conduct a needs assessment on apparatus and equipment.

Develop a fleet replacement program based on the recommendations in the needs assessment.
Continue development of the District's fleet maintenance program.

V. Administrative Duties

Continue the process of updating the District's maps including the development of map books/run books.
Explore alternatives to the current workers' compensation insurance carrier.
Research information management software for purchase by the District to include the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) requirements.

VI. Financial

Maintain existing revenue streams.
Adopt and implement a Fire Ordinance to include "Fees for Service' within the District's boundaries.
Place a Special Tax Measure before the voters on the November 2003 Ballot.
Actively pursue any and all grant opportunities the District may qualify for.
Allocate funding to support the goals set forth in this Strategic Plan.

Continue to pursue funding for a satellite fire station (Paloma).

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Planning Assumptions

The purpose of this Strategic Plan is to provide the Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District with an action plan in which to utilize as a tool in the planning process and the allocation of future funding. This purpose is in support of the overall Mission and Vision of the District as it relates to the emergency service delivery system.

The planning assumptions are items that directly or indirectly affect the goals and objectives of the District to maintain or increase the level of the current emergency service delivery system. These assumptions will be taken into consideration when assigning priorities and funding to the goals and objectives contained herein.

Please note that the following planning assumptions are not in any priority order.

1. The community and call volume will continue to increase and outpace the volunteer staffing levels and funding. The community is growing, although slowly, and call volume is remaining steady. This, however, will someday change. The current call volume and lack of volunteers is already taking its' toll on service delivery. The District must plan now for the upcoming growth and increase in requests for service. A proactive approach rather than a reactive approach must be taken.

It is important to realize that the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 severely limits the ability for special districts to increase revenue. This has resulted in the emergency services delivery system already outpacing the funding available to support it.

2. The current fire station is not adequate to reduce response times to all incidents. With the recent increase of territory from the County Fire reorganization, the District gained approximately 30 square miles. The only existing fire station in Mokelumne Hill is not adequate to service the entire District effectively. A fire station is needed in the community of Paloma to better serve those citizens and reduce response times.

3. Recruiting, training and retaining volunteer firefighters will continue to be difficult. The increasing demands placed upon individuals and families in the 21 st century are far greater than even 20 years ago. Most families are now reliant on dual incomes, which force them to balance work, family, and attempt to be an active volunteer.

Significant Federal, State and local mandates coupled with increasing call volume have made it difficult for citizens of the community to commit to being a volunteer firefighter.

The demographics and minimal employment opportunities does not lend itself to provide a sufficient pool of citizens from which a continuous adequate number of volunteers may be recruited.

During the workday, the number of volunteers available to respond to emergency incidents is minimal at best. The overall number of volunteer firefighters responding is less than adequate.

The availability of these volunteers varies greatly, and the 100% guarantee of a response to incidents is growing increasingly difficult. Turnover is a constant reality and ongoing efforts to recruit citizens within the District have been less than successful.

The District's ability to enhance and even maintain the delivery of emergency services has been and will continue to be exceptionally difficult until augmented with paid personnel.

4. Most of the current apparatus is old and reliability is questionable for emergency service utilization. The District's fleet of fire engines is in desperate need of being upgraded and replaced. The one fire engine designed to combat structural fires is 30 years old. The next closest fire engine for structural fires is 31 years old, and the fire engine designed for Wildland fires is 24 years old. The newest piece of equipment is a 3000 gallon water tender owned by the County.

5. New technology and more efficient equipment will continue to be out of reach due to lack of available funding. Purchases of new and/or upgrades of existing equipment will continue to be delayed indefinitely due to lack of available revenue. Some examples include: Jaws of Life, additional automatic cardiac defibrillators, upgrades in personal protective clothing and safety equipment and thermal imaging cameras to assist in the location of trapped victims.

6. Enhancements in service delivery will continue to be below the standard of the industry without a means to generate additional revenue. Reductions in response times, modern equipment and fire engines, and high levels of training will not be reachable with the current level of funding.

7. Computerized information management will continue to be difficult to achieve without part time administrative staffing. Computerized record keeping for the Fire District will continue to be difficult to achieve with volunteer staffing.

8. Training mandates will continue to increase as time goes on. Approximately 164 separate Federal, State, Local and miscellaneous mandates were identified by the Hunt Research Corporation study in May of 2000. The required training to comply with these mandates is next to impossible for volunteer firefighters.

The mandate that will have the most impact upon the Fire District will occur in January of 2004. This is the date in which CalOSHA regulations will now apply to all volunteer fire organizations.

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Mandates

Many Federal, State and Local mandates exist for the fire service in California . The fire service and the court system do not differentiate between agencies that are full time paid or volunteer as it relates to mandates. Currently, CalOSHA regulations do not apply to all volunteer organizations. That will change as of January 2004. This District will need to be prepared to meet any and all of the statutes that affect the fire service prior to this date.

It is the philosophy of the Mokelumne Hill Fire Protection District to ensure that all applicable mandates are accomplished or complied with. This will continue to be extremely difficult without any means to generate additional revenue.

The entire list of mandates is quite lengthy and is not intended to be part of this document, but may be found at MHFPD Station 1.

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Action Plan

The following consists of the Action Plan items previously identified. Each one is separated into categories with a listing of the tasks required to successfully complete the action item. Also, each action item has been placed into a category based on its' "Priority" , whether a "Cost" is associated and if the item is an "Immediate" or "Planned" need . Please note that it is not within the scope of this Plan to designate the actual expenses for each action item. As outlined in the tasks, many require more research prior to obtaining an accurate cost.

Forward / The Strategic Planning Process / Major Factors Affecting the Future / The Vision / The Mission /

Organizational Values / Major Goals / Assumptions / Mandates / Action Plan

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