HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-20 Meridian Fire Department Follow UpDate: May 20, 2019
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Mark Niemeyer, Fire Chief
Re: Pollard Subdivision
Mayor and Council -
At the request of President Borton I am writing a follow up to the staff report dated February 22nd, 2019. In that
report, the Fire Department cited some concerns with this project. The three concerns most prevalent were:
1. The lack of a readily available ladder truck for fire responses to the site
2. Inadequate road widths to provide for adequate fire apparatus response
3. Risk factor involving a multi -story project for firefighting personnel
After meeting with Deputy Chief Bongiorno and discussing the concerns, I am comfortable with this project moving
forward for the following reasons:
Available ladder truck- Ladder truck(s) are a critical resource for firefighting and rescue operations,
especially with multi -story development. Our Department goal is to assemble the full first -alarm
assignment to any structure fire within a 12 minute travel time to the location of the fire. This goal is
meant to arrive the needed resources to effectively conduct a rescue operation and/or keep the fire
contained and subsequently extinguished. Currently the Department has only one ladder truck, which
ultimately is responsible to cover the current City and Fire District boundary. This project is located
outside the 12 minute goal, however the critical multi -story buildings within this project will be sprinkled.
Sprinklers are meant to keep the fire contained (they do not necessarily put the fire out); this
containment works until crews can get on scene.
Road widths- Deputy Chief Bongiorno has worked with the developers and the road issues have been
addressed.
Risk factor- fighting fire in a multi -story building presents increased risk of injury to our firefighters. To
combat this risk, we build and deliver training programs as well as conducting site visits to familiarize our
firefighters with these types of projects. Also due to the hospital, there is a likelihood of certain hazardous
materials storage. Again, we conduct annual training on hazardous materials. This type of risk should not
necessarily stop development, but as these risks grow our new risks emerge, it will be essential we
maintain proper training budgets and resources to help ensure our firefighters stay safe and healthy when
fighting fires in these types of environments.
Sincerely,
Mark Niemeyer
Fire Chief, Meridian Fire Department
Office of the Fire Chief
Meridian Fire Department • 33 E. Broadway, Meridian, ID 83642
Phone 208-888-1234 • Fax 208-895-0390 • www.meridiancity.org