Annual Report from the Chief of Department

I am pleased to submit the annual report for the Cumberland Fire Department for the fiscal period of July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.  The members of the department have once again shown their level of professionalism to our community.  Their sustained commitment to training and responding to emergencies at all hours of the day offers our town a tremendous level of comfort and protection.  It is with great pride that I have the opportunity to serve in my eleventh year as the Chief of such a fine organization.

For the period included in this report the fire department responded to 1,182 medical and fire emergencies with 63% of those occurring during the daytime hours.  Every year we continue to experience an increase in our emergency responses. Two major contributing factors for the increased incident volume can be attributed to the increased mutual aid responses and continued community growth.  In addition to our emergency responses, the department also provides fire and medical safety coverage at several events over the course of the year.  These activities include football games, running events, bicycle races, and several events at the Cumberland Fairgrounds, just to name a few.

On July 1, 2009, the Cumberland Fire and Rescue Departments were remerged after being separated for 19 years.  There were several reasons the town manager and town council chose to make this decision and I believe we have met their expectations by providing a high quality product at an overall reduced impact to our operating budget.  Our staff has devoted considerable time this past year to make improvements to an already reputable emergency medical services (EMS) program and have continued to raise the bar that Chief Chris Bolduc and other staff members worked so hard on for two decades.

The summer of 2009 saw the completion of an emergency medical technician (EMT) program that was hosted here in Cumberland.  Eighteen participants from not only our department but also from the Yarmouth and Falmouth departments, as well as our own police department participated in this program.  Each student from our community, between class time and field time, individually donated over 200 hours of time to complete this class.  The students ended the program by completing class written and practical examinations as well as a State of Maine written and practical exam.  We are proud of the efforts committed by the students and are pleased to have several more EMT’s responding to both fire and medical emergencies.

In December of 2009, our department hosted another regional medical class, this time at the EMT Intermediate level.  This advanced life support program spanned over six months and required a tremendous level of dedication from not only our fire department staff, but from other area departments and also from two of our town’s police officers.  At the end of the program each student spent well over 400 hours of donated time in the classroom, conducting ride time on ambulances and conducting time in area hospitals.  This class was just one additional forward step in improving the level of service to our community.

In August of 2009, one of our department members completed training at the EMT Paramedic level.  This advanced life support program is the highest level of certification that a department can obtain and required a year-long commitment from this individual.  Over 1000 hours of time was donated by this individual in this arduous course, attending class time, conducting practical ride time on ambulances and conducting clinical time in area hospitals.

The completion of the three above mentioned EMT programs ensures that the Cumberland Fire Department delivers a very high quality level of care to our citizens.  The fire department did not compensate any of the individuals for their personal time devoted to any portion of these classes.  This saved the town literally tens of thousands of dollars and exemplifies the commitment that this department has for our tax payers.

In 2010 the State of Maine performed an evaluation of the Cumberland Fire Department’s ability to provide emergency medical care.  Due to our ability to improve a patient’s chance of survival from sudden cardiac arrest as well as other vital care our department was one of only four departments in Cumberland County to be recognized by Maine Emergency Medical Services and the State of Maine Center for Disease Control as a “Heart Safe Community”.  Our department was presented the award recognition by Governor John Baldacci at a formal ceremony at the State House in Augusta.

In an effort to be able to respond to the many emergencies we face, our members train not only on the basics of firefighting and emergency medical services but also on specialized technical rescue operations.  We are prepared to face the emergency situations that we may encounter in this community.  Although these trainings can be very demanding, we find that most members enjoy the challenges of learning and maintaining our required skills.

The Town of Cumberland is growing at a tremendous rate, and with this growth comes the obligation to ensure that new and renovated buildings are constructed to the applicable codes and town ordinances.  Many projects require several reviews prior to acceptance as well as subsequent follow-up field inspections.  We enjoy an outstanding relationship with our code enforcement department, and we back each other up on inspections to ensure a responsive quality product for developers, contractors and citizens who are performing work in our community.

Over the past few years our town has wisely used Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) to expand our water main system in our community.  Most recently we have seen expansion of the water main system, and subsequent fire hydrants, along a portion of the Route 100 corridor and a majority of Range Road.  The town has seen a vast improvement in fire protection, with the approximate installation of 85 additional fire hydrants, over the past ten years.  This improvement may also improve fire insurance premiums for both residences and businesses in areas now protected by fire hydrants that are located within 1000 feet of the building.

The department expanded our existing student live-in program from two students to five students. This program offers housing to students enrolled at Southern Maine Community College by living at one of our two fire stations.  These students live at our stations free of charge while providing the community with emergency responses while they are at the station.  The students must fulfill pre-determined minimum shift coverage at both stations, with no compensation, in return for the housing agreement.  This program provides the students with real life emergency fire and medical experiences by assisting our on duty firefighter/paramedic, as well as our other on-call members, during emergency responses.

The department received a federal government grant for approximately $40,000 and was used to upgrade our existing radio system by improving our communications in the Foreside area of town.  Additionally the grant funded mobile data terminal computers for all of our emergency response vehicles.  These computers provide immediate information to our emergency responders such as street and house locations, hydrant locations, specific facility hazards and other pertinent information.  In this fiscal period our department was also involved in a regional sprinkler and alarm trailer grant through the Metro Fire Chiefs Association.  This trailer provides a mobile classroom for our staff that covers state of the art equipment that we encounter regularly on our responses in town.  An additional grant we received was from the State of Maine’s Emergency Management Agency for a two year Emergency Management Planning Grant (EMPG) which funds a staff position up to 25 hour per week to review and update our community’s hazard mitigation plan, track our emergency responses and update the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) database and assist with other administrative duties.

Over the past ten years our department has received over 1.5 million dollars in competitive federal government grants.  The grants have provided facility improvements to both of our stations, replaced worn out firefighting apparel and other safety equipment, provided funding towards a full-time firefighter/EMT-I position, provided funding for technology equipment and through regional efforts have provided us two mobile classrooms that greatly enhance the safety training of our personnel.

Several department members donated countless hours preparing for and submitting a grant application request to the federal government to replace Central Fire Station, which is located on Tuttle Road.  The existing station has been outgrown, is not handicap accessible (barrier free), and does not offer sleeping accommodations for our 24-hour staff and students.  Although this was an extremely limited grant opportunity, the staff submitted a very competitive grant proposal.  Unfortunately, only one department in the State of Maine received a station grant and it was not us.  The station construction need has been proposed in the town’s capital improvements planning process for the past five years.  In 1992 the town council recognized the limitations of Central Fire Station and purchased the residence that abuts the station property for future expansion.  This residence is where three of our students and our firefighter/paramedic reside.  Whether we are successful with future grant requests or not, the station replacement or renovation will need to be considered in the very near future for the safety of the public and our staff.

Due to the very tough economic times our department has endured several budget reductions in an effort to minimize our fiscal impact to the Town’s operating budget.  These reductions, including the elimination of a fire engine, have saved money and we have developed additional agreements with our mutual aid communities to minimize the effect on our ability to safely serve our citizens.  Another cost saving measure that we recently established was moving our dispatch services for both the police and fire departments to the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center.  This move has reduced our dispatching costs by approximately $100,000 annually.

Our Emergency Management Agency (EMA) responsibilities proved invaluable during large scale events that we responded to over the course of the year, and provided the necessary planning to ensure that these events were well managed before, during and after the events occurred.  Our EMA planning also directly benefited the town financially as our adequate documentation allowed for considerable county and state reimbursement of public safety and public services activities during the large scale storms.

Although the Town of Cumberland is a relatively small community we are vulnerable to both natural and man-made disasters.  Transportation accidents and severe weather related events are our most likely candidates for these disasters.  We have two highways in our town, we are in the flight path to the Portland International Jetport and we will soon be seeing Amtrak passenger trains traveling through our town at speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour.  Our department remains prepared to effectively respond to events that could impact the safety of our citizens and those traveling through our community.

Every year, due to our commitment to emergency event planning and preparation, our department participates in a simulated large scale training exercise.  This past year we participated in an event that was coordinated by the Cumberland Police Department.  The event simulated a man-made disaster at one of our schools, and in addition to the participation of our town’s emergency response resources, we worked with several of our area towns during the exercise.  The fire department performed very well during the simulated mass casualty disaster and through after-action reviews we identified opportunities for improvement so we can continue to raise the bar on response procedures.

An additional EMA role that our department took a proactive approach on was ensuring that our schools and community were prepared for protection against the worldwide pandemic of H1N1, or more commonly referred to as the swine flu.  We worked very closely with the nursing staff from our schools to set up multiple vaccination clinics.  Our first priority was our community’s children, seniors and those with medical deficiencies.  The second wave of our approach included all others that either live or are employed in our community.  We are very pleased with the delivery of this important program and the improved relationship with our school district’s staff.

The Cumberland Fire Department is proud to be involved with the United States of America flag project along Main Street.  Each Patriotic Holiday the fire department posts the flags along Main Street between Tuttle Road and Greely Road.  These flags show support of our American men and women who have and are serving our country to protect our privileged freedom.  Many community members generously donated money to fund this very important project and their names can be found on the fire department’s web site.  Anyone with any questions on this project should contact either the fire department or Brenda Moore at the town office.

The department had the honor of organizing the town’s Memorial Day parade in 2010.  This is a tremendous opportunity to recognize our military veterans and we ask that if you know of any citizen who has served our country in the military that you encourage them to march in this community-spirited event.  The town’s Veterans Monument Committee has devoted considerable time to erecting the monument on Main Street to recognize our Veterans and we encourage any groups or individuals to make donations to complete this project.  I’d also like to personally thank Mr. Glenn Hutchins for his years of dedication coordinating the parade and for his no non-sense advice on how to manage the parade effectively.  Hutch has done a considerable amount of positive things for this town and I am privileged to follow in his footsteps as the coordinator of the parade.

Our staff wants to prevent accidents before they happen.  In Maine, 90% of all car seats are improperly installed.  That is why the department offers free car seat safety checks at our Central Station.  Call 829-5421 to schedule an appointment to meet with one of our certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians who will check the safety of your child or infant’s car seat and teach you how to properly install it.  We will also explain the proper transition process for your child from infant car seats right up through when they can safely ride solely with the protection of a seatbelt without a car seat.

The department is an American Heart Association-affiliated Training Center.  We offer CPR, AED and First Aid training every month as well as regular training for EMS professionals.  This low cost training is offered to any citizens or businesses and we truly hope you will take advantage of this service—it could save a loved one’s life.

After an arduous four year commitment Deputy Chief Nathan Schools received his Executive Fire Officer (EFO) certification from the federal government’s Department of Homeland Security.  Deputy Chief Schools is one of only fourteen fire officers in the State of Maine to receive this prestigious certification.  The process included taking four years of leadership courses at the United States Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy campus that is located in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  Additionally, the program requires four applied research papers to be written by the course participant on how the enhanced executive-level knowledge, skills and abilities obtained from the course can be utilized to improve fire, medical and EMA preparedness for the student’s community.  The town council presented Nate with his EFO certificate that was also accompanied by letters of commendation from our national level legislators.

This organization has made tremendous strides in improving our ability to serve our customers.  We have several documented cases where people’s lives and property would not be here today if it were not for the expeditious, efficient and effective response of the Cumberland Fire Department.  This happens because the staff of the department continually strives to give the best possible delivery of our product to the citizens and visitors of our community.

Once again Town Manager William Shane and the town council have shown a true commitment to the fire department.  They have devoted many hours working with the public safety departments to ensure that the town’s protection is always a priority.  They have an excellent understanding of our department’s needs, and have been instrumental in working with us to achieve our necessary goals.

In closing, I would like to remind the citizens of the Town of Cumberland that we are always looking for people to join our organization. From assisting with traffic control, to driving fire trucks or ambulances, to wearing air packs, to becoming an EMT, it is likely that we have a job for you.  To learn more about the rewarding skills and benefits of firefighting and emergency medical services please contact anyone of our staff members.  The more people involved with our team, the better we are able to perform our job of helping those in need.  If you are looking for a way to give something back to your community, please give us a call at 829-5421 or email me at dsmall@cumberlandmaine.com.

Friendly Reminders to our Citizens

• Be sure that your street address number on your residence or business is clearly visible with large reflective numbers for emergency responders
• With the exception of cooking fires on your own property the State of Maine requires a burning permit for all outside burns.  Permits can either be obtained at Central Fire Station or for a fee on the state’s web site.
• The department offers a reassurance program for any Town of Cumberland resident who lives alone.  Please contact us if you would like to learn more about this beneficial program targeted towards the safety of our seniors and those with medical issues.
• CPR saves lives—please contact us if you are interested in taking a class.
• If you or your business is interested in providing an AED in your facility please contact us for more information.
• Our annual fire prevention open house is always the second Saturday in October.
• The department hosts birthday parties at the stations for a small fee.
• All businesses are inspected twice annually to ensure the safety of all occupants.
• The fire department’s web site (http://cumberlandmaine.com/government/departments/fire-department/) offers a tremendous amount of information.  Please visit it regularly for updates on programs or during large-scale weather events to improve your safety.