City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 21, 2015
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, ACTING CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of Acceptance of Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Grant Funds for the Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) Special Operations Teams.
BODY
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ISSUE: Acceptance of UASI grant funds for equipment, training and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the AFD Special Operations Teams
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Approve the acceptance of federal funding in the amount of $40,000 for training, and $138,000 worth of equipment and personal protective equipment; and
(2) Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required.
DISCUSSION:
The Washington Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (COG) UASI group has made four grant applications available to member jurisdictions.
BACKGROUND: The UASI program is intended to provide financial assistance to address the unique multi-discipline planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density Urban Areas, and to assist these areas in building and sustaining capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism using the Whole Community approach. Activities implemented with UASI funds must support terrorism preparedness by building or enhancing capabilities that relate to the prevention of, protection from, mitigation of, response to or recovery from terrorism. Many capabilities which support terrorism preparedness simultaneously support preparedness for other hazards. UASI program implementation and governance must include regional partners and should have balanced representation among entities with operational responsibilities for prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities within the region.
The four grants are outlined below:
Search Grant
Grant funding will be available to enhance our current technical search capability. The major part of this capability will be a Savox Hasty Search Kit consisting of a SearchCam Recon III camera and a Delsar LifeDetector Mini system.
The SearchCam Recon III camera is a portable battery operated camera that telescopes and articulates. This device allows rescuers to search deep into small void spaces, like those created when a building collapses, without actually having to enter the void, expediting the process while making it safer.
The Delsar LifeDetector Mini is a two sensor seismic/acoustic listening device designed specifically for hasty searches. This device can be quickly deployed on the rubble pile to convert the entire collapsed structure into a large sensitive microphone that transmits noises from entombed victims.
Service life of each device is 10-15 years. Annual maintenance costs are negligible, with the only real expense being battery replacement approximately every three years. The Fire Department is accepting this item valued at $15,500 through COG UASI.
Heavy Lift Cylinder Grant
Grant funding will be available to purchase 4 heavy lifting cylinders to be used at a transportation accident or structural collapse incident. The cylinders are capable of lifting large trucks, trains, and heavy building materials like concrete and steel.
Service life of this equipment is 20 years. This equipment requires annual inspection, which is currently performed on other hydraulic equipment. Adding this equipment will increase the cost by $80 annually.
The Fire Department is accepting this item through COG UASI valued at $47,500.
Technical Rescue PPE Grant
Grant funding will be available to purchase NFPA approved PPE specifically for technical rescue incidents. The PPE currently used by the Alexandria Fire Department Technical Rescue Team does not meet NFPA standards for technical rescue incidents. Because of budgetary constraints, Technical Rescue Team members are issued structural firefighting PPE or EMS PPE that has been retired from that use. Acquiring NFPA approved Technical Rescue PPE will provide a better level of protection and safety for our Technical Rescue Team members. This PPE will also improve performance because the design is not heavy and bulky like structural firefighting PPE.
Service life of PPE specifically used for Technical Rescue incidents is 10 years. It is anticipated that the Fire Department budget would need to provide for replacement of this PPE as the end of service life approaches. Annual maintenance costs are within the normal scope of other PPE currently maintained by the Fire Department.
The Fire Department is accepting 48 sets of PPE valued at $75,000 through COG UASI.
Swift Water Rescue Training Grant
Grant funding is available to pay personnel costs associated to certify members to NFPA Swift Water Technician. Recent weather events in the National Capital Region have challenged the regional capabilities to respond to these events. In an effort to improve local and regional capabilities, the Alexandria Fire Department acquired a large cache of swift water rescue equipment with a previous UASI grant. The department now needs to develop a group of employees with the knowledge and skills to respond to these types of rescues. The grant will pay student and instructor, overtime, and backfill.
The estimated funds for this grant would be $40,000.
FISCAL IMPACT: The total award request is $40,000 while accepting $138,000 of equipment. There is no cash match requirement. Furthermore, there is no obligation to the City to replace equipment after the grant period is over. Any maintenance costs can be covered with normal maintenance for similar items within the Fire Department budget. There will be an additional cost of approximately $25,000 per year to the Fire Department to maintain the number of personnel with the proper NFPA Swift Water Technician certification as attrition occurs.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
STAFF:
Robert Dubé, Fire Chief