South Metro Fire

Rescue Authority

2012 Annual Report

/SouthMetroFire

/SouthMetroPIO

9195 E Mineral Ave,

Centennial, CO 80112

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T he 2012 year was one of decreasing revenues and increasing service

demand. Due to the downturn in property values

and the bi-annual property reassessment the overall

impact to the two fire districts that comprise the

Authority was a 10% decrease in revenue. This decrease

was anticipated as early as 2010 and through decisive

cuts we were able to operate effectively in 2012. Not only

did our operations continue to provide great service, we

were able to pay off the outstanding Certificates of

Participation early. This resulted in an overall savings as

opposed to keeping them to maturity. An Academy was

held to hire 14 additional firefighters and salaries were

adjusted after being frozen. The new firefighters’ salaries and benefits will

be paid by a FEMA Safer grant for their first two years. At the end of the

year we maintained a healthy reserve either for a continued economic

doldrum or to help facilitate a merger of the two districts.

During the year we implemented “closest unit response” with Littleton and

Cunningham. Under this dispatch criterion, the closest unit, regardless of

jurisdiction, is assigned to the call by our dispatch centers. This was

possible as we have implemented a CAD to CAD interface with Littleton Fire

Rescue and Cunningham Fire District communications center which allows

us to see the all emergency units’ locations. This has benefited all three

districts’ citizens by making sure the closest unit responds to their

emergency. It has also increased our response numbers better utilizing our

emergency medical units.

While adjusting to the impact of a decreased revenue stream we had a very

successful year and accomplished a great deal. This report will show some

of the accomplishments and activity level we had during 2012.

-Fire Chief Daniel Qualman

Message from the

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Graduates Twelve

F or the first time since the creation of the Authority in 2008, 12

new firefighters joined the ranks. The men graduated from the fire

academy after 11 weeks

of fire and emergency

medical training.

Although they are

technically “rookies”,

most come to South

Metro with previous

experience at other fire

departments and/or as

paramedics.

Receives Financial Reporting Award

T he Authority’s Finance Division has been honored with the

Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting

from GFOA, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United

States and Canada. The award was given, as it has been for many years

in a row, for the Authority’s comprehensive annual financial report.

According to GFOA, the certificate “is the highest form of recognition

in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting” and

“represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its

management.” The Authority’s latest comprehensive financial report

is available on our website at www.southmetro.org

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1 Year

Bob Marlin

5 Years

Robert Baker

Ryan Blanchfield

Matt Bovee

Brian Favero

Kent Hegwood

Steve Howard

Jarrett Mahoney

Kevin Milan

Ken Molcsan

Thomas Rogers

Jon Schreiner

Joe Sims

Shawn Todd

Aaron Zimmerman

10 Years

Brandon Allen

Greg Allen

Greg Bernstein

Matt Brock

Rich Buchanan

Craig Denhard

Brian Diggs

Matt Gallagher

Chuck Graham

Bryan Grogan

Chad Herdt

Eric Kapitan

Mike Langello

Ryan Lilienthal

Brad Lingle

Chris Macklin

George Penfield

Jeff Pepper

Jodi Peterson

Brett Pickford

David Reid

Eric Ritter

Maury Segura

Ryan Shelton

Mark Sole

Craig Spader

15 Years

Jon Adams

Tom Barrett

Eric Bleeker

Brian Bowker

Ted Christopolous

Matt Holm

John Jorgens

Larry Maggio

Jim Miller

Brian Netzel

Brian Page

Billy Stanford

Brian Veatch

20 Years

Dave Bengs

Dave Natomeli

Adam Rocklin

Mike Scarpella

Vikki Seela

25 Years

Dick Chesnick

Gene Hummel

Ken Killip

Sheryl West

30 Years

Pat Bucci

Keith Gundy

Mark Vidmar

35 Years

Ken Rubin

Bill Swensen

Recognizing Years of

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Recognizing

Certificate of

Merit

Chad Loeks

Kent Hegwood

Charlie Hayes

Gavin Smith

Todd Parson

Jason Gartner

Steve Standridge

Mike Langello

Randy Whipple

Unit Citation

Greg Bernstein

Randy Brighton

David Cocetti

Jason Gartner

Lance Hansford

Todd Jenkins

Jesse Lewis

Jake Mayhew

Matt Morley

Brett Pickford

Dan Ribis

Chris Sarver

Ryan Shelton

Steve Whitehead

Unit Citation

Josh Schmidt

Tim VonAh

Chris Shea

Peer Support

Team

Brian Brown

Niki Coleman

Jenn Dines

Gretta Flatt

Michelle Herian

Angie Johnson

Dan Mullin

Dan Mulroney

Ed Olejniczak

Brian Page

Colleen Potton

Dan Ribis

Unit Citation

Kris Binford

Eric Hendee

Steve Krotchta

Pam Krotz

Jeff Lanigan

Mark Vidmar

Rodney Zehren-

Thomas

Unit Citation

Einar Jensen

Colleen Potton

Cheryl Poage

Unit Citation

Mike Mullane

Harold Kouts

Matt Goebel

Justin Comfort

Gretta Flatt

Unit Citation

Station 41 all shifts

Medal of Honor

Jeff Pepper

Steve Woodrick

Marcos Mocine-

McQueen

Shelly Davis

Rodney Zehren-

Thomas

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Streamlining and pursuing safety

We were able to consolidate four pension funds into a single

provider pension plan for South Metro Fire Rescue Authority line

and staff.

Firefighting is inherently physical and while we try to keep injuries

at a minimum, they do occur. In 2012, there were 117 work comp

injuries, which was up one from 2011, but down overall in the last

five years.

South Metro pursues safety strenuously when driving whether

going lights and sirens to an emergency or even the grocery store.

Lowered office supply spending in 2012 in comparison to 2011.

Employee Education

The Authority encourages and in some cases requires employees

to achieve higher education and in 2012 38 employees received

tuition reimbursement at a cost of $90,621.34.

Provided more than 290 firefighters with 45,311 hours of training

and driver/operators received 4,471 hours of training

Emergency Medical Services

Transported 6,852 patients to area hospitals, up more than 600

from 2011.

Three Medics Units were placed into service and we were able to

reduce costs by remounting two of the bodies on new chassis.

EMS Narrative Dictation Program phase 1 completed and

operational. It enhances the quality of patient care documentation

and saves time. It also matches common hospital practice for

continuity of care.

Provided two EMT Basic Classes. This is a class open to anyone and

is the first step in becoming a firefighter or paramedic.

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Preventing Fires and other Emergencies

We completed one Community Wildfire Protection Plan in the

Surrey Ridge Community. This gives the community a way to set

mitigation priorities and strategies to reduce hazards and the

risk associated with those hazards.

In 2012, Plan Reviewers examined 3,662 plans to ensure that

the projects met fire safety requirements.

The Life Safety Bureau did 4,973 construction inspections,

either inspecting new construction and different operating

pieces of that project or additions to existing buildings.

Our inspectors did a total of 5,548 existing business

inspections to help businesses continue to maintain their fire

safety equipment and systems, egress and safe storage.

The Safety Foundation provided 91 classes throughout the

year to give residents training in CPR, teen driving, and

babysitting.

Educators provided life saving education to 11,324 school age

children throughout our district.

Facilitated 24 child passenger safety seat events, and checked

over 336 seats.

In 2012, South Metro started a false alarm mitigation program

to address the spike in false alarms caused by an activation or

failure of a fire sprinkler system due to some portion of the

system freezing. Educating residents with sprinkler systems on

the circumstances behind the pipe freezes along with some of

the corrections that can be made has helped prevent future

incidents and unnecessary calls.

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Calls by Type

Total calls in 2012: 17,017

Alarms: 2,269

EMS: 10,131

Fires:353

Other: 4,264 (Includes smoke or odor investigations, cancelled en route, and citizen and police assistance.)

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In Pictures

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T he annual budget serves as the foundation for the

Authority’s financial planning and control. Bureaus are

required to submit requests which are based on goals and

strategic plans to the Finance Division each year. These

requests along with revenues are used to develop a proposed

budget for the following year.

The budget is then presented to the board of directors which is

required by law to hold a public hearing on the proposed

budget. Adoption of the final

budget is required by no later

than December 31 each year. The

mill levy must be certified to the

county commissioners by

December 15 each calendar

year.

Matters

Generated an additional $848,187 in reve-

nue in 2012 compared to 2011 with the

introduction of rental income.

SMFRA 2012 Revenues

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Matters cont.

As a service agency, the largest amount of our budget

obviously goes to salaries. South Metro Fire Rescue

Authority does annual salary surveys of surrounding

fire agencies for firefighter and paramedic salaries,

and uses Mountain States Employers Council and

Colorado Municipal League data to determine staff

salaries. The compensation model is adopted by the

Board of Directors.

Paid off $5.9 million in Certificates

of Participation saving $414,200

SMFRA 2012 Expenditures

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F or 2012, Gretta Flatt was recognized as firefighter of the year

for her tirelessly working to maintain and strengthen a “Peer

Support” team for employees of the South Metro Fire Rescue

Authority. Because of the difficult nature of fire/emergency

medical work, the Peer Support Team was developed to give

employees and their families “emotional, tangible, and

confidential support through times of personal or

professional crises.” According to her nomination, “Gretta

understands the great need for improved emotional support

for firefighters and our families and has made that a mission

of hers.” Because of Flatt’s work the Peer Support Team is

now a well-established and consistent support system for the

department. Flatt said she was honored by the award and

added “I’ve always intended to do my best, show up fully, and

serve to the best of my ability with all my heart.” If requested, peer

counselors are available after traumatic incidents to help

responders stay mentally healthy. As Flatt puts it: “When we take

care of ourselves, we’re able to provide better service to our

community.” The Firefighter of the Year award is presented by the

International Association of Professional Fire Fighters, Local 2164.

Of The Year

T he association also recognized a “Staff Employee of the

Year.” Training Coordinator Julianne Kadel was cited for a

consistently positive attitude and her work in tracking and

maintaining the hundreds of professional certifications

firefighters are required to keep current. The awards were

presented at the conclusion of the fire department’s annual

awards ceremony, which recognizes meritorious acts, as well

as service anniversaries, from the previous year.

Staff Employee

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Matters

The Authority is changing the way it carries out educational

programming. We are tailoring our efforts to address clearly

identified risks in our service area.

Our Life Safety

Educators (LSEs) are

developing each

program for students

to meet the Colorado

State Academic

Standards, as set by

the Colorado

Department of

Education. This

means our classes

can be integrated

easily into public and

private schools

Our programs now

include the following:

A home fire safety class for kids to teach them what to do before,

during and after a fire starts in their home.

Wildfire Matters - (4th-Grade Students) By educating children

about the risks of living in wildland urban interface communities,

we’ll empower them to create and live in wildfire adapted

communities when they are adults.

Risk Matters - (5th-Grade Students) Building on the success of

our brain injury prevention program, Risk Matters will be a two-

part class that empowers students with good decision-making

skills and an understanding of how important risks are in human

development.

Crash Matters - (8th-Grade Students) This established program,

which meets the Physics standards for the audience, teaches kids

about the physiological consequences of wearing seatbelts, driving

the proper speed and following traffic and motor vehicle laws.

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2012 Brings New

I n March 2012, South Metro

Fire Rescue Authority and

Cherry Hills Village Police

department broke ground for the

new Joint Public Safety Facility

that houses SMFRA station 38

and Cherry Hills Village Police

offices. Since its opening in

January 2013 the building has

served as a community resource

for all public safety needs.

Attains Training Distinction

A PCO, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials

awarded its highest ranking regarding employee training to the

Metropolitan Communications Center (MetCom). MetCom is now just

one of thirty-three centers in the nation that have achieved this

highest level of training recognition, called “APCO Project 33

certified.” MetCom provides EMS and fire dispatch for the South Metro

Fire Rescue Authority (www.southmetro.org) and the West Douglas

Fire Protection District.

Training for Public Safety Telecommunicators, initial and continuing,

is essential to providing quality service in a rapidly changing public

safety environment. Public Safety Communications Centers must

provide the best training possible. Many centers have developed their

own basic training materials and processes while others receive

training from the APCO Institute. The APCO Project 33 Agency

Training Program Certification is a formal mechanism for agencies to

certify their training programs as meeting APCO’s national standards.

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In the

I n 2012, South Metro put 18 citizens through its Citizen Academy.

The academy gives citizens the opportunity to don fire gear and

find out how firefighters work and what equipment is necessary to

do the job. They learn about how the fire department works

throughout the community preventing fires before they begin

through code enforcement, and building plan reviews and

inspections. In

addition, they get

an overview on

the authority’s

finances and

where their tax

dollars go.

O ne way the department supports the

community is by donating VIP Tours to

schools and local nonprofits. The nonprofits

then sell the Tours at their charity events to

raise money for various needs. The

authority also supported more than 36

special events throughout the seven cities

and two counties we serve. Left, the

department participates in celebrating

Colorado Olympians in Centennial.

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Gary Culig, Parker Fire District/

Authority Board

Hank Eng, South Metro Fire Rescue

Board

Danny Gaddy, Parker Fire District/

Authority Board

David Jackson, South Metro Fire

Rescue Board/ Authority Board

Al Johnson, Parker Fire District Board/

Authority Board

Pat Mulhern, South Metro Fire Rescue

Authority Board

Jim Olmstead, South Metro Fire Rescue

Board

Laura Simon, South Metro Fire Rescue

Board/ Authority Board

Rich Sokol, South Metro Fire Rescue

Board/ Authority Board

Ronda Scholting, Parker Fire District

Board

Bill Shriver, Parker Fire District Board

Both South Metro Fire Rescue and Parker Fire

District have a board of directors. Three

members from each board and one at-large

member make up the Authority board. Board

Directors are elected for a four-year term.

Authority and SMFR board meetings are on

the 4th Monday of the month. Parker board

meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of the

month.