I am pleased to present the 2000 Annual Report of operations for the Morgantown Fire Department.

This year, the Morgantown Fire Department has responded to more emergency situations than ever before. The Department has expanded its services, and has been extremely successful in maintaining those services that are already provided.

During the last three years, nearly one-fourth of the Departmental roster has retired. Although these retirements have depleted many years of experience within the Department, they have also provided an opportunity to obtain younger members with great enthusiasm and new ideas. Due to these retirements, there has also been a substantial turnover in the officer structure. All of these changes will allow the Department to move ahead by building upon the successes of the past.

There have been no fire-related deaths this year involving either firefighters or civilians within the city limits of Morgantown. Fire Department vehicles were not involved in any major accidents and no injuries were sustained in any of the minor accidents that occurred. The Fire Department members suffered very few job-related injuries with none resulting in any loss of work. Fortunately, it has been a relatively safe year in Morgantown.

The Morgantown Fire Department appreciates all of the support given by the citizens throughout the year. Without that support, the Department would not have been able to accomplish all that has been achieved and reflected in the accompanying report.

Response Information:

There has never been a time in the 102 year history of the Morgantown Fire Department when more emergencies were mitigated or more services were rendered to the citizens than in the year 2000. Two thousand, seven hundred, and ninety seven times this year the Morgantown Fire Department responded to calls for help. For statistical purposes, these calls are categorized into 742 fire calls, 463 medical calls, 7 rescue calls, 32 hazardous materials calls, and 1,553 general service calls. These generic categorizations however do not begin to accurately describe the variety of situations that the firefighters faced on a daily basis. For example, on any one of these calls a responding crew may face several of these situations simultaneously, but the report is categorized as only one of them. Obviously, the Morgantown Fire Department is comprised of a multi-talented group of dedicated professionals who routinely handle a wide range of emergencies very successfully.

Total Fire Runs

Code Enforcement and Inspection Team Information:

The Code Enforcement and Inspection Team is comprised of five members. This Team is under the supervision of the City Fire Marshal. There are three members on this Team who have successfully completed the required training in order to receive authorization from the Chief to issue citations for code violations. The remaining two members are continuing their educational process in order to receive citation power in the future.

This Team routinely uses other members of the Department in order to meet their objectives of enforcing the provisions of the City Fire Prevention Code. The City Fire Prevention Code adopts by reference the State Fire Code, specified NFPA Codes, and the Life Safety Codes. Over 850 businesses receive routine fire inspections as per these codes on a two-year rotation. These business inspections are in conjunction with other types of inspections such as parades, fireworks, occupancy-loads, requested residential inspections, etc.

Graph of Inspections

There have been 840 inspections completed this year. These inspections uncovered 380 fire code violations and resulted in 208 corrections being made. Another 159 Life Safety Code violations were found and 471 warning citations were issued. Of the 471 warning citations issued, 150 were followed with regular citations for refusal to correct the violations. There were an additional 70 assembly inspections performed for various special events held during the year.

Public Education Team Activities:

The Public Education Team is responsible for coordinating all of the educational and special events for civilian agencies and businesses. These events include lectures, seminars, technical training, and other fire prevention activities. This Team provides many services to the business and educational communities, civic organizations, individual groups, and families. Included in their repertoire are puppet shows, remote controlled robotic figures, life-size character costumes, instructional videos, and professionally orchestrated lectures with visual aids.

Statistically speaking, the Team visited 45 separate businesses, companies, schools, or institutions throughout the year, and made presentations to over 4,095 people. They also conducted fire extinguisher training for 437 people. Their proactive approach to fire awareness is reflected in the reduced fire loss dollar figures for 2000 ($609,918), as opposed to the 1999 figures ($749,720). The following list indicates those organizations that solicited and received the Team's services:

Departmental Training:

Maintaining the highest levels of proficiency and education continues to be a top priority of the Department. There has been 14,947 hours of in-house training completed at the Morgantown Fire Department this year. This equates to an average of 332 hours per member. The in-house training hours are in conjunction with the 22,125 man-hours spent on routine duties and preventive maintenance functions by Department members.

There has also been a substantial investment of time and money in outside Departmental training opportunities this year. The Department had 14 firefighters participating in the 6,000 hour Apprenticeship Program mandated by the State Labor Department. Six of those firefighters have now completed the program, while the other eight will continue until they graduate. Other outside training programs included the following:

• Morgantown Fire Department hosted a four-day dive seminar and eight of its own members received Dive Rescue certifications.
• Four members of the Department attended two-week programs for various certifications at the National Fire Academy in Maryland.
• Six members attended classes at Fairmont State College in order to obtain an Associate Degree in Fire Science. Two of those members graduated and received their diplomas.
• Ten members completed the three-day seminar on the NFPA Life Safety Codes applications and enforcement.
• Because of the medical training sponsored by the Department, it now has 2 paramedics, 11 emergency medical technicians, and 32 medical first responders on the roster.
• 8 members, along with the secretary, have participated in many hours of advanced computer training.

The Department has begun to emphasis the importance of good physical conditioning for its members. In 1999, the Departmental Rules and Regulations required every member to perform an annual physical fitness test beginning in 2000. Every member is encouraged to participate in a physical fitness program that they can outline for themselves in order to meet their own individual needs. Every member may utilize the physical fitness facilities located at the Public Safety Building during their shifts. The results have been very positive. When the first physical fitness test was given in October of this year, there was a 100% pass rate.

Arson Investigations and Citations:

Intentionally set fires within the city limits of Morgantown continued to be a major problem throughout the year. The Department responded to 125 street and rubbish fires. It also responded to 11 intentionally set structure fires and 4 intentionally set vehicular fires. Subsequent investigations solved 19 of the street and rubbish fires, 2 of the structure fires, and 2 of the vehicle fires. In all of the solved cases, either arrests were made or citations were issued, depending upon the severity of the crime.

There were 320 citations issued for traffic type violations such as parking in a fire lane, blocking a fire hydrant, or blocking any other Fire Department connections. All of these citations were issued after the Department initiated an extensive public awareness program. This program included television spots, radio spots, and newspaper ads detailing safety concerns and making the public aware of the consequences of violating the safety laws.

There were 47 citations issued for Fire Prevention Code violations such as bar overcrowding, blocked exits, locked exits, and street fires. This made a total of 367 citations issued. The dollar amount assessed by the courts for these fines was $14,080. This money helped defray some of the overtime costs for other programs such as fire prevention, education, inspections, and emergency responses.

2000 Arson Report

STATIONS, VEHICLES, PERSONNEL, AND EQUIPMENT:

Stations

Station One is located at 228 South High Street. This station primarily serves the Downtown of the City. The land was acquired for this station in 1955 and the building was completed and occupied in June of 1957. An engine company, a rescue company, and the only ladder company respond from this station. The Shift Commander's office is also located in this station.

Station Two is located on Hillcrest Street in Sabraton. When Sabraton was annexed into the City in 1949, Morgantown Fire Department members first occupied the Sabraton Volunteer Fire Department station at this site. In 1956, a new station was built on the site and continues to serve today. One engine company responds from this station and its primary response area is in the Sabraton section of the City.

Station Three is located on North Street in the Wiles Hill area of the City. Council approved funding for this station in 1949 and the current building was built and occupied in 1950. At the time of its construction, this station was located on the northern fringe of the City. This station houses one engine company and its primary response area is the entire northern end of the City. This station has received no major renovations since its construction. The station site is not well placed, limited in size, and offers few options for improvements.

Vehicles

(* Note: The two poor vehicles have been removed from service and are pending replacement)

Equipment

Over the last three years, the Department has been able to update its equipment on a regularly scheduled basis. Consequently the Department is generally becoming well equipped. More specifically, the Department has achieved the following during the last three years:

• Purchased and equipped a 24 foot Hazardous Materials Response Trailer.
• Purchased and beginning to equip a 16 foot Public Education Trailer.
• Currently purchasing and beginning to equip a Dive Rescue Response Trailer.
• Completely equipped the Heavy Rescue Truck.
• Completely equipped the two new Engines.
• In the spring, the Department will purchase and equip a Rail Trail response vehicle for medical and fire responses.
• The Department is completely updating its self-contained breathing apparatus inventory (About ½ finished at this point).

Regarding equipment, remaining needs of the Department are:

• Need to finish the self-contained breathing apparatus upgrades. (Proposed for next year)
• Upgrade communications capabilities
• Replace the 30 year-old, 14-foot boat with a fire fighting equipped, dive boat.

Personnel

The Morgantown Fire Department has 45 sworn members, 1 secretary, and 1 very special volunteer secretarial assistant (Toni Polentes). The minimum staffing level for the Department is 10 members on duty. The Department is comprised of three duty crews and the staff personnel. One Captain is in charge of each crew and is designated as the Shift Commander. Each shift also has 2 Lieutenants and 11 Firefighters, although there are never that many on-duty during a shift due to scheduled time off such as vacations, holidays, special leave, and sick time. The administrative staff is the Fire Chief, the Training Officer, the Inspection Officer, the Secretary, and the volunteer secretarial assistant.

The manpower disbursement for a routine shift is as follows:

(Note: Two members are normally scheduled off for regular leave)

PAST YEAR ACTIVITIES:

The Morgantown Fire Department has expanded every area of its operations and has still been able to accomplish several special projects throughout the year.

• Emergency responses increased from 1,950 last year to 2,797 this year [an increase of 43%].
• Citation powers were extended to the qualified Inspection Team and Arson Team members and resulted in an unprecedented reduction of street fires and general fire code violations.
• Two new engines were received, outfitted, tested, and placed into service.
• New Civil Service rule revisions have been compiled and proposed for adoption.
• Training opportunities were realized and Department members earned the most professional certifications in the Department's history.
• The entire Inspection program has expanded and more corrections were made for unsafe conditions than ever before.
• A WWII Memorial was built and dedicated at the Norwood Station.
• Many Departmental Standard Operating Procedures were developed that will serve the future needs of the Department for years to come.

NEXT YEAR:

The Morgantown Fire Department has planned well. Each team has established goals and programs for the upcoming year. These goals include training, education, developing more standard operating procedures, sustaining accurate record retention, and obtaining proper equipment. It is also expected that many database entries and updates will increase due to the expected growth in the city. The Department also expects a further increase in the emergency call load every year as the City experiences more growth.

SUMMARY:

This report reflects the efforts put forth by the officers and members of the Morgantown Fire Department over the past year. The statistics and graphs though are more than just numbers. They are also modest indicators of the dedication, effort, sacrifice, courage, and cooperation of individual Firefighters working as a team to serve the people of Morgantown. There has also been a lot of support from West Virginia University, businesses, civic groups, individuals, and volunteers serving in the Fire Civil Service Commission that have helped make the Department what it is. For this support, the Department is deeply grateful.

In the upcoming year, the Morgantown Fire Department will continue to provide the safest possible environment for the BEST SMALL CITY IN AMERICA!