Brief Description: Establishing objectives for certain fire department services.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives P. Sullivan, B. Sullivan, Miloscia, Simpson, Nixon, Curtis, Conway and Wood).

House Committee on Commerce & Labor
Senate Committee on Government Operations & Elections

Background:

Certain local governmental entities are authorized to establish fire departments and/or provide fire protection services. These entities include: (1) cities and towns; (2) fire protection districts and regional fire protection service authorities; and (3) port districts.

State law does not specify the level of fire protection service that these entities must provide. Instead, these entities determine whether to provide such services and what levels of service to provide.

Summary:

The intent of the Legislature is that certain governmental entities (cities and towns, fire protection districts and regional fire protection service authorities, and port districts) set standards for addressing the reporting and accountability of substantially career fire departments, and specify performance measures applicable to response time objectives. These performance measures are comparable to research relating to substantially career fire department organization and deployment. The authority of these governmental entities to set levels of service is not modified or limited.

These governmental entities must maintain written policies specifying fire department services, organizational structure, expected number of employees, and functions. In addition, they must maintain written policies specifying turnout time, response time, and performance objectives. Finally, they must make annual evaluations of their levels of service, turnout times, and response times. Beginning in 2007, they must also issue annual reports that specify circumstances in which objectives are not being met, and address the steps necessary to achieve compliance. The Federal Aviation Administration's annual inspection and certification of airports is considered to meet the requirement that port districts maintain written policies, make annual evaluations, and issue annual reports.

Definitions are added for multiple terms, including "advanced life support," "aircraft rescue and fire fighting," "brain death," "fire suppression," "first responder," "flash-over," "marine rescue and fire fighting," "response time," "special operations," and "turnout time."

Votes on Final Passage:

House   95   0
Senate   36   10   (Senate amended)
House   96   2   (House concurred)

Effective: July 24, 2005