By Sadie Hunter
The City of Noblesville recently released its year-end annual report. The report details major accomplishments from every city department and within the community during the past year. Each week, Current in Noblesville will be highlighting a portion of the report. To see the full report, visit bit.ly/2lDGclL.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Executive summary
The Noblesville Fire Dept. recorded its highest number of emergency
responses in 2016 with 5,584 calls for assistance, a 5.23 percent increase over 2015. Of those calls, 76.6 percent were classified as EMS. Through Mutual Aid agreements the city assisted its neighboring departments 687 times, and they assisted the city 454 times. Average response time for calls was 5 minutes and 3 seconds.
The department is continuing to transition with four retirements. Each of these retirements represented a loss of at least 20 years of experience, and in one case 33 years. The retirements created opportunities for other members to accept greater responsibility and new roles.
In 2015, a group of NFD personnel were assembled to build a five-year strategic plan for the department. The conclusion of 2016 marks the completion of the first year of this plan. The department has completed nearly one-third of the plan (32.9 percent) in this first year.
NFD conducted 59 fire investigations and coordinated the fire and EMS portion of 46 different events, including the July 4th fireworks display.
FINANCES
The fire department budget saw an increase of 7.43 percent in 2016. Approximately 6 percent of this increase was due to an additional pay period for the calendar year. Actual 2016 spending fell 2 percent under the budgeted amount. NFD generated a total of $2,531,083 in revenue to offset the operating budget through the Noblesville Township Fire Contract and EMS billing.
NEW EQUIPMENT
The NFD began replacing the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) packs in its inventory and built specs to fit growing needs, received bids and secured funding for the $525,000 project. The new SCBA units will be implemented this year.
All frontline ambulances were upgraded and supplied as fully functional Advanced Life Support (ALS) units. This brings the total number of NFD ALS apparatus to 14. The gear, or Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), firefighters wear during incidents is vital to survival.
Staff, training and events statistics (2016)
- 132 sworn firefighters
- 7 fire stations
- 7 engines
- 5 ambulances
- 3 aerial trcks
- 19,000 hours of training
- 4 alternative fuel/hybrid vehicle instructors added
- 155 public education events
- 18 smoke detector installations
- 13 parades
- 4 pyrotechnic inspections at Klipsch Music Center
- 1,758 department’s combined years of service
Incident statistics (2016)
FIRE INCIDENTS
- 486 false alarms
- 201 mutual aid
- 175 investigations
- 147 assisting the public
- 82 hazmat
- 76 outside fires
- 60 structure fires
- 38 electrical investigations
- 20 vehicle fires
- 16 rescues
- 1 explosion
EMS INCIDENTS
- 733 sick persons
- 549 falls
- 384 breathing problems
- 319 mutual aid
- 286 unconscious/fainting
- 272 personal injury accidents
- 197 chest pains
- 188 convulsions/seizures
- 155 patient assists
- 136 overdose/poisoning
- 114 traumatic injuries