BSFD Strategic Community Risk Reduction Plan

STRATEGIC COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION PLAN

2023-2026

MISSION STATEMENT The Big Sky Fire Department is devoted to protecting the lives and property of our community, our visitors, and our neighbors. We do this by providing exceptional customer service with compassion, courtesy, honor, and integrity.

CORE VALUES Betterment – commitment to professionalism, integrity, and progress Safety – commitment to health and safety Fortitude – commitment to resilience, strength in adversity, and accountability Dedication – commitment to compassion, trust, and transparency

VISION STATEMENT The Big Sky Fire Department will continue to provide progressive and innovative services that promote a safe community while delivering excellent customer service, public education, fire prevention, and training which will lead us into the future.

MOTTO Only Our Best Will Do

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEFS Welcome to our fire department's strategic community risk reduction plan, an important roadmap for the future of our organization. This plan outlines our vision, goals, and objectives and serves as a guide to help us achieve our mission of protecting our community from fire, emergency incidents, and natural disasters by identifying and implementing data-driven risk reduction programs in the community. The strategic community risk reduction plan reflects the input and feedback of our department members, community stakeholders, and leaders. It provides a clear direction for the growth and development of our organization's Community Risk Management Division. We are committed to using this plan to guide our decision-making and actions as we strive to enhance the safety and well-being of our community. Thank you for your support and participation in developing this plan, and we look forward to working together to achieve our goals.

Dustin Tetrault Greg Megaard Deputy Fire Chief Fire Chief Community Risk Management

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STRATEGIC COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS

PLANNING PROCESS.....................................................................................4 COMMUNITY PROFILE..................................................................................5 AT-RISK POPULATION...................................................................................6 TAPESTRY SEGMENTATION.......................................................................7 CALL DATA......................................................................................................10 INCIDENT LOCATION MAPS....................................................................12 DEVELOPMENT DATA & MAPS...............................................................16 INTERNAL SWOT ANALYSIS....................................................................19 INTERNAL PEST ANALYSIS.......................................................................20 INTERNAL SURVEY RESULTS..................................................................21 EXTERNAL PEST ANALYSIS.....................................................................22 EXTERNAL SURVEY RESULTS.................................................................23 COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT..........................................................24 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.........................................................................26

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Strategic Planning Process Hazard Vulnerability

Organizational Strengths Internal & External Surveys and Feedback

Existing Plan Analysis

Comparative Goal Analysis of Existing Plans

Community Analysis Updated Demographic and Vulnerable Population Data

Goals & Objectives

Comparative Analysis of Existing HVAs from County and District Plans

Vision and Mission Aligning Goals and Objectives with Current BSFD Mission and Vision Statements

Data Analysis An Analysis of Call and Development Data from Previous Years

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source: 2020 census data

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source: 2020 census data

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2020-2022 Fire & EMS Call Data

Reference Indicator -CD

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Reference Indicator -DD

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2020-2022 Development Data 394 NEW CONSTRUCTION PERMITS 6,147 AVERAGE SQ/FT

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Reference Indicator -ISA

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Reference Indicator -IPA

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BSFD Staff Survey Results What Other Programs Should We Be Offering?

Helmet Safety

Stop the Bleed

Increased Smoke/CO Installs

Distracted Driving

Internal Risk Assessment

Most Important Current Programs Cooking Fire Ed

Mental Support / Crisis Intervention

yes no unsure Reference Indicator -EF

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Reference Indicator -EPA

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Community Survey Results Resident County

Who Should Our Target Demographic Be?

Reference Indicator -EF

Resident Connection

What is Big Sky's Largest Risk?

Length of Residency

What Programs Are Most Important?

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2020 Community Risk Assessment Hazard Vulnerability Assessment

Reference Indicator -CRA

Source: ESCI BSFD Standard of Cover/Community Risk Assessment - 2019

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2020 Community Risk Assessment 2020 CRA Goals and Objectives 1. Creation of Response Planning Zones (RPZs). ESCI recommended creating four RPZs within the fire district and to maintain incident and performance metrics for each to track development and/or risk factor changes within each zone. a. Status - BSFD CRM division established five zones across the fire district and has them uploaded into the new RMS software. Ops division will log and track performance measurements for these areas.

2. Create a Target Hazard Analysis Program utilizing Occupancy Vulnerability Assessment Planning (OVAP) scoring. a. Status - is included within this strategic plan for implementation in late 2023.

3. Expanded community outreach and education offerings to include fire extinguisher training, increased CPR/AED training, "Heart Safe Property" designation, and Pulsepoint Technology. a. Status: BSFD is currently working on obtaining VR fire extinguisher training equipment, increasing certified CPR instructors, created a public access to AED program and public map, and implemented the Pulsepoint program in winter 2022.

4. Create more outcome-based measurements to establish baselines and establish benchmarks for success. Examples would be creating a better fire loss estimator tool to measure actual property loss and saves. Another would be counting CPR ROSC numbers and save rates to develop metrics for CRM program efficacy.

Reference Indicator -CRA

Source: ESCI BSFD Standard of Cover/Community Risk Assessment - 2019

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Goal 1: Reduce the Number of False Alarms by 25% by 2026

Objectives

Tactics

2020-2022

Resources

Responsibility Risk Statement: One out of every four fire-related calls in the District during the examined time period (January 2019 to December 2022) was a fire alarm activation, making this the most frequent fire-related call in the BSFD community. Further, fire alarm activations were the third most common call overall. The District responded to 1,045 fire alarm activations, representing 64% of fire call types and 24% of all call types.

A vast majority of fire alarm activations do not represent actual fires and instead are caused by mechanical failures, a lack of or insufficient maintenance, or human interference. There are many risks associated with these “false” alarms. They can desensitize building occupants when they occur several times at the same location, leading to complacency. For first responders, false alarms negatively impact their sleep patterns and overall health. Additionally, these alarms represent an inefficient use of staff time and taxpayer expense.

Identified: CRA, IF, IPA, ISA, CD

Evaluation

1. Locate and track the status of fire protection systems in the district.

2. Use 911 call data to identify "problem" systems to address and follow up on.

3. Educate contractors and developers on design best practices.

4. Provide training for staff on NFRS data collection to better identify trouble systems.

1. Utilize 3rd party compliance software in conjunction with in-house inspections to identify/locate systems and track their status.

2. Monitor 911 call data to identify repeat offenders or "clusters" to identify system issues and trends.

3. Contractor education and handout on alarm panel and device District best practices.

1. 3rd party IT&M Software and continued use of ArcGIS inspection and plan review 2. RMS data query and additional fields to further define the alarm issue 3. Educating Ops staff on conditions that warrant CRR staff follow up

1. CRM Division 2. Third-Party IT&M Software Staff 3. Ops Division (call report defined fields on alarms)

1. Among occupancies with a history of multiple false alarms, reduce the average number of false alarms by 50% by 2026.

2. Reduce overall false alarms by 25% for all calls by 2026.

3. Know the location and status of 100% of commercial fire suppression systems in the district by 2027.

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Goal 2: Increase Efforts to Make Big Sky a Fire Adapted Community

Risk Statement: Wildfire ranks at the top of every risk assessment for Big Sky. Wildfire was also identified as the highest internal and external concern from survey respondent data. Wildfire occurrences continue to trend upwards in the area, state, and nation. As Big Sky continues to add housing density, the risk of catastrophic WUI fire continues to increase. The goal also aligns with the National Cohesive Strategy, which identifies "creating fire-adapted communities" as a pillar of focus.

Identified: CRA, EPA, IPA, ISA, IF, EF

1. Continue to work with Counties and HOAs to update regulations, CC&Rs, architectural guidelines, and zoning to reflect current WUI best practices.

2. Educate homeowners, architects, developers, and builders on building best practices and material options.

3. Increase mitigation efforts throughout the district.

4. Help homeowners get and retain homeowners insurance in the district.

Objectives

1. Work with the Fire Adapted Big Sky group to create a Big Sky BMP for development, vegetation management, and ignition-resistant material.

2. Hold more interagency education events for the public to give the public the tools to make a difference.

3. Continue to take advantage of partnerships and grant opportunities to provide funding for mitigation projects that benefit the community.

4. Create a "Wildfire Safe" home program that insurances recognize.

Tactics

Resources

1. Adding seasonal fuels crew staffing and lead crew boss 2. Increase the amount of home risk assessment data with mitigation priorities 3. Added CRM Division staffing to allow management staff to focus on the mitigation program

Responsibility

1. CRM Division 2. Fire Adapted Big Sky Group 3. USFS 4. DNRC 5. Gallatin County

1. Double amount of home risk assessments by 2026.

2. Increase mitigated acres on private land as a result of offering inhouse mitigation staffing.

3. Double current education and outreach hours provided to the public.

Evaluation .

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Goal 3: Increase Fuels Mitigation Capacity and Equal Access to Mitigation Funds

Risk Statement: Wildfire ranks at the top of every risk assessment for Big Sky. Wildfire was also identified as the highest internal and external concern from survey respondent data. Wildfire occurrences continue to trend upward in the area, state, and nation. As Big Sky continues to add housing density, the risk of catastrophic WUI fire increases. The goal also aligns with the National Cohesive Strategy, which identifies "creating fire-adapted communities" as a pillar of focus by increasing the department's ability to meet the community's demand to ramp up scale and capacity to perform fuels mitigation.

Identified: CRA, EPA, IPA, ISA, IF, EF

Objectives

1. Continue to work with homeowners and HOAs to create and identify fuels reduction strategies within developments.

2. Acquire grant funding to offer cost-share to drive costs down to address equity barriers and affordability.

3. Increase mitigation efforts throughout the District.

4. Create a repository for mitigation biomass and homeowner green waste.

Tactics

1. Implement seasonal fuels crew in 2024 to increase scale and capacity.

2. Work with the USFS to identify cross-boundary project opportunities.

3. Build internal prescribed fire capacity to increase the ability to assist state and federal agencies as well as within the District.

4. Create an unbiased funding and work matrix to allow for equal opportunity to fuel mitigation funding to underserved citizens for little to no cost.

5. Revamp community chipping program and increase the scale and capacity.

Resources

1. Adding seasonal fuels crew staffing and a crew boss 2. Increase home risk assessment data with mitigation priorities 3. Added CRM Division staffing and prescribed burning capacity 4. Grant funding for green waste/biomass processing equipment 5. Create a Community Ambassador Program

Responsibility

1. CRM Division 2. Fire Adapted Big Sky Group - Community Ambassadors 3. USFS 4. DNRC 5. Gallatin County

Evaluation

1. Increase the amount of grant-funded acres mitigated on smaller single private tracts.

2. Identify and address barriers to equitable opportunity to fuels work and cost shares.

3. Identify high-priority areas that have previously been excluded from fuels reduction.

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Goal 4: Increase Community Risk Management Division Capacity

Objectives

Tactics

Deputy Chief CRM

Resources

Fire Inspector

Community Risk Reduction Coordinator

Fuels Crew Superintendent

Responsibility

1. Build internal capacity to create a further division of labor to address the increasing workload and community programs.

2. Create revenue streams to support positions.

3. Increase mitigation efforts throughout the district.

1. Utilize revenue from the 2022 fee program implementation to support the FTE Fire Inspector position.

2. Seek and apply for grant funding to support the seasonal fuels crew concept.

3. Pre-Identify project areas for fuels crew and secure jobs prior to seasonal hiring.

4. Create MOU with USFS and DNRC to utilize fuels crew on state and fed ground for mitigation and prescribed fire.

1. Added PPE and equipment for fuels crew 2. Space to house the increased CRM staff 3. Location for biomass removal or processing

1. CRM Division 2. Fire Chief 3. Fire Adapted Big Sky 4. State and Fed Cooperators 5. Admin Staff

4x Fuels Technicians

Risk Statement: Development continues to increase drastically yearly in the area. The trend to develop as fast as possible has created a decrease in placing emphasis on safety and sustainability in an effort to maximize profitability. The workload in the CRM division is overbearing. It requires a division build-out to divide the labor among numerous employees in order to continue to deliver current services but also to meet the demand to expand services and offerings.

Identified: IF, EF, IFP, IFS, DD

Evaluation

1. Fully staffed CRM org chart by 2025.

2. Providing a low-cost fuels reduction option to citizens.

3. Sharing the division workload among increased staffing creating better work-life balance.

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Goal 5: Increase Community Education Programs

Objectives

1. Expand community CPR and hands-only CPR program.

2. Create a "Distracted Driving" Ed program.

3. Procure and offer VR based education programs (extinguisher, sprinkler, escape).

4. Expand car seat installation program.

1. Increase internal capacity for program delivery and market offerings throughout the community. Combine the training with Pulsepoint education to increase verified responders in the area.

2. Research and implement a national distracted driving education program in the schools and teach in conjunction with driver's ed.

3. Purchase VR headsets and training programs to increase education opportunities for various programs (sprinklers, alarms, extinguishers, etc).

4. Add at least two more certified car seat installers.

Tactics

Resources

1. CPR instructors/equipment 2. Distracted driving education program and materials/instructors 3. VR headsets and software - videos 4. School partnership for drivers ed program 5. Car seat installer courses and installers

1. CRM Division 2. Big Sky School District 3. Big Sky private schools

Responsibility

Risk Statement: Big Sky's demographic is rapidly changing, and as more residents and visitors are in the District, the need for more robust education and outreach programs becomes crucial for keeping the community safe. The inherent risk of the area and the outdoor recreation create an increased risk of high mechanism injuries that can be mitigated through increased education and awareness.

Identified: CRA , EF, IF, IFS

1. Expand CPR and hands-only community education to be offered at least five times per year.

2. Creation and implementation of a distracted driving program in the school district.

3. Purchase and implement VR outreach and education programs in the community.

4. Increased car seat installation days and licensed installers.

Evaluation .

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Goal 6: OutcomeBased Measurements for Programs

Objectives

Tactics

1. Implement a target hazard analysis program within each RPZ 2. Conduct Occupancy Vulnerability Assessment Planning (OVAP on highhazard buildings 3. Create a tool to measure cardiac arrest stats (bystandard CPR, Pulsepoint used, ROSC, etc) 4. Implement a better property loss estimation tool (PLET) to keep better track of fire loss in the district 5. Correlate critical tasking capabilities and emergency response force (ERF) levels to help quantify and qualify efficiencies

Resources

1. GIS based target hazard analysis program 2. GIS based OVAP tool 3. UAS platform to assist with both 2 & 3 4. incorporate a PLET into the fire investigation protocol 5. RMS system tracking and benchmark comparisons

Responsibility

Risk Statement: Being a data-driven organization is a pillar of the Community Risk Reduction model. Goals and objectives must be justified through outcome-based measurements utilizing quantitative analysis to support programs. Without utilizing tools and metrics to track efficacy there is no way to show that the program is a benefit to the community or has any impact on mitigating the issue it was implemented to address. Adding tools to be able to increase the departments' ability to track success is integral for the future.

Identified: CRA

1. Implement better systems to create quantitative data measures and benchmarks to validate programs and efforts across all divisions

Evaluation

1. CRM Division 2. Ops Division 3. Fire Chief

1. All high risk buildings have a target hazard analysis and OVAP completed on them by the end of the plan cycle 2. Year end reports contain total property loss and saved dollar amount 3. Year end reports show cardiac arrest data for the district 4. We are able to quantify impacts of efforts using comparative analysis of data vs benchmarks

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BIG SKY FIRE DEPARTMENT 650 RAINBOW TROUT RUN BIG SKY, MT 59716-0382 PO Box 160382 406-995-2100 WWW.BIGSKYFIRE.ORG