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Home My WebLink About04 - Supporting the Newport Beach Fire DepartmentQ SEW Pp�T CITY OF z NEWPORT BEACH c�<,FORN'P City Council Staff Report September 22, 2020 Agenda Item No. 4 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Jeff Boyles, Fire Chief - 949-644-3101, jboyles@nbfd.net PREPARED BY: Mary Locey, Administrative Manager, mlocey@nbfd.net PHONE: 949-644-3352 TITLE: Resolution No. 2020-80: Supporting the Newport Beach Fire Department ABSTRACT: The Newport Beach Fire Department (NBFD) has responded to 13 wildfire fires throughout California in a span of 43 days. The proposed resolution reflects the City Council's support of the department's response to mutual aid requests. RECOMMENDATIONS: a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Adopt Resolution No. 2020-80, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Supporting the Newport Beach Fire Department. FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: There is no fiscal impact related to this item. DISCUSSION - The Newport Beach Fire Department (NBFD) has a 109 -year history of providing the Newport Beach community with safety, service, and professionalism. These three pillars are reflected by the department's personnel whether serving in a lifeguard tower on the beach, inspecting wildland vegetation as a preventive measure, conducting community outreach and education, or when responding to a fire, accident, or medical emergency. The NBFD has 118 sworn fire personnel who work one of three 48-hour shifts. On any given day, there are 38 fire personnel assigned to the City's eight fire stations. Each workday they are required to conduct training, clean and sanitize their station and apparatus, ensure they have properly working tools and equipment, perform inventory of their supplies, and be ready to respond to any situation. 4-1 Resolution No. 2020-80: Supporting the Newport Beach Fire Department September 22, 2020 Page 2 Firefighters are considered industrial athletes. Similar to a professional athlete, they need to have the endurance, strength, coordination, and flexibility to be able to climb stairs, lift heavy equipment, and sustain mental focus during extremely challenging situations. As fire season approaches, the department's highly trained personnel are ready when mutual aid is requested. Strike teams are deployed quickly, with on -duty personnel. These personnel could end up being away from home for up to 14 -days. This fire season has already burned more acreage than any other fire season in California history. Over the course of a 43 -day period, a total of 26 fire personnel and one civilian responded to 13 fires in California. The deployments consisted of: • Two battalion chiefs leading a strike team of five engines from Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach for a two-week period and responding to three different fires; • Four engines responded as part of other strike teams across the state; • Four overhead assignments to fill the positions of a safety officer, field observer, fire -line paramedic and base camp manager; and, • One civilian was deployed for eight days to serve as a damage inspection specialist; this is the first time in the department's history that a civilian was sent. These rapid deployments were met with some challenges as crews discovered that the typical base camps were anything but typical. Due to COVID, some fire base camps did not have food, shelter or fuel available. Additionally, the department is making use of the Cal OES engine. This engine, on loan from the State, is intended for use by local agencies when responding to mutual aid requests. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Resolution No. 2020-80 4-2 ATTACHMENT A RESOLUTION NO. 2020-80 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, SUPPORTING THE NEWPORT BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT WHEREAS, the Newport Beach Fire Department has more than a 100 -year history of serving the Newport Beach community with safety, service, and professionalism; WHEREAS, the Newport Beach Fire Department employs 118 sworn fire personnel who normally work a 48-hour shift, and has 38 personnel assigned each day to the City's eight fire stations; WHEREAS, fire personnel need to be able to respond to any situation at a moment's notice; WHEREAS, providing mutual aid to other communities through the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) is typical in the course of business for fire departments throughout the state; WHEREAS, the wildfire season started early with the first call for mutual aid on May 31, 2020, and the Newport Beach Fire Department deployed a captain to Northern California near the Oregon border; WHEREAS, over the course of a 43 -day period from the end of July through early September, 26 fire personnel and one civilian from the Newport Beach Fire Department responded to 13 fires in California; WHEREAS, two Newport Beach battalion chiefs led a team of five engines from Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, and Laguna Beach as they responded to three different fires over the course of two weeks; WHEREAS, four Newport Beach fire engines responded as part of strike teams across the State; WHEREAS, the department also deployed four -overhead assignments to fill the positions of a safety officer, field observer, fire -line paramedic and base camp manager to multiple fires, WHEREAS, for the first time in the department's history, a civilian was deployed for eight days serving as a damage inspection specialist (DINS),- WHEREAS, DINS);WHEREAS, the personnel deployed faced new challenges due to the impacts of COVID, such as having limited access to shelter and food at the base camps; 4-3 Resolution No. 2020 - Page 2 of 3 WHEREAS, two of the fires Newport Beach Fire Department personnel responded to quickly became the second (SCU Lightning Complex) and third (LNU Lightning Complex) largest in California history, as Mendocino is currently the largest; and WHEREAS, seven of the 20 largest fires in California history have occurred in the last four years. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as follows: Section 1: The City Council does hereby express support for the members of the Newport Beach Fire Department, in their efforts to provide exceptional service to the Newport Beach community as well as being ready to respond within 15 minutes to mutual aid requests, that has the potential to take them far from home and their families for a two-week period. Section 2: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are incorporated into the operative part of this resolution. Section 3: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 4: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. I " Resolution No. 2020 - Page 3 of 3 Section 5: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution. ADOPTED this 22nd day of September, 2020. Will O'Neill Mayor ATTEST: Leilani I. Brown City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE 4 Gt.� , C ff �. Aar6n C. Harp City Attorney 4-5