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August 2014
Changes to St. Johns Fire District (Continued from Previous)
Increased Emphasis on Training
Chief Walz’s experiences in securing much of her own training,
becoming an educator herself in the fire service, and in seeing
fatalities in the force that she thought were preventable, have
cemented her resolve to make training of firefighters a priority.
“All of the St. Johns firefighters are highly trained,” she clai med.
“They must be certified as Firefighter I and II, and have hazardous
materials training, emergency driver training and medical training.
The direction is to get everyone EMT (Emergency Medical
Training) certified. All our new hires must either have or earn EMT
certification within a limited time frame after being hired. I have
instituted a new policy that a vehicle doesn’t go out without an
EMT on the apparatus."
The EMT certification is particularly important. An increasing
proportion of the SJFD’s calls are for medical emergencies rather
than fighting fires. This is a national trend. Firefighters tend to be
the first responders to medical emergencies because they are closer
than medical units.
Fire districts in South Carolina and in most of the country are using
fewer volunteers than in the past. “The demands of the fire service
require volunteers to dedicate a lot of time to training, in addition
to doing fundraising and responding to calls. Many would-be
volunteers don’t have that luxury of time to spare," Chief Walz
explained.
The district also has a college education program which is increasingly
popular. Many St. Johns firefighters have a college degree or are
completing one, and some are working on master’s degrees in fields
such as emergency management, disaster preparedness, business
administration, and leadership fields. “We are trying to groom our
future leaders,” said the chief.
An Updated Business Model
Under the expanded commission and the new chief, the SJFD is
becoming better organized, better staffed, and more businesslike.
This has been aided by the business acumen that the two new
commissioners provide and Chief Walz’s experience. In addition,
new headquarters opened this summer, replacing a 60-year-old
home that had served as the headquarters. “If OSHA had gone in
there they would have thrown us out,” Tom Kulick remarked wryly.
“Staff had tiny offices, bunker gear and uniform storage in a nonair conditioned space, all the functions and staff in the one house.
Now we have multiple meeting rooms, an eat-in kitchen for staff,
updated electronics and training materials, and a training center.”
Craig Weaver, who oversaw the revision of the by-laws to
professionalize the district, and is now chairing strategic planning,
explained some of the management needs. The new by-laws realigned the major committees to make them more effective, clarified
and expanded the role of the chief to fully empower her to run
operations, and improved the functionality and effectiveness of the
fire district.
Craig explained, “The district has grown over 60 years in line
with the growth of the population on the islands. We now have
140 employees and a huge amount of territory. The management
processes hadn’t grown with it. Where we are today versus a year
ago, particularly in terms of financial management, is night and
day.” For that he credits Chief Walz’s changes to the culture and
her high expectations, and John Olson’s financial acumen. “The
County Council told John this year that we are the model for
budget recommendations,” after John put together a carefully
crafted budget and plan to “sell” it. Craig noted, “We only get
our funding through taxation, so if we do anything, we have to be
able to make a solid case to the taxpayer.” The Charleston County
Council recently granted the SJFD a millage increase that increases
the district budget by $1 million. With the increase, the district has
added essential equipment and nine firefighters.
To develop a new strategic plan, the commission has engaged
a national consultant who is examining every aspect of the fire
district, including historical records on number and location of
calls, response time, and vehicle staffing, and future needs based
on expected growth, the impact of Charleston’s gradual annexation
of parts of Johns Island, national trends, and the vast demographic
differences in the district. “The fire challenges are different
throughout our district,” Craig said. “St. Johns is a very diverse
district. Wadmalaw doesn’t have fire hydrants and homes on Kiawah
can be over 8,000 square feet. These are just two examples of the
various issues we face. As for annexation, we have to be careful that
we don’t place a station on a corner that will, in a few years, be an
island surrounded by Charleston.”
These changes do not mean that the SJFD has not been well
managed. “We have great equipment and well trained firefighters,”
Craig said. “But we can’t have a ‘one size fits all approach,’ we
need to understand the different risks we face, and we have to be
continually improving.”
Kiawah Safety
Chief Walz has seen several important safety impediments on
Kiawah that interfere with the ability to respond quickly or to save
a home:
• Many Kiawah houses are inaccessible. Fire trucks cannot get
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down narrow driveways impeded by large trees. “The trees are
gorgeous, but in the way, and that is a hazard,” said Chief Walz.
Too few homes have sprinkler systems, which can keep a fire
from spiraling rapidly out of control.
Kiawah’s aesthetically pleasing dark green fire hydrants do not
meet national guidelines and are difficult to see against the green
natural backdrop, particularly in heavy rain or at night.
Many alarm systems are not monitored by security companies.
A smoke detector going off in an unoccupied home will not alert
the fire station.
Smoke detectors are too old. “Both hard wired and battery
operated smoke detectors have a 10-year life. After that, they
don’t sample the air effectively,” said Chief Walz. Fire inspectors
will come to homes to do a fire safety inspection of visible issues,
including checking the age of the detectors.
In some older homes, work was done by non-certified electricians
and HVAC technicians. “A structure starts to age after 10-15
years and any corners that were cut begin to show themselves,”
said the chief.
Improving fire safety on Kiawah is a group effort. The fire district,
Kiawah’s Architectural Review Board and the Town of Kiawah
I sland work closely together on fire safety issues and ordinances.
Residents should take precautions in their homes and educate
renters and guests. If all work together, everyone will benefit.
Article contributed by Digest Feature Reporter Sue Schaffer.