Agenda

Return

C.1

To:	Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors
From:	Jeff Carman, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Date:	December 12, 2017

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Purchase of FEMA AFG Grant - Live Fire Training Unit

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 12/12/2017

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, Director
Candace Andersen, Director
Diane Burgis, Director
Karen Mitchoff, Director
Federal D. Glover, Director

Contact:

Aaron McAlister, Assistant Fire Chief 925-941-3503

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: December 12, 2017
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute, on behalf of the Fire Chief, a purchase order with Drager, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $415,000 for the purchase of a live fire training unit.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The federal award amount is $296,591. This grant has a 10% local agency cost share requirement. However, during the specification process, the lowest quote for a training unit that met the needs of the District was $406,160 (including tax). With a federal contribution of $296,591 and a local agency match requirement of $29,659, the District will also need to fund the additional $79,910 to acquire the desired equipment. Therefore, the District's actual contribution would be $109,569. The District would use approximately $110,000 from the CCCFPD General Operating fund balance.

BACKGROUND:

On November 15, 2016, the Governing Board of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) authorized the Fire Chief to apply for and accept federal grant funding for a Phase 5 live fire training unit. The District was successful in being awarded this grant from the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program.

The purpose of the AFG Program is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire related hazards by providing financial assistance to eligible fire departments for critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operational efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience. The AFG Program supports the basic mission to strengthen national preparedness and resilience.

This grant will provide 73% of the funding for the acquisition and installation of a phase 5 live fire training system. This system enables firefighters to incrementally develop knowledge of fire behavior and skills for fire control and suppression as they advance through five available skill centers. The system includes a purpose built training unit that replicates real world scenarios. This enables instructors to deliver extremely realistic, hands-on training.

The District is currently without such a training unit and live burn opportunities are extremely rare. Having our own training unit will enable the District to keep on-duty engine companies in the District delivering training that would otherwise only be available out of County.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Contra Costa County Fire District has statistically, on average, a working structure fire, every day. Interior firefighting is one of our greatest hazards, exposing our firefighters to an environment that poses and immediate danger to life. Contra Costa County is home to major industry, railroads, local and state roadways, and dense population and commercial centers built on four major earthquake faults. It is imperative that District personnel are trained to the highest standards to provide the best possible emergency response to its residents. Failure to approve this grant and the accompanying funding would cause the District to forego the purchase of the specialized live fire training unit until additional fiscal resources are available.