Search

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

NFPA 1500: Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, is the industry standard
for the development and administration of a fire department safety program. ESCI strongly encourages the
Department to ensure all safety committee activities are in alignment with Chapter 4 of NFPA 1500. To be
effective, safety committees must be diverse in their representation from across the department, ensuring
representation by shift, rank, function, and interest, and including representation from non-uniformed and
staff members as well.

The safety committee should meet monthly and include in its mission the raising of awareness and modifying
of member behaviors that will result in a safe work environment. Additionally, the committee should review
all accidents, injuries, near-miss incidents, and workplace safety suggestions. The committee should analyze
the information and report its findings to the Fire Chief. In contrast to being reactionary through the
development of additional rules, ESCI recommends that the committee should work to implement member
safety education programs and encourage members’ safety self-awareness. The committee should maintain
regular and open meeting times and locations; and minutes of the meetings should be recorded and posted
for all members of the department to review.

One issue that was repeatedly brought up to ESCI during the site visit meetings was a strong desire by the
membership to have quiet stations. Nashua Fire Rescue responded to more than 8,000 calls last year. That’s
an average of 21 calls per day. At the time of ESCI’s site visit, firefighters in every station heard the radio
traffic for every call, whether or not the members of that station were assigned to respond.

A study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2018 found higher rates of hypertension
and high cholesterol in people who were regularly exposed to loud noises at work. Loud noises were defined
as four or more hours a day, several days a week, when individuals needed to raise their voice or shout to be
heard by someone standing a few feet away. The researchers concluded that as many as 14% of cases of
hypertension and 9% of cases of high cholesterol were potentially a result of noise exposure—possibly due
to the stress of a loud working environment. Nashua Fire Rescue should make it a priority to alert only the
fire station(s) that are dispatched to calls to reduce the constant radio traffic that is currently transmitted to
all of the stations.

Career Development

Article 31 of the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Nashua and Local #789 includes the
following Career Development Benefits:

= The City agrees to provide each station with the following IFSTA manuals: forcible entry, ground
ladder practices, hose, salvage and overhaul, fire streams, apparatus, ventilation, rescue and
protective breathing practices, first aid, inspection, training programs, water supplies, aircraft, fire
department officer, and facilities.

= The City agrees to purchase and make available the textbooks used in firefighting courses, which
textbooks shall be retained by the department after use by individual employees.

fj Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 7oO

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

» The City will reimburse employees for one hundred percent (100%) of the total tuition and laboratory
fees paid by employees from their own funds, for the successful completion of job-related courses,
as well as courses leading to the granting of degrees in Fire Science, within the budget allowed.
Successful completion is defined as a grade of "C" or above for undergraduate studies and a grade of
"B" or above for graduate studies. The City shall budget $20,750 for fiscal year 2020 and thereafter
shall increase the budgeted amount by $1,000 each year beginning in fiscal year 2021 if the budget
line for this benefit has a balance of $1,000 or less at the end of each full fiscal year. Courses not
directly related to present job function but are functions performed by other personnel in the
department, the City will reimburse up to 50% of the total tuition and laboratory fees paid by the
employees from their own funds upon successful completion.

While Nashua Fire Rescue has a program in place to provide books and tuition reimbursement for its
firefighters, it is lacking a Professional Development Program. A successful Professional Development
Program will benefit both the employees and the organization they serve. The intent of the Professional
Development Program is to engage employees in identifying gaps in understanding and development that
prepares and enables him or her to be successful in current and future roles. This directly translates to
personal fulfillment and job satisfaction as well as positioning employees for future success within the
organization. A comprehensive Personal Development Program should be developed for each organizational
level: front-line personnel, first-level supervisors, mid-level managers, and senior leaders.

Nashua Fire Rescue should develop a Professional Development Program for all positions within the
organization. The International Association of Fire Chiefs has developed the Officer Development Handbook,
which is intended to function as the foundation for any organization's Professional Development Program.
The handbook provides a foundation and explanation of the basic tenets of a Professional Development
Program upon which an organization can build upon and customize to meet its own needs.

STAFFING

The size and structure of an organization’s staffing are dependent upon the specific needs of the
organization. These needs must directly correlate to the needs of the City of Nashua as a structure that works
for one agency may not necessarily work for another. This section provides an overview of Nashua Fire
Rescue's staffing configuration and management practices.

Fire department staffing can be divided into two distinct groups. The first group is typically recognized by
the citizens and is commonly known asthe operations section; it can be generally classified as the emergency
response personnel. The second group works behind the scenes to provide the support needed by the
operation’s personnel to deliver an effective emergency response and is commonly known as the
administrative section or support services section. Like many fire-rescue organizations, Nashua Fire Rescue
has distinct staff personnel—Chief Officers—who perform specific administrative functions but are also
required to perform operationally if the need arises.

fj Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 71

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

While a fire department's evaluation focuses on several factors, staffing is one of the most important. When
reviewing staffing, one must define the expectations of each work unit in addition to the organization's
overall performance. Once the work product (output or outcome) is defined, and performance metrics are
established, senior leadership assumes responsibility in determining appropriate staffing necessary to
accomplish goals and meet performance objectives.

Administrative Staffing

One of the primary responsibilities of the administrative team is to ensure that the operations segment of
the organization has the ability and means to respond to and mitigate emergencies safely and efficiently. An
effective administration and support services system is critical to the success of the Department.

Typical responsibilities of the administration and support staff include planning, organizing, directing,
coordinating, and evaluating the various programs within Nashua Fire Rescue. This list of functions is not
exhaustive, and other functions may be added. It is also important to understand these functions do not occur
linearly and can more often occur simultaneously. This requires the Fire Chief and administrative support
staff to focus on many different areas concurrently.

Figure 54 illustrates the administration and support structure of Nashua Fire Rescue.

Figure 54. Nashua Fire Rescue’s Administrative Staffing

Minoo Hours Worked
Position Title Full-Time Work Schedule
sas per Week
esi edaes
Fire Chief ] 40 M-F
Assistant Chief ] 40 M-F
Executive Assistant ] 40 M-F
Administrative Assistant Il ] 40 M-F
Total Admin & Support 4

Nashua Fire Rescue’s administrative functions are led by the Fire Chief and supported by an Assistant Chief.
ESCI noted that currently, the level of administrative and support staffing function within Nashua Fire Rescue
is comprised of four full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. This represents 2.22% of the Department's total
staffing of 180 full-time positions. It is ESCI’s experience that effective administrative staffing totals for
municipal fire department operations typically range from 12 to 15% of agency totals. After reviewing the
functions and responsibilities assigned to the workgroup, ESCI concluded that the number of full-time
equivalents (FTEs) assigned resides in the extreme lower range of the normally experienced administrative
levels to support the responsibilities of Nashua Fire Rescue’s administration appropriately.

ESC) Emergency Services 2
Consulting International 7

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

ESCI’s surveys and interviews with Nashua Fire Rescue members revealed that two of the biggest concerns
within the organization are morale and a desire for consistent accountability. Morale was identified as a
problem in every one of the interviews that were conducted by ESCI. Members overwhelmingly believe that
communication (or a lack thereof) is the biggest contributor to the department's poor morale. Members also
very directly stated a desire for consistent accountability within Nashua Fire Rescue. They went so far as to
request that chief officers hold the members accountable from the top down while the union holds the
members accountable from the bottom up. There were repeated concerns voiced that not everyone was
being held equally accountable.

The members of the Nashua Fire Administration were acutely aware of the morale and accountability issues.
The members of the administration also agreed that communication was an integral key to fixing these
issues. Challenges exist regarding the current organizational model that allows the Deputy Chiefs to manage
their shifts with very different expectations, management styles, and ways of communication. The Chief and
the Assistant Chief reported regularly coming to work with a list of projects to accomplish for the day, only
to have an entirely new set of immediate issues arise and spend the entire day doing work other than what
they had planned to do. The competing demands of the fire department and city hall, coupled with the
workload and limited staffing of the Administrative Division, are creating a perfect storm that is directly
contributing to the communication challenges, the perception of inconsistent accountability, and the overall
poor morale.

ESCI recommends that Nashua Fire Rescue re-institute the second Assistant Chief Position that was
eliminated some years ago. This Assistant Chief should be charged with the oversight of Uniform
Professional Standards.

Nashua Fire Rescue should evaluate the potential benefits of restructuring the Administrative Division to
include an Assistant Chief of Uniform Professional Standards. This Assistant Chief would report to the Chief
of Department but be tasked with:

= Investigating all internal affairs type activities, thus removing this work from the Chief and
existing Assistant Chief. The single point of contact within the fire department as well as close
collaboration with Human Resources will better position Nashua Fire Rescue to address these types
of issues more consistently and to hold members accountable as appropriate.

= Develop and manage a communications plan for regular and consistent communications with
the Operations Division. Communication has been a critical weakness within Nashua Fire Rescue
for decades that is getting progressively worse. This problem will continue to fester, thus further
negatively impacting morale and the operations of the fire department until such a time that there
are focused resources dedicated to improving this deficiency.

« Manage the recruitment of new firefighters, thus removing this work from the Training and
Safety Division. Training was repeatedly identified as a major weakness within Nashua Fire Rescue.
The reassignment of recruitment duties to the Assistant Chief of Uniform Professional Standards will
allow the Training and Safety Division to focus their efforts on improving the Nashua Fire Rescue
Training Program.

fj Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 73

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

= Oversight of the Nashua Fire Rescue Training Program. As previously noted, training was
repeatedly identified as a major weakness within Nashua Fire Rescue. Placing the Training Safety
Division under the direction of the Assistant Chief of Uniform Professional Standards will provide the
oversight that is necessary to establish and then achieve simple, manageable, achievable,
reasonable, and timely (SMART) goals to systematically improve the Nashua Fire Rescue Training
Program.

» Manage the promotion process in conjunction with Human Resources. ESCI recommended within
the Promotions Processes Section of this report that Nashua Fire Rescue re-evaluate the merits of
including the civilian Board of Fire Commissioners within the promotional process. It is ESCI'’s
suggestion that Nashua Fire Rescue may be able to improve the current promotional process by
allowing the professional human resources and fire department personnel to conduct the entire
process, thereby eliminating the potential political influence that could be introduced by the
inclusion of the elected board. The Assistant Chief of Uniform Professional Standards would be well-
positioned to facilitate this process on behalf of the fire department.

= Develop, implement, and manage a Professional Development Program for Nashua Fire Rescue.
Officers who fail to learn leadership skills are challenged almost immediately upon promotion. As
detailed in the Career Development section of this report, both Nashua Fire Rescue and its
employees stand to gain from the development and implementation of a Career Development
Program.

Emergency Services Division

lt takes an adequate and properly trained staff of emergency responders to put the appropriate emergency
apparatus and equipment to its best use in mitigating incidents. Insufficient staffing at an emergency scene
decreases the effectiveness of the response and increases the risk of injury to all individuals involved.

Staff Allocation of Various Functions
Nashua Fire Rescue allocates its staff to six fire stations with crew members assigned to engine and ladder

trucks. These stations are located based on the specific geographic requirements and service level needs of
the area.

The following figure depicts the emergency response staffing employed by Nashua Fire Rescue.

fj Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 74

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

Figure 55. Nashua Fire Rescue Total Emergency Response Staffing

oye oye a koLUl ES
Position Title Number of Positions Worked/Week Work Schedule

Operational Staff Individuals considered full-time employees, primarily assigned to
(fulttime & part-time} provide emergency services at the operational level.
24 Hours Broken into
. Average 42 hours in 2 Shifts:
Deputy Chief 4 an 8-week cycle 10 on/14 on/
then 48 or 96 off
24 Hours Broken into
. _ Average 42 hours in 2 Shifts:
Shiff Management Technician 4 an B-week cycle 10 on/14 on/
then 48 or 96 off
24 Hours Broken into
Captain 7 Average 42 hours in 2 Shifts:
Pp an 8-week cycle 10 on/14 on/
then 48 or 96 off
24 Hours Broken into
. Average 42 hours in 2 Shifts:
Leutenant 9 an 8-week cycle 10 on/14 on/
then 48 or 96 off
24 Hours Broken into
ge Average 42 hours in 2 Shifts:
Firefighter 108 an 8-week cycle 10 on/14 on/
then 48 or 96 off

A baseline overview of the career staffing model, staffing levels, and relief factors provides an opportunity to
review and analyze the current staffing patterns, shifts, and options to increase efficiency, effectiveness, and
capabilities. The Deputy Chief, supported by a Shift Management Technician, provides general direction and
support for operations staff as well as command level assistance when needed at incidents with additional
alarms. Nashua Fire Rescue operates with an officer assigned to each company, one Captain assigned to each
station, and one Captain in charge of Hazardous Materials Operations who is assigned to Station 2 for a total
of seven captains. The Department does not use a promoted apparatus operator to serve as the individual
responsible for all aspects of maintaining and operating fire engines and aerial units.

Each Nashua Fire Rescue firefighter is expected to be able to operate the fire apparatus. ESCI suggests that
Nashua Fire Rescue consider creating a promotional position for Driver. In 2017 alone, more than 15,000 fire
department vehicles were involved in collisions nationwide, resulting in 4,555 firefighter injuries occurring
while responding to or returning from an incident.?? Considering the risk involved in operating emergency
vehicles, it would be prudent for Nashua Fire Rescue to establish promoted Driver positions that require
additional and ongoing safe driver training.

23 NFPA Journal, U.S. Firefighter Injuries 2017, Nov-Dec 2018.

ESC) Emergency Services
Consulting International 75

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

Considerable ongoing local, regional, and national discussion and debate draws a strong focus and attention
to the matter of firefighter staffing. Frequently, this discussion is set in the context of firefighter safety. The
jurisdiction may choose to establish response demand zones and use the criteria outlined in NFPA standards.
As detailed in the Historical System Performance section of this report, NFPA 1710, 2020 edition, specifies the
number of firefighters assigned to an engine company to be “minimum of four on-duty members personnel
per engine company.”**

ESCI notes that the more critical issue is the number of firefighters assembled at the scene of an incident in
conjunction with the scope and magnitude of the job tasks expected of them, regardless of the type or
number of vehicles upon which they arrive. NFPA 1710 recommends that the number of on-duty fire
suppression members shall be sufficient to perform the necessary firefighting operations given the expected
firefighting conditions.” The standard further recommends that the numbers shall be determined through
task analyses that take the following factors into consideration.

Figure 56. Staffing Factors”®

Staffing Factors

Life hazard to the populace protected.

Provisions of safe and effective firefighting performance conditions for the firefighters.
Potential property loss.

Nature, configuration, hazards, and internal protection of the properties involved.

Types of fireground tactics and evolutions employed as standard procedure, type of
apparatus used, and results expected to be obtained at the fire scene.

Staff Scheduling Methodology

The total number of positions required becomes a policy decision based on the needs of the jurisdiction. The
jurisdiction also establishes the number of employees needed above the minimum to allow for vacancies due
to vacation, sick, and other types of leave. This staff requirement above the minimum yields a total number
of full-time employees required to ensure necessary daily minimum staffing is achieved according to policy.
Minimum staffing for Nashua Fire Rescue is four firefighters per engine company or ladder company.

Nashua Fire Rescue uses a four-platoon (shift) system that uses rotations of one 10-hour day that is
immediately followed by one 14-hour night, and then either 48 or 96 hours off. This rotation yields a 42-hour
average workweek over an eight-week cycle for shift operations. Each shift is led by a Deputy Chief (4 total)
who serves as the senior officer on the shift. These Deputy Chiefs answer directly to the Assistant Chief, who
is on a weekly 40-hour schedule and occasionally assumes an operational role as needed. These individuals
are responsible for all aspects of the shift operations and serve as the Fire Chief's representative at significant
incidents.

24 NFPA 1710 2020 ed.: 5.2.3.1.1.
25 NFPA 1710 2020 ed.: 5.2.2*.
26 NFPA 1710 2020 ed.: 5.2.2.1.

ESC) Emergency Services 6
Consulting International 7

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

The staffing methodology used by Nashua Fire Rescue is very common across the United States for
firefighters working a 10-hour day/14-hour night schedule.

A common industry practice to achieve optimal staffing and efficiency is to determine the appropriate
minimum staffing factor and then the relief factor based on the needed coverage for sick, vacation, and other
unplanned leave.

Minimum Staffing Factor Determination

The starting point for the analysis was to determine the minimum number of personnel needed to fill the
minimum 38 daily staffing positions for fire operations and avoid overtime for unscheduled hours.

Minimum Staffing
= 365 days per year x 24 hours per day = 8,760 hours per year per position.
= 8,760 hours per year x 38 minimum positions daily = 332,880 hours per year that must be staffed for
24/7 coverage.
=" 42-hour workweek equals 2,184 scheduled hours per position annually: 332,880/2,184 = 152.4 FTE
positions for minimum staffing.
= Nashua Fire Rescue currently has 152 FTEs budgeted for operations staffing.

Relief Factor

The next staffing factor to be analyzed is the “relief factor,” or the amount of additional FTE positions needed
to reasonably cover “off time” including, leave, training, vacancies, etc. The following is an industry-accepted
methodology used to determine a relief factor to cover paid leave, training time off, and vacancies
adequately for 24-hour fire and EMS department shifts. Determining the relief factor is outlined in the
following:

= The average of Nashua Fire Rescue FY 2017-19 firefighter paid leave, time off for training, unscheduled
time off, and position vacancies is 54,720 hours annually.

= 54,720 hours divided by the scheduled 2,184 hours per position annually = 25.1 FTEs of annual coverage
required for time off.

= When the total average time off per FTE (360) is subtracted from the total annual hours per FTE (2,184)
the result is an average of 1,824 hours per year actually worked.

= By dividing total annual hours scheduled (2,184) by hours actually worked (1,824), a relief factor of 1.2%
is achieved.

= This results in a total of 176 operational FTEs or 44 FTEs per shift using the 1.2% relief factor.

In some fire and EMS departments, the need to apply the relief factor to a specific rank or classification is
needed based on staffing criteria or these instances. The above exercise considers the entire operations
staffing group and does not distinguish between officer and line staffing or the use of operations staff in other
areas. In these cases, the relief factor may be more or less than the overall number identified here. This
becomes a policy decision and is usually based on specific staffing needs or criteria of the specific rank or
classification in question.

fj Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 77

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

Deployment Methods and Staffing Performance for Incidents
NFPA 1710 addresses apparatus staffing, response time, and the effective firefighting force (also referred to

as the effective response force), which is the minimum number of firefighters to carry out essential fireground
tasks.

Fire Responses

The number and types of tasks needing simultaneous action dictate the minimum number of firefighters
required to combat different types of fires. In the absence of adequate personnel to perform concurrent
action, the commanding officer must prioritize the tasks and complete some in chronological order, rather
than concurrently. These tasks include:

= Command = Water supply

= Scene safety «= Pump operation

» Search and rescue = Ventilation

= Fire attack » Back-up/rapid intervention

The following figure describes initial full alarm assignments for a residential structure fire, open-air shopping
center fire, and an apartment fire. All three of these types of occupancies are common throughout Nashua.
These are generalizations representative of different types of structures and risks. Each department may
handle these types of fires with fewer or more personnel; however, this describes the work functions that
must take place for the handling of a fire.

When a fire escalates beyond what can be handled by the initial assignment, the fire has unusual
characteristics such as a wind-driven fire, or has been accelerated with a highly flammable compound,
additional personnel will be needed. There are also types of scenarios that may not be fires, but mass casualty
incidents, explosions, tornadoes, etc., that may require additional staffing. It is difficult or impossible to staff
for these worse case incidents. These require a strong mutual aid or automatic aid plan for assistance.

NFPA 1710 states that in response zones with high numbers of incidents, geographical restrictions,
geographical isolations, or urban areas the engine and truck staffing should be increased to five, while in
response zones with tactical hazards, high-hazard occupancies, or dense urban areas, the staffing should be
increased to six. The standard defines the term geographical isolation as areas where over 80% of the
response area is outside of a 10-minute response of the next closest fire suppression unit, and geographical
restriction as being where there are predictable response delays.

fj Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 78

Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

Figure 57. NFPA 1710 Initial Full Alarm Assignments

2,000 SF Residential Structure Open-Air Shopping Center 1,200 SF Apartment
at (13,000 SF to 196,000 SF) (3-story garden apartment)

Incident Commander Incident Commander Incident Commander

Water Supply Operator Water Supply Operators Water Supply Operators

2 Application Hose Lines 3 Application Hose Lines 3 Application Hose Lines

1 Support Member per line 1 Support Member per line 1 Support Member per line

Victim Search and Rescue Team Victim Search and Rescue Team Victim Search and Rescue Team

Ground Ladder Deployment Ground Ladder Deployment Ground Ladder Deployment

Aerial Device Operator Aerial Device Operator Aerial Device Operator

Blo MiN|y|R oH) a
Boo BIR LWIA NY ND

Rapid Intervention Crew Rapid Intervention Crew Rapid Intervention Crew

EMS Care Crew EMS Care Crew

Ph toh aa) tol a

The minimum response to the benchmark structures is 17 firefighters for a residential structure, 28 for an
open-air shopping center, and 28 for an apartment. The previous standard was 15 firefighters for residential
structures. The two additional positions required in the 2020 standard result from an increase in the
recommended size of the rapid intervention crew (RIC). As previously noted, both NFPA 1500 and OSHA 29
CFR 1910.134(g)(4) require a minimum of a team with at least two members located outside an immediately

NO FF HSH Pe PF WW NN

dangerous to life and health (IDLH) atmosphere to monitor and provide emergency rescue for responders
until a more formalized rapid intervention crew is created; this is generally referred to as “two-in/two-out.”
The four-person RIC outlined in the revised standard must consist of an officer and three firefighters.

The following is Nashua Fire Rescue’s initial assignment for a Reported Working Structure Fire (residential or
commercial). Nashua deploys 18 firefighters, thus exceeding the NFPA 1710 Standard of 17 firefighters by
one firefighter

Figure 58. Nashua Initial Assignment First Alarm - Reported Working Fire

Apparatus Firefighters

Two Engines 8
One Aerial 4
One Deputy Chief with SMT 2
One Engine (RIT) 4

Total 18

ESC) Emergency Services
Consulting International 79