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Master Plan

Itemized Grant Awards 2016 through 2020 are as follows.

Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

Figure 48. Itemized List of Nashua Fire Rescue FEMA/State Grants, FY 2016-2020

ce cc

2016 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Rope Rescue Equipment
Grant Training
2016 SHSP - State of New Haz Mat Level B Suits
Hampshire Hazardous Assay Reader Meter
Materials
FEMA Pass-Through Grant
2017. + SHSP - State of New Leak Sealing Kit
Hampshire Hazardous Fan Lockout Kit
Materials Bonding Kit
FEMA Pass-Through Grant
2018 | Firehouse Subs Particulate Blocking Hoods
2018 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Rescue Truck
Grant
2019 | SHSP- State of New Hampshire [Leak Control Kits,
Hazardous Materials Drum Repair Kits

FEMA Pass-Through Grant

$86,000

$22,326

$15,293

$15,010
$650,000

$7,295.00

The following figure illustrates the Nashua Fire Rescue Recurring Fund Balances for 2016 through 2020.

Figure 49. Nashua Fire Rescue Recurring Fund Balances, FY 2016-2020

$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
S-

2016 2017 2018 2019

mus Expendable Trust Fund
mum Special Revenue/Revolvong Funds

seececeee 2 per. Mov. Avg. (Expendable Trust Fund)

seseseses 2 per. Mov. Avg. (Special Revenue/Revolvong Funds)

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Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

Current or Upcoming Areas of Interest

In 1993, Nashua voters passed a Budget Control Charter Amendment that limited budget growth to an
increase of no more than the average annual consumer price index (CPI-U) over the past 3 years. This could
severely limit the flexibility of the city to respond during an economic crisis. In 2019, the New Hampshire
Supreme Court upheld the decision by lower courts that the Amendment was unenforceable, making this no
longer a concern.

The City has an ordinance stating that its policy is to maintain a minimum unassigned general fund balance
of 10% of the fiscal year appropriations. This allows for additional reserves as well.

The City of Nashua continues to perform well in all audits and has been awarded the Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the
United States and Canada for its CAFR for the past 14 fiscal years.

MANAGEMENT COMPONENTS
Effective fire department management is a common challenge for fire service leaders. Today's fire
departments must address management complexities that include an effective organizational structure,
adequacy of response, maintenance of competencies, a qualified workforce, and financial sustainability for
the future. In the following report section, ESCI examined Nashua Fire Rescue’s current efforts to manage
the organization, and identified measures and best practices as the Department moves into the future.

The development of baseline management components in an organization enables it to move forward in an
organized and effective manner. In the absence of foundational management elements, the organization will
tend to operate in a random and generally ineffective manner.

NFPA 1201: Standard for Providing Fire and Emergency Services to the Public, addresses the need to have an
adopted master plan, an established organizational structure, established mutual aid systems, and a variety
of other managerial attributes in place to best serve the community effectively. Of specific focus are mission,
vision, and values statements that can be utilized as the department moves forward.

Mission, Vision, and Organizational Values

A mission statement is an explanation of the organization's reason for existence. The mission statement
supports the vision and communicates purpose and direction to employees, customers, and other
stakeholders. The mission statement should answer the questions “What is our organization's purpose?” and
“Why does our organization exist?” As illustrated below, Nashua Fire Rescue's Mission Statement answers
these questions.

Figure 50. Nashua Fire Rescue’s Mission Statement

To create a safe and vibrant community through risk reduction, preparedness,
and a proactive all hazards response plan.

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Avision statement establishes the ideal image that the organization wishes to achieve. The vision statement
should answer the questions “Where are we headed?” and “If we achieved all strategic goals, what would we
look like 10 years from now?” Nashua Fire Rescue’s Vision Statement answers these questions.

Figure 51. Nashua Fire Rescue’s Vision Statement

To be the premier emergency services provider in our region that is constantly striving for excellence
in service delivery through education, innovation, teamwork and collaboration.

We place extreme value on continually evaluating Nashua Fire Rescue’s policies, procedures, and
training guidelines in order to provide our customers and personnel with the safest environment
possible.

An organizational values statement includes the core principles that guide the organization and its culture.
In avalues-led organization, the values quide decision-making and establish a standard against which actions
can be assessed. The values statement should answer the questions “What values should guide the
operations of our organization?” and “What conduct should our employees uphold?” The Organizational
Values Statements listed below clearly identify the values that guide the operations of Nashua Fire Rescue
and are upheld by the Department’s members.

Figure 52. Nashua Fire Rescue’s Organizational Values

Our core values are driven by:

Accountability Personal, to each other and our community
Compassion We demonstrate kindness and empathy

Dedication We are committed to our organization and community
Ethics We will consistently strive to do the right thing
Honesty Truth and fairness in endeavors large and small
Integrity We adhere to sound moral principals

ESCI commends Nashua Fire Rescue for having established clear mission and vision statements as well as
relevant organizational values. Just as the operations of a fire and EMS department are dynamic, so are the
guiding principles for the organization. These components can change as the department and community
change.

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Julie Chakraverty recently wrote an article for Forbes.com titled Company Vision and Values: Do They Still
Matter??? In this article, she cited a recent report from the World Economic Forum that found that a “sense
of purpose” in work is the second most important criteria for millennials considering a job, after salary. Ms.
Chakraverty concluded that given that this generation will make up the majority of the workforce in coming
years, it is not difficult to predict that if candidates for employment do not believe or support an
organization’s mission, they will not accept a job offer. This can lead to recruitment challenges. Ms.
Chakraverty’s research further suggested that employees aged between 45 and 54-years-old and 55 to 64-
years-old—not uncommon age groups for management—were the least likely age groups to be able to recite
their organizations’ s mission and vision.

Nashua Fire Rescue’s Mission, Vision, and Organizational Values were last approved on January 8, 2018.
Nashua Fire Rescue’s Mission, Goals, and Values are typically updated annually at the Board of Fire
Commissioners’ organizational meeting in January. ESCl commends Nashua Fire Rescue for its commitment
to this process to ensure that these management components accurately reflect the current organization
and the service demand from the community.

Organizational Planning Processes

Now more than any other time in the history of the United States, fire and emergency services agencies
operate in a rapidly changing environment. Along with improved tools and technologies used to provide
service, there is the increased regulation of activities, new risks to protect, and other challenges that can
quickly catch the unwary off guard. Only through continuous internal and external environmental awareness
and periodic course corrections can an organization stay on the leading edge.

For Nashua to do the best job possible with available resources, the focus must be on improving services
while identifying programs or activities that may no longer serve its changing needs. Through planning, a fire
and EMS department is able to establish a vision, create a framework within which decisions are made, and
chart its course to the future. The quality and accuracy of the planning function determine the success of the
organization.

To be truly effective, an emergency services agency must consider planning on four distinct levels:

22 Attps://www.forbes.com/sites/voicesfromeurope/2018/03/28/company-vision-and-val… 5677b217f.

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Figure 53. Levels of Planning

1. Tactical Planning The development of strategies for potential emergency
incidents.
2. Operational Planning The organization of day-to-day activities, as primarily

outlined by a department's standard operating guidelines
and procedures. This includes the integration of the agency
into other local, regional, or national response network.

3. Master Planning Preparation for the long-term effectiveness of the agency
as the operating environment changes over time.

4. Strategic Planning The process of identifying an organization's mission, vision,
and values and prioritizing goals and objectives for things
that need to be accomplished in the near future.

Without effective planning, it is impossible for any organization to know when it is reaching milestones or
providing exceptional services to its constituency. The National Fire Protection Association has established
NFPA 1600: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity/Continuity of Operations
Programs and NFPA 1201: Standard for Providing Fire and Emergency Services to the Public, as standards to
assist fire and EMS departments in establishing and maintaining planning documents and conducting
planning activities.

Tactical Planning in the Organization

Beyond the fire station, the firefighter’s emergency operational work environment is, more often than not,
an unknown environment. Normally, a firefighter’s first visit to a building is when the building is involved in
a fire or another emergency. In the case of a fire, the internal environment is at its worst. Contrary to movie
portrayals, visibility during a fire is at or near zero due to smoke. A lack of familiarity with a building can easily
lead a firefighter to become disoriented or injured by an unfamiliar internal layout, or by equipment or other
hazards that might be encountered.

It is critically important that firefighters and command staff have comprehensive, accurate information
readily at hand to identify hazards, direct tactical operations, and use built-in fire-resistive features. This can
only be accomplished by building familiarization tours, developing pre-fire plans, and conducting tactical
exercises, either on-site or by tabletop simulation.

ESCI recommends that Nashua Fire Rescue purchase a software program that is specifically designed to
make the information that is collected during pre-plans readily accessible to firefighters in an emergency.
Many such programs are on the market including Streetwise, Blazmark, and Raxar, among others.

Operational Planning in the Organization

Operational planning includes the establishment of minimum staffing policies, standardized response plans
or protocols, regional incident command planning, mutual and automatic aid planning (locally and
regionally), resource identification and planning, and disaster planning.

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Within any agency, operational plans should be in place that ensure adequate volumes of the appropriate
types of resources are deployed to an emergency. Doing so involves:

« Identification of potential risk types;
« Determination of resources needed to mitigate an incident affecting the particular risk type; and

«= A methodology of ensuring that adequate resources are dispatched to an incident via 911 center
protocols.

The development and implementation of rules, regulations, and policies have enabled Nashua to move
forward in an organized and effective manner. In the absence of these documents, an organization will tend
to operate in a random and generally ineffective manner. Currently, Nashua Fire Rescue possesses a series
of documented rules, regulations, and policies to be utilized by members at all organization levels.

Nashua Fire Rescue’s Rules and Regulations require a complete review. The current policy of reviewing and
updating by a committee comprised of uniformed members, administration, and the Board of Fire
Commissioners on an “as-needed” basis has resulted in several years passing since the last full review and
revision has occurred. ESCI suggests that rather than leaving the policy review schedule open to
interpretation of “as needed”, that Nashua Fire Rescue set a review schedule that provides for every policy
to be reviewed and updated no less than every three years. This review should also include an annual gap
analysis to identify the need for new rules and regulations. Nashua Fire Rescue would benefit from having
review of all rules and regulations conducted by an independent third-party to assure compliance with
industry standards and best practices.

General Orders are kept on file in the Administration Office and are available for reference by all members
onthe department's intranet.

Master Planning in the Organization

Master or long-range planning is preparation for Nashua Fire Rescue’s future service delivery effectiveness
based on projections of the future service delivery environment. This long-range master plan focuses on the
big picture perspective, distant future needs of Nashua, and is particularly important in an agency
experiencing growth. The need for stronger planning processes is communicated regularly by members of
the fire service and the community members it serves. Fire service organizations that engage in a long-range
master planning process will be able to utilize this valuable information to answer the following three
questions:

1. Where is the organization today?
2. Where will the organization need to be in the future?

3. How will this organization get there?

Nashua Fire Rescue has contracted ESCI to develop a Master Plan. This Master Plan will give Nashua a clear
idea of where it is today based on an evaluation of current conditions. The Master Plan will also project the
future needs of Nashua Fire Rescue, along with providing the strategies to meet them. A master plan is
designed to provide a view of the organization in a 15-year time frame.

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Strategic Planning in the Organization

Strategic planning supports the organization’s mission and sets and prioritizes short-term internal goals. A
strategic plan typically involves a three-to-five-year planning window. Community involvement in the
process is critical as the strategic plan should be customer-oriented while accomplishing the following:

= Development of a mission statement giving careful attention to the services currently provided and
which logically can be provided in the future.

= Development of a vision statement of the agency moving forward.

« Establish the values of the members of the agency.

= Identification of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of the agency.
= Determination of the community’s service priorities.

» Understanding the community’s expectations of the agency.

» Establishment of realistic goals and objectives for the future.

« — Identifications of implementation tasks for each objective.

= Definition of service outcomes in the form of measurable performance objectives and targets.

Nashua Fire Rescue does not have a current strategic plan in place. Once the Nashua Fire Rescue master plan
is formulated, the list of recommendations, guidance for changes, and new initiatives will provide direction
for developing a new strategic plan, as it is the most effective way to prioritize and plan for implementation
of the master plan’s findings. The strategic planning process would ideally result in a three-to-five-year work
plan, intended to guide the work effort of the entire organization toward a common set of goals and
objectives. The process should include representation from every major interest group in the organization.
Each person in the department should feel that their interests are represented by someone in attendance on
the planning team.

Internal Communications Processes

Internally, Nashua Fire Rescue provides a variety of methods to communicate with staff members. These
include monthly staff meetings where written minutes of the meetings are distributed to those not in
attendance at the monthly meeting. The Department uses email, intranet, and written memorandums to
distribute information within the organization.

Internal communications were repeatedly identified as a major deficiency within Nashua Fire Rescue during
both the member interviews and in the member survey. Members requested more engagement from the
Department leadership. Specifically, members would like to see more of the leadership and have time to talk
with them on both a professional and personal level.

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Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH

When asked in the survey what was the best method for communications within Nashua Fire Rescue, the two
most common responses were email and face-to-face communications. Many of the respondents felt that
these two forms of communication were best used in tandem. There were multiple requests for start-of-shift
briefings so that everyone knows what to expect. There was a common theme in the responses that some of
the current Deputy Chiefs regularly visit the station in person more often than others. There was a perception
that the crews who received personal visits from the deputies were better informed than those who only
received emails.

External Communications Processes

Externally, Nashua Fire Rescue maintains a website to provide information to its customers, but it does not
have a formal citizen feedback/input mechanism in place to receive necessary end-user feedback. The
department uses Facebook (2,000 followers) and Twitter (3,000 followers) in an effort to communicate key
information to its customers. Historically, successful fire departments have used a community newsletter to
communicate with the citizens of their jurisdictions. Now, these same agencies have begun to transition to
social media platforms as the customer base has begun to express an expectation of digital communication
and in a more real-time environment.

ESCI recommends that Nashua Fire Rescue continue to develop its social media presence in an effort to
provide information to, and receive information from, its customers. It is also recommended that Nashua Fire
Rescue evaluate the use of a survey tool to collect performance feedback of those citizens who have used the
services of Nashua Fire Rescue. The gathering of information directly from these individuals will allow
Department and City leadership to key in on specific performance issues that allow for intervention in a
timelier manner, as well as highlight those performance issues that customers indicate as being of high value.

Reporting and Recordkeeping

Nashua Fire Rescue uses reporting and recordkeeping processes and procedures generally considered
consistent with the practices observed in most fire departments across the United States. These records
include patient care reports, emergency incident reports, as well as equipment service and maintenance
records. Service records include those conducted internally as well as those completed by external service
providers for critical equipment, including annual ladder testing and self-contained breathing apparatus
(SCBA) units.

Document Control and Security

The Department has established processes and procedures for the security of both digital and hard copy
records. All digital records are backed-up locally as well as off-site.

Nashua Fire Rescue has implemented computers at all fire stations to use in recording incidents, accessing
emails and Department operating procedures, and recording equipment inventories. At the time of this
report, the Department did not have a formal IT management strategy in place.

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Technology is an evolving field and agencies failing to have plans in place to address ongoing changes in
operating systems can be caught in a position of being required to expend significant and finite budget
revenues to update computers no longer supported by manufacturers. As part of its records management
efforts, the Department utilizes Alpine RedNMX RMS® and Windows® based computers to accomplish its
organizational responsibilities. The Department uses the City’s IT services to maintain its computer inventory
and securely store digital records off-site. ESCI recommends that Nashua Fire Rescue work with its IT services
to ensure an effective IT management strategy is in place to address current and future department related
software are operated and maintained in accordance to standards within NFPA 950: Standard for Data
Development and Exchange for the Fire Service and NFPA 951: Guide to Building and Utilizing Digital
Information.

Information Technology (IT) is a challenge within Nashua Fire Rescue. The city currently staffs a central IT
Division that services all city departments with the exception of the police department. In recent years, the
fire department has become increasingly more reliant on computers, laptops and tablets for both routine and
emergency operations more. The fire department should consider staffing a dedicated IT position to support
these applications.

Interviews with various stakeholders indicated that Nashua Fire Rescue sometimes encounters challenges
with ensuring accountability for reading and confirming understanding of the new, or updated, policy when
placed onto the intranet. ESCI recommends that Nashua Fire Rescue implement the use of an online
platform, such as Target Solutions®, as a mechanism to inform individuals when new policies and procedures
are published. This system allows each employee to receive the new documents personally and acknowledge
receipt with an electronic timestamp. The system also enables the Department to require each employee to
answer questions specific to the document's content and ensure the employee receives the desired
information. Since Nashua Fire Rescue is preparing to begin using the Target Solutions® platform in its
Training Program, using the program to track policies and procedures would be a logical next step.

Facility Security

Fire departments have typically been considered to be open environments where residents and visitors from
the community have been allowed access to any part of a fire station with very few limitations. Unfortunately,
the current social environment requires emergency services providers to implement specific security
measures limiting and controlling access to fire department facilities. This is driven by the need to protect
firefighters, expensive equipment, and sensitive data from inadvertently being accessed by individuals
desiring to harm the community.

ESCI recommends that the Department implement video monitoring and recording at exterior entry points
to ensure an increased level of security and awareness as to who is or attempting to enter Nashua Fire Rescue
facilities. The Department should also evaluate the implementation of an access card system that identifies
each fire department member accessing facilities. This evaluation should also include the ability of Nashua
Fire Rescue leadership to change access of a staff member immediately from a central location based upon
a member’s employment status or operational concern.

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