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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012/12/04 Item 04CITY COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT ~`~/~ CITY OF ~` CHULA VISTA DECEMBER 4, 2012, Item ITEM TITLE: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING AN ASSISTANCE BY HIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO FIRE- RESCUE DEPARTMENT AND THE CHULA VISTA FIRE DEPARTMENT REGARDING THE- PROVISION OF HELICOPTER SERVICES SUBMITTED BY: FIRE CHIEF ~'°" REVIEWED BY: CITY MANAGER ASSISTANT CITY NAGER ~7~ 4/STHS VOTE: YES ~X NO SUMMARY The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) currently owns two helicopters which it wishes to make available throughout San Diego County in the interest of public safety. These helicopters provide crucial capabilities such as: water dropping capabilities for firefighting, rescue/winch operations for evacuating victims, reconnaissance, and night time flights. Agencies wishing to obtain the services of these helicopters are required to agree to the terms and conditions of "Assistance by hire" agreement. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This proposed activity has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and it has been determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a physical change in the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary. RECOMMENDATION That Council adopts the resolution. BOARDS/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION N/A 4-1 DECEMBER 4, 2012, Item Page 2 of 4 DISCUSSION SDFD operates two helicopters for firefighting and rescue services. In the event only one helicopter is available within the City of San Diego, the helicopter will not be made available to outside agencies for emergency response needs, unless it is authorized by the SDFD shift commander. SDFD will not charge requesting agencies for helicopter needs in the following situations: 1. Incidents threatening the City of San Diego: This includes aone-mile wide "mutual threat zone" around the city border. Requests outside of this threat zone that may represent a threat to the City will be considered by the SDFD shift commander. 2. Incidents meeting the San Diego Service Authority for Freeway (SAFE) Motorist Aid Program Agreement and Regional Helicopter Advisory Committee (BRAG) criteria. This includes: a. Motor vehicle accidents, vehicle fires, or medical needs not created by an accident. b. Vegetation fires where the fire has crossed or has the potential to cross the roadway. c. Vegetation fires where smoke or ash from the fire has or is likely to obscure the motorist's view of the roadway and thereby create a hazazd. d. Emergencies where fire and/or emergency equipment pazked at or near the scene of the emergency adversely affect the flow of traffic. e. Command and control for major incidents impacting the roadways. f. Incidents where the roadway is closed, or traffic speeds severely curtailed because of law enforcement or HAZMAT operations, and the helicopter assists in mitigating traffic congestion. 3. Reciprocal Mutual Aid to the County of San Diego when the helicopters operated by the Sherriff s Office are unavailable. In recognition that the hours of operation and mission capabilities of the two helicopter programs aze not the same, this reciprocal mutual aid shall be provided to the County only if all four criteria listed below are met: a. The request for support is for an incident in an unincorporated azea of San Diego County. b. The aid is to be provided during normal operating hours of the Sherriff's helicopter program. a Aid is limited to the provision of mission capabilities normally provided by the Sherriff's helicopter program (i.e., fire suppression and search and rescue). d. The aid is limited to periods of helicopter unavailability due to commitments to fire-rescue incidents or maintenance, but not law enforcement incidents. 4-2 DECEMBER 4, 2012, Item Page 3 of 4 4. An emergency in another jurisdiction posing significant life threat as determined by the SDFD shift commander, and the air resource that would normally be requested is unavailable. Requests for out-of San Diego City responses that do not meet the above criteria will require that the requesting agency having jurisdiction (AHJ) agree to pay for helicopter services rendered by the SDFD via Assistance by Hire (ABH) payment agreement at the current hourly flight and personnel rates. SDFD reserves the right to recall its helicopters if needed for response in the City of San Diego or as deemed necessary even when operating in another city under the ABH agreement. The Chula Vista Fire Depaztment has a vested interest in maintaining access of these air resources for the purposes of reducing life and property losses during fires and medical emergencies within the City limits. These assets are extremely valuable for their water dropping capabilities for vegetation and wildland /urban interface fires and for transporting the critically injured. On average, these helicopters aze used more than half a dozen times each year within the City of Chula Vista. DECISION MAKER CONFLICT Staff has determined that the action contemplated by this item is ministerial in nature and does not require the City Council members to make or participate in making a governmental decision, pursuant to California Code of Regulations section 18702.4(a). Consequently, this item does not present a conflict under the Political Reform Act (Cal. Gov't Code § 87100, et seq.). CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IMPACT Operating costs under this agreement for services not covered in the SDFD Concept of Operations (CONOPS) document are subject to a rate of $3,250 per flight hour. Fee covers operating costs for the helicopter and personnel staffing the helicopter. Over the last several years, the Fire Department has requested these services from the City of San Diego approximately six to eight times per year and 1 to 3 hours per incident. The actual fiscal impact will depend on the number of times these services aze requested but based on past experience, it is anticipated that these services will cost between $26,000 and $78,000 on an annual basis. The Fire Department is not requesting an appropriation at this time for this contract but may need an additional appropriation in the current fiscal year if these services are required. ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT The actual fiscal impact will depend on the number of times these services aze requested on an annual basis. Based on past experience, it is anticipated that these services will cost between $26,000 and $78,000 on an annual basis. 4-3 DECEMBER 4, 2012, Item Page 4 of 4 ATTACHMENTS • SDFD CONOPS • SDFD ABH Agreement Prepared by: John Davidson, Deputy Chief, Fire Department 4-4 ~.iCH MI RAMAR 'IRAMAR RESERVOIR SERVOIR /POM~Rp00 ~' ~:r AIREM~~~ =... MESP ~~: © M\SSION ~,ORGE SAN DIEGO - ,, i ''i\ ~j O P~ SANTEE ,_.® NAVAJO THE ATTACHED AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED AS TO FORM BY THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND WILL BE FORMALLY SIGNED UPON APPROVAL BY THE CITY COUNCIL /' ~l` ~ l~-~ Glen R. oogins City Attorney Dated: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ z ASSISTANCE BY HIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO FIRE RESCUE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA REGARDING THE PROVISION OF HELICPOTER SERVICES 4-6 ASSISTANCE BY HIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO FIRE- RESCUE DEPARTMENT AND CHULA VISTA FIRE DEPARTMENT REGARDING THE PROVISION OF HELICOPTER SERVICES. Recitals: The City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (hereafter "SDFD") currently owns two helicopters which it wishes to make available throughout San Diego County in the interests of public safety. The Chula Vista Fire Department (hereafter "AGENCY") desires to obtain the services of these helicopters on an "assistance by hire" basis. SDFD and AGENCY have agreed upon the services to be provided and the terms and conditions under which those services will be provided as illustrated in the attached Concept of Operations (hereafter "CONOPS") document. In consideration of the mutual promises, covenants and conditions herein exchanged, the parties do mutually agree as follows: Oblieations of the SDFD: Helicopter use: a. Provide AGENCY with the use of SDFD owned helicopters pursuant to the attached CONOPS. b. Only SDFD owned helicopters will be subject to this agreement. c. As stated in the attached CONOPS, SDFD reserves the right to recall its helicopters at any time. 2. Dispatching: a. The SDFD owned helicopter will be dispatched by the SDFD pursuant to the attached CONOPS. b. SDFD cannot guarantee that a helicopter will be available for AGENCY. Helicopter availability policies are outlined in the CONOPS. Oblieations of AGENCY: Payment for Services a. AGENCY agrees to pay SDFD for performance of services under this agreement at a rate of $3,250 per flight hour for the operating costs of the helicopter and SDFD personnel staffing the helicopter. i. The billing period will begin at the time of dispatch to AGENCY'S request up until the time the call is cleared by the SDFD. b. The cost of $3,250 per flight hour will serve as the base contract year cost. Future flight hour costs will be subject to annual cost of operating/living increases calculated by SDFD. c. Costs for performance shall be invoiced to AGENCY by the SDFD within 30 calendar days of AGENCY'S request for service. 4-7 d. AGENCY shall be invoiced to the following point of contact: ii. iii. Telephone ('nl ~ ~ ~ ~~l ~ S`L~..~ J iv. Email (~_ ~j~~~,.~~~tr.,JC~ ~,Lt~J~A~ tS'~.A~yjoJi~ e. All payments for service under this agreement shall be made within 30 calendar days of invoice receipt and shall be delivered to the following address: Fiscal Services Director, San Diego Fire-Rescue, 1010 Second Ave., Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92101. f. Any disputes as to the amount billed shall be addressed to the SDFD with any supporting documentation. 2. Release of Liability a. AGENCY shall hold harmless, defend and indemnify the City, the SDFD and/or its other agents or employees from an against any and all liabilities, claims, demands, actions, loses, damages, and costs arising from or in any manner connected directly or indirectly with this agreement. Amendment• This agreement and its attachments may only be amended by mutual written consent of the parties. Termination• This agreement may be terminated by either party by a (30-day) written notice. Between , ,,/+ Name: Dave Hanneman Javier Mainar Title: Fire Chief Agency: Chula Vista Fire Department Approved as to form and legality on this Fire-Rescue Chief San Diego Fire-Rescue Department day of , 20_. Name: Noah Brazier Deputy City Attorney, City of San Diego 4-8 Special Operations Section. Air Operations Division Date: October 1, 2012 Page 1 of 4 Puraose This Concept of Operations (CONOPS) has been developed to assist the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) and all County fire service agencies in determining authorized conditions of use of SDFD helicopters. Scope This CONOPS provides guidelines concerning SDFD's evaluation and authorization of air operations mission requests outside the City of San Diego. This CONOPS only applies to SDFD owned helicopters; it does not apply to other aircraft that may be managed by SDFD under various agreements (e.g.; SDG&E and Erickson helitankers). These guidelines supersede operational policies and procedures in effect prior to July 1, 2012. CONOPS Outside Citv of San Diego If there is only one SDFD helicopter available within the City of San Diego (City), the helicopter will not be made available for outside responses unless specifically authorized by the SDFD Shift Commander (SC) utilizing the same criteria established for the availability of two helicopters. If two helicopters are available (typically July-December), one can be automatically dispatched by the SDFD Fire Communications Center (FCC) under the five conditions listed below. The second helicopter can only be dispatched to an outside response upon approval of the Shift Commander. SDFD helicopter responses made in the following situations will be at no chazge to the requesting agency: 1. Incidents threatening the City of San Diego. a. Specific areas posing a potential threat have been identified on a map to be included as an attachment to this CONOPS. These azeas will be referred to as "Mutual Threat Zones" (MTZ). MTZ's may extend one (1) nautical mile outward from the City's border. MTZ is geographical area between two or more jurisdictions into which both agencies would respond. b. Requests to support incidents located outside these azeas and that may represent a threat to the City will be considered by the on-duty SDFD Shift Commander on a case by case basis. c. Additional considerations in determining a threat to the City may include, but are not limited to: 4-9 Special Operations Section Air Operations Division Date: October 1, 2012 i, Page 2 of 4 • Incident Type • Weather conditions; o SDFD Pocket Card Coastal: Wind speed over 15 mph, RH less than 30%, temperature over 75 F, burning index over 52 o SDFD Pocket Card Inland: Wind speed over 15 mph, RH less than 30%, temperature over 75 F, burning index over 106 • Fuel • Topography • County/State resource availability 2. Incidents meeting the San Diego Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SAFE) Motorist Aid Program Agreement and the Regional Helicopter Advisory Committee (BRAG) criteria for roadway and motorist aid related responses within the City and County of San Diego, as listed below: a. Motor vehicle accidents, vehicle fires, or medical needs not created by an accident; b. Vegetation fires where the fire has crossed or has the potential to cross the roadway; c. Vegetation fires where smoke or ash from the fue has or is likely to obscure the motorist's view of the roadway and thereby create a hazard; d. Emergencies where fire and/or emergency equipment parked at or near the scene of the emergency adversely affects the flow oftraffic; e. Command and control for major incidents impacting the roadways; f. Incidents where the roadway is closed, or traffic speeds severely curtailed because of law enforcement or HA7MAT operations, and the helicopter assists in mitigating traffic congestion; g. Other incidents evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 3. Incidents tied to a response requirement under the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Grant Funding Agreement as noted below: a. Incidents occurring at casinos or on tribal lands (Barona, Golden Acorn, Pala, Pauma, Rincon, Santa Ysabel, Sycuan, Valley View, and Viejas) and major county roads leading to them. 4-10 Special Operations Section Air Operations Division Date: October 1, 2012 Page 3 of 4 4. Reciprocal Mutual Aid to the County of San Diego when the fire-rescue helicopters operated by the Sheriff s Office are unavailable. In recognition that the hours of operation and mission capabilities ofthe two helicopter programs are not the same, this reciprocal mutual aid shall be provided to the County only if all four criteria listed below are met: a. The request for support is for an incident in an unincorporated area of San Diego County. b. The aid is to be provided during the normal operating hours ofthe Sheriff sFire-Rescue Helicopter Program. c. The aid is limited to the provision of mission capabilities noriitally provided by the Sheriff sFire-Rescue Helicopter Program (i.e.; fire suppression and search and rescue). d. The aid is limited to periods of helicopter unavailability due to commitment to fire- rescue incidents or maintenance, but not law enforcement incidents. 5. An emergency in another jurisdiction posing a sienificant life threat, as determined by the SDFD Shift Commander, and the air resource that would normally be requested is unavailable. Requests for out-of--city responses that do not meet the above criteria will require that the requesting Agency Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) agree to pay for helicopter services rendered by the City of San Diego via Assistance by Hire (ABH payment agreement at the current hourly flight and personnel rates. Agencies within the County will be encouraged to enter into an ABH agreement with SDFD to facilitate timely response to requests for helicopter assistance. If a request is received from an agency that does not have a current ABH agreement with SDFD, the Fire Communications Center (FCC) will, on a recorded telephone line or radio channel, secure verbal agreement from the requestor to pay for helicopter services rendered prior to dispatching the resource. Outside Aeencv Request Process for SDFD Helicopters For incidents that are outside the City of San Diego, the request for SDFD helicopters will be made by the Incident Commander (IC) to their communications center. If the AHJ is not dispatched by the SDFD Fire Communications Center (FCC), the request will then be forwarded to the Monte Vista Emergency Command Center (Operational Area Coordinator) and relayed to SDFD FCC. RecLuest of SDFD Helicopters by CAL FIRE or USFS SDFD helicopters will be approved on a case-by-case basis (SC approval) to respond to State Responsibility Area (SRA) and Federal Responsibility Area (FRA) wildland fire incidents that do not 4-11 Special Operations Section Air Operations Division Date: October 1, 2012 Page 4 of 4 pose a threat to the City of San Diego on a Call-When-Needed (CWN) or Assistance by Hire (ABH) basis. It is an expectation of the SDFD that CAL FIRE or the USFS will expedite the ordering of other helicopters under contract so that the City helicopters will be released expeditiously. Ifthe AHJ/IC requests that the SDFD helicopter remain on the incident beyond one fuel cycle, direct communication between the AHJ duty chief and the duty SDFD Shift Commander (SC) must occur. The SC will ascertain the necessity of the SDFD helicopter's support and the limits to which the helicopter will be allowed to remain on the incident. The SC is authorized to grant approval of City helicopters remaining at the incident and will brief the SDFD Assistant Chie£ofOperations assoon as possible after such approval is given. Recall of the Helicopters SDFD reserves the right to recall its helicopter(s) if needed for a response in the City of San Diego or as deemed necessazy even when operating in another city under an ABH or CWN agreement. The recall of City helicopters will be initiated by the Shift Commander and communicated through SDFD FCC to the Monte Vista Emergency Command Center (MVECC). The recall will then be communicated to the AHJ's Communications Center and ultimately to the AHJ/IC who will facilitate the release request. 4-12 COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING AN ASSISTANCE BY HIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO FIRE- RESCUE DEPARTMENT AND THE CHULA VISTA FIRE DEPARTMENT REGARDING THE PROVISION OF HELICOPTER SERVICES WHEREAS, the San Diego Fire & Rescue Department wishes to make its two helicopters available throughout San Diego County in the interest of public safety. These helicopters provide crucial capabilities such as: water dropping capabilities for firefighting, rescue/winch operations for evacuating victims, reconnaissance, and night time flights; and WHEREAS, Agencies wishing to obtain the services of these helicopters are required to agree to the terms and conditions of "assistance by hire" agreement; and WHEREAS, operating costs under this agreement for services not covered in the SDFD Concept of Operations (CONOPS) document are subject to a rate of $3,250 per flight hour; and WHEREAS. the Chula Vista Fire Department has requested these services from the City of San Diego approximately six to eight times per year and 1 to 3 hours per incident; and WHEREAS, it is estimated that these services will cost between $26,000 and $78,000 on an annual basis. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby approve the terms and conditions of the San Diego Fire & Rescue Departments "Assistance by Hire" agreement for the use of its two helicopters in the interest of public safety. Presented by: Dave Hanneman Fire Chief 4-13