COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Employee and Public Service Department

 

DATE:

December 20, 2005

BOARD MEETING DATE:

January 10, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Mary Welch, Employee and Public Services Director

Jaime Young, Public Safety Communications Director

SUBJECT:

Resolution to accept a gift for Public Safety Communications

 

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a resolution accepting a gift for use by the Public Safety Communications Division.

   

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Ensure Basic Health and Safety for All

Goal 7: Maintain and enhance the public safety of all residents and visitors.

 

This contribution makes it possible for Public Safety Communications to be more responsive to large scale public safety events such as a greater alarm fire or law enforcement tactical event.

 

BACKGROUND:

Public Safety Communications established an “Incident Dispatch Team” (IDT) in July 2001. The team was created in response to a growing trend in the Fire Service to integrate public safety dispatchers into field responses. Having a dispatcher on site to coordinate communications enhances efficiency and safety at local greater alarm fires and major fire related incidents or campaign fires that require mutual aid from local government. Incident Commanders rely on IDT’s to relieve them from coordinating communications and resources so that they can focus on fire ground management and tactics. Team members are ‘on-call’ 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Team members are equipped with the appropriate safety gear and respond in their private vehicles to the fire scene.

 

DISCUSSION:

Over the past five years, the team has experienced several challenges in this program, primarily access to the fire scene. The use of privately owned vehicles slows team member’s response to the fire scene as traffic is usually congested and access to the fire scene is blocked by law enforcement. In addition, team members are often approached by law enforcement at the perimeter or the scene, questioning the need to enter into the fire scene, requiring identification and an explanation of what function they serve.

The Woodside Fire Protection District is donating a vehicle to Public Safety Communications for IDT responses. The 1998 K2500 4x4 Suburban is valued at $7,300. The vehicle comes equipped with mobile radios, computer consoles and emergency lighting equipment.

Administrative Memorandum B-3 requires that all gifts having a value of over $2,500 shall be acknowledged in writing by the department head and referred to the Board of Supervisors for acceptance.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

Miscellaneous equipment will be funded by monies secured from a Homeland Security Grant. Maintenance of the vehicle will be absorbed by Public Safety Communications operating budget.