2016 Annual Report
Eaton Fire and EMS
Annual Report for 2016
Introduction
The mission of the City of Eaton Fire & EMS Division is to provide prompt, efficient, skilled response to fire, rescue, and medical emergencies; provide fire prevention, public education, and safety services; protecting the lives and property of our citizens with pride, professionalism and commitment. We are pleased to provide you with a statistical review of Fire and EMS operations for 2016.
The Eaton Fire and EMS Division serves the City of Eaton, population 8,300 (2010 Census), and two neighboring townships, population estimated at 4,000. Eaton is geographically located in the center of Preble County, Ohio, 35 miles west of Dayton, Ohio and 18 miles southeast of Richmond, Indiana and six miles south of Interstate 70. Eaton is the county seat of Preble County and is the center of activity associated with agriculture and manufacturing. Eaton is home to several manufacturing companies and is an intersection for several commercial truck routes and an active rail line. Founded in 1806 as a village, the Eaton Independent Fire Engine and Hose Company was organized in 1835; the Eaton Emergency Squad was formed in 1972. City Council consolidated the management and operation of the Fire and EMS Divisions under one Division head on September 11, 2006.
Organizational structure of the Fire / EMS Division consists of a career Fire/EMS Chief, three career shift captains, a career EMS lieutenant, three volunteer lieutenants, and 47 part-time and volunteer personnel. Eaton has two stations, staffing one with an ALS Ambulance and one with a three person ALS Engine; both stations are staffed 24 hours-a-day. In the past ten years we have improved training and certification levels to be 100 % compliant with NFPA. The Division has implemented a driver’s training and pump operators program; we continue to develop our employees. Eaton maintains an ISO rating of 4 and hope to improve that to a 3 by 2018.
In 2016, the Fire and EMS Division responded to 2697 calls for service. That call volume averages to 7.36 calls a day. Requests vary greatly as residents are challenged with new and varying issues; the greatest is that ofhealth-related issues and the movement to more home health care.
INCIDENT COUNTINCIDENT TYPE / # INCIDENTS
EMS / 1991
FIRE / 372
RESCUE / 334
TOTAL / 2697
Emergency Medical Service Operations
DESTINATION HOSPITAL / 2016 TRANSPORTCareFlight/AirCare / 3
Children's Medical Center / 7
Good Samaritan / 50
Good Samaritan - North / 2
Grandview Hospital / 49
Kettering - Preble ED / 1122
Kettering Memorial Hospital / 6
McCullough-Hyde Hospital / 13
Miami Valley Hospital / 70
Reid Hospital / 167
VA Medical Center / 8
Wayne Hospital / 1
In the fall of 2015Kettering / Grandview Medical Center opened a free-standing Emergency Department. As a result, transport time, overlapping calls, and emergencies that would otherwise be transported to outlying hospitalscan now be transported to a local Emergency Department.
COMPLAINT REPORTED BY DISPATCH / # INCIDENTSAbdominal Pain / 90
Allergies / 12
Animal Bite / 4
Assault / 23
Back Pain / 41
Breathing Problem / 244
Burns / 5
Cardiac Arrest / 33
Chest Pain / 184
Choking / 11
Convulsions/Seizure / 59
Diabetic Problem / 49
Fall Victim / 388
Headache / 12
Heart Problems / 15
Hemorrhage/Laceration / 32
Ingestion/Poisoning / 70
Pregnancy/Childbirth / 15
Psychiatric Problem / 37
Sick Person / 482
Stab/Gunshot Wound / 8
Stroke/CVA / 45
Traffic Accident / 188
Transfer / Interfacility / 5
Traumatic Injury / 108
Unconscious/Fainting / 122
Unknown Problem Man Down / 104
“Complaint reported by the dispatch” is only a snapshot of the nature of the call. Following an assessment, the EMS provider, will determine nature of call and appropriate course of action. The provider’s primary impression is categorized in the chart below. The highest categories are trauma, chest pain, and abdominal pain. They account for 45% of all EMS patient assessments.
PROVIDER'S PRIMARY IMPRESSION / # PATIENTS / % of TOTALNot Applicable / 7 / 0.8%
Abdominal pain / problems / 96 / 10.8%
Airway obstruction / 8 / 0.9%
Allergic reaction / 12 / 1.3%
Altered level of consciousness / 77 / 8.6%
Behavioral / psychiatric disorder / 29 / 3.3%
Cardiac arrest / 20 / 2.2%
Cardiac rhythm disturbance / 30 / 3.4%
Chest pain / discomfort / 120 / 13.5%
Diabetic symptoms (hypoglycemia) / 21 / 2.4%
Hyperthermia / 5 / 0.6%
Obvious death / 6 / 0.7%
Poisoning / drug ingestion / 53 / 5.9%
Pregnancy / OB delivery / 13 / 1.5%
Respiratory distress / 90 / 10.1%
Seizure / 35 / 3.9%
Stings / venomous bites / 2 / 0.2%
Stroke / CVA / 24 / 2.7%
Syncope / fainting / 53 / 5.9%
Traumatic injury / 188 / 21.1%
Vaginal hemorrhage / 2 / 0.2%
RESPONSE AGE RANGE / # PATIENTS
0 - 18 / 71
19 - 30 / 154
31 - 40 / 135
41 - 50 / 134
51 - 60 / 272*
61 - 70 / 241*
71 - 80 / 292*
81 - 90 / 241*
91 - 100 / 92*
Age Range / Percent
51-100 / 69%
Requests for EMS service vary greatly from “General Illness or Sick Person” to incidents that rarely occur, “Industrial Accidents”. Calls for service are also higher for the age groups over the age of 50 years. There is a direct correlation between the type of service requested and age. Most, if not all the complaints illustrating high volume of calls, can be related to patient’s age. Nearly 70% of the patients treated by EMS responders are over the age of 50 years. Another significant challenge to EMS in 2016 was the continued increase in narcotic overdoses. Overdoses climbed from a low of 23 in 2011 to a high of 83 in 2015. We had a slight dip to 70 this year. These calls have the risk of a very poor outcome without quick response and intervention; the staffing of our Engine with trained EMS providers continues to provide for positive outcomes.
Fire and Rescue Operations
The Fire and EMS Division handled 706 fire / rescue responses in 2016. These calls vary greatly to include fires of all types, rescues, EMS assists, auto accidents, hazards mitigation, fire alarms, odor investigation, public assists, police assists / standbys, and other emergency and non-emergency calls. On-duty fire crews continue to respond to significant medical calls, supporting EMS providers with assistance; however, these responses are decreasing. These practices bring the Division in line with national standards of care and ensure appropriate level of service is provided.
The Division utilized all department resources for 84 general alarms, on-duty crews handled the remaining 622 calls. General alarms include fires, serious auto accidents, special rescue, simultaneous calls and mutual aid fires and rescues. We provided mutual aid 12times and received mutual aid 4 times. The chart below illustrates the breakdown of Fire/Rescue/EMS responses for 2016
MAJOR INCIDENT TYPE / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016Fires / 36 / 46 / 44 / 51 / 43
Overpressure rupture, overheat / 3 / 0 / 2 / 3 / 3
Rescue & Emergency Medical Service / 2457 / 2289 / 2309 / 2261 / 2325
Hazardous Condition (No Fire) / 46 / 46 / 47 / 47 / 56
Service Call / 147 / 113 / 88 / 125 / 115
Good Intent Call / 61 / 60 / 71 / 90 / 85
False Alarm & False Call / 64 / 77 / 76 / 92 / 58
Severe Weather & Natural Disaster / 9 / 0 / 0 / 14 / 8
Special Incident Type / 10 / 0 / 5 / 3 / 4
TOTAL / 2833 / 2631 / 2642 / 2686 / 2697
During the year, significant fire and rescue incidents include, but were not limited to the following:
2821 Eaton-Lewsburg Rd. - On April 28th Eaton Fire and EMS were dispatched on heavy smoke coming from the roof of a residence. A large heavy smoke was observed coming from the roof. Crews laddered the building into the attic and extinguished the fire. The fire caused significant damage to the attic and kitchen area. Crews were able to limit damage to these areas.
2830 Orphans Rd.– On May 14th Eaton Fire and EMS were dispatched to this address on a report of a barn on firethe barn was a total loss by the time crews arrived. Crews were able to keep an adjoining tractor trailer and two barns virtually undamaged.
211 E. Decatur St.–On May 26th Eaton Fire and EMS were dispatched for smoking coming from a residence. Upon arrival crews found a room of a multi-family structure with heavy smoke showing. After a quick knockdown, crews realized the fire was suspicious. A mattress had been intentionally ignited. The Fire Marshal’s Office was brought in to investigate the fire. The case is still open and under investigation.
This chart illustrates property and contents loss based on type of incident. The largest loss being that of building fires.
INCIDENT TYPE / COUNT / % OF INCIDENTS / TOTAL LOSSES(Sum of Property and Content Loss) / % OF TOTAL
111 - Building fire / 3 / 27.27 % / $180,000.00 / 94.24 %
113 - Cooking fire, confined to container / 1 / 9.09 % / $200.00 / 0.10 %
122 - Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle / 1 / 9.09 % / $250.00 / 0.13 %
131 - Passenger vehicle fire / 3 / 27.27 % / $4,300.00 / 2.25 %
132 - Road freight or transport vehicle fire / 2 / 18.18 % / $6,000.00 / 3.14 %
445 - Arcing, shorted electrical equipment / 1 / 9.09 % / $250.00 / 0.13 %
The Fire and EMS Division handles a variety of emergencies, the following is a detailed listing of nature of call by month for 2016.
INCIDENT TYPE / Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / Jun / Jul / Aug / Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / YTDAccident, potential accident / 1 / 1
Attempted burning, illegal action / 1 / 1
Bomb scare / 1 / 1
Chemical release, reaction, or toxic condition / 1 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 9
Citizen complaint / 1 / 1
Combustible/flammable spills & leaks / 3 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 15
Controlled burning / 1 / 2 / 3 / 6
Dispatched and canceled en route / 4 / 7 / 7 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 37
Electrical wiring/equipment problem / 4 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 27
Emergency medical service (EMS) Incident / 170 / 174 / 171 / 175 / 165 / 155 / 164 / 198 / 213 / 169 / 154 / 169 / 2077
Excessive heat, scorch burns with no ignition / 1 / 1 / 2
False alarm and false call, other / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 12
Fire in mobile property used as a fixed structure / 1 / 1 / 2
Flammable gas or liquid condition, other / 1 / 1 / 1 / 3
Good intent call, other / 6 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 13
Haz-Mat release investigation w/no Haz-Mat / 1 / 1
Malicious, mischievous false alarm / 1 / 1
Medical assist / 6 / 8 / 10 / 6 / 11 / 7 / 10 / 8 / 7 / 4 / 5 / 3 / 85
Mobile property (vehicle) fire / 2 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 7
Natural vegetation fire / 1 / 1 / 1 / 3
Other incident type / 8 / 8
Outside rubbish fire / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 6
Overpressure rupture, explosion, overheat, other / 1 / 1
Person in distress / 2 / 2 / 4
Public service assistance / 3 / 9 / 5 / 17 / 6 / 4 / 8 / 4 / 8 / 10 / 7 / 12 / 93
Rescue or EMS standby / 1 / 2 / 3
Rescue, emergency medical call (EMS), other / 9 / 15 / 20 / 24 / 23 / 14 / 24 / 13 / 1 / 16 / 159
Search for lost person / 1 / 1
Service call, other / 1 / 2 / 3
Smoke, odor problem / 1 / 1 / 2 / 4
Special outside fire / 2 / 2 / 1 / 5
Special type of incident, other / 1 / 1 / 1 / 3
Steam, other gas mistaken for smoke / 2 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 16
Structure Fire / 2 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 20
System or detector malfunction / 2 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 5 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 21
Unauthorized burning / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 11
Unintentional system/detector operation (no fire) / 3 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 4 / 23
Wrong location, no emergency found / 1 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 12
Total / 215 / 227 / 233 / 246 / 228 / 199 / 238 / 250 / 253 / 198 / 186 / 224 / 2697
Apparatus
The Fire and EMS Division has an apparatus replacement plan. As the fleet age and operational demands change, it is important to evaluate community and department needs. A new brush truck was purchased in the Spring of 2016. The apparatus was assembled in house at a significant cost savings. Fire and EMS Division personnel, as well as, Public Maintenance worked diligently over the summer to complete Brush 16. It was placed in service August 16th 2016. The Fire and EMS Division operates two Advanced Life Support (ALS) transport units, and one ALS Fire Engine around the clock. Transport units are periodically rotated to allow for service and to reduce wear and tear on each respective unit. The last new medic was placed in service in 2014. This acquisition reduced the workload of the other units. With the opening of the Kettering Emergency Room, we hope to extend the life of our units. We have witnessed a reduction in mileage during the first year of operation at Preble ER.
The chart below is used for this evaluation and illustrates apparatus use, responses and age.
Vehicle Mileage 2016 / In Service Date / Beginning / Ending / Miles Traveled 2016 / Responses 2016Chief 1601 / 2007 / 44,602 / 48,995 / 4,393 / 36
Staff Blazer 1602 / 2006 / 68,943 / 74,890 / 5,947 / 241
Engine/Rescue 1608 / 2013 / 14,761 / 19,342 / 4,581 / 638
Engine/Tanker 1603 / 1993 / 27,015 / 27,964 / 949 / 18
Brush 1605 / 2016 / 373 / 373 / 373 / 10
Quint (Ladder) 1607 / 2008 / 22,998 / 23,197 / 199 / 9
Engine/Rescue 1604 / 1996 / 57,540 / 57,952 / 412 / 33
Medic 202 / 2010 / 182,081 / 189,747 / 7,666 / 469
Medic 201 / 2007 / 206,510 / 210,413 / 3,903 / 208
Medic 204 / 2014 / 47,391 / 67,780 / 20,389 / 1300
Training and Education
Training is conducted weekly with volunteer training monthly. This provides opportunities for continuing education credits. Many of our employees also attend classes and seminars at other locations. This shows continued interest in staying current on new techniques and refreshing and improving their skills. Like other combination fire / EMS departments, maintaining staffing levels is a challenge and can change for many reasons. This continues to impact recruiting and retention of personnel. In 2016, our staffing was 51 employees.Of that 51, 43are dual certified fire and EMS personnel.
Our fire training instructors conducted a Firefighter I class this past fall. These classes are inconjunction with Clark State College and paid for with a grant from the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Our EMS Lieutenant coordinatedseveral continuing education trainings, protocol training and community CPR. Seventeen (17) employees upgraded their certificationlevels, six advanced their EMS certification, five advanced their firefighter certification, four became Fire Inspectors and two became Fire Officer II certified. We partnered with Miami Valley’s Careflight to conduct a training in March that revolved around farm safety. This training also involved the Ohio Fire Academy’s grain C.A.R.T, which we utilized for an 8hr grain bin rescue course the following day. Severalarea departments participated.
Fire Prevention / Public Education
In 2016, the Division partnered with Eaton Police Divisionto conduct emergency management training for Eaton Community Schools. Table-top exercises were conducted for the administrators at each school. The Fire / EMS Division also partnered with the Red Cross to install smoke detectors in over 80 Eaton homes; we hope to repeat this activity in 2017. This was the second year we have partnered in this activity. We have installed working smoke detectors in over 200 homes in those two years. The Fire / EMS Division participated in and provided EMS for the Preble County Fair and Preble County Pork Festival, staffed a booth and helped coordinate activities at the Safe Communities Day at the YMCA, Halloween candy give-away, and provided crews at the demolition derby and other fair events.
The Division continues to work to increase fire safety awareness with an improved web site, ( andincreased Fire Prevention Week activities to include school and daycare presentations. This past year, we provided a puppet show for all elementary school children. We again conducted a coloring contest for elementary children, drawing over 200 participants; winners are recognized at the City Council meeting in November and receive gift cards. Also, the Division provided information and training to community groups and businesses to include: Pheasant Run Home Owners Association and other community watch groups, local health care facilities, YMCA - Kids Health Fair, YMCA - Senior Health Fair, and Preble County Council on Aging.
Division Changes
2016 brought some significant changes to the Fire/EMS Division. The largest of these was the retirement of Chief Royer. After overseeing the combination of the Fire and EMS Divisions in 2006 and creating a successful model to follow and build upon, Chief Jack Royer retired in September after 10 years at the helm of the Fire/EMS Division. Captain Brian Smith was promoted to Chief on September 1st in an interim compacity, to end after six months where he will be fully sworn in as the new Chief. We also held a promotional process to replace our EMS Lieutenant in January of 2016. After a long process, Leeann Matthews was promoted in February. Mentioned earlier in this report, Kettering Medical Center’s Emergency Room opened in the Fall of 2015. 2016 was the first full year utilizing this facility, and this imposed some changes in our operations. 2016 was a positive year of change and growth. We hope to continue that growth in 2017.