BOOK: Operations I SECTION: Suppression Non-Emergency Pg 1 of 28

SUPPRESSION NON-EMERGENCY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ADN/001ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES

ADN/002LATE FOR DUTY

ADN/003STAFFING POLICY

ADN/004APPARATUS OUT OF SERVICE

ADN/005COMPANY RELIEF

ADN/006RELIEF DRIVERS POLICY

ADN/007ANSWERING STATION CIRCUIT

ADN/008CONTACTING OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS

ADN/009COPY REQUESTS

ADN/010OFFICE SUPPLY PROCEDURES

ADN/011STATION SUPPLY PROCEDURES

ADN/012DELETED (Incorporated into ADN/003)

ADN/013EMS SUPPLY PROCEDURES

TRG/001PURPOSE

TRG/002SCOPE

TRG/003RESPONSIBILITY

TRG/004OPERATIONS LEVEL TRAINING

TRG/005SKILLS MAINTENANCE

MNT/001 CALIBRATION OF CARBON MONOXIDE MONITORS ON COMMAND VEHICLES

MNT/002CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF FIRE HOSE

MNT/003GREASE IN KITCHEN SINKS

MNT/004TOUCH-UP PAINTING AND BODY MAINTENANCE ON APPARATUS

MNT/005WHEEL CHOCKS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT APPARATUS

MNT/006APPARATUS INVENTORIES

MNT/007HANDLING OF FLAMMABLE LIQUIDSIN APPARATUS ROOMS

MNT/008STATION AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

MNT/009SECURING LOOSE ARTICLES IN APPARATUS CAB

MNT/010PROCEDURES FOR RAISING CABS

MNT/011MANDATORY VEHICLE EXHAUST SYSTEM USAGE POLICY

FPN/001 FIRE DISTRICT MANAGEMENT

FPN/002 STATION TOURS

FPN/003 FIRE COMPANY INSPECTIONS

FPN/004 SAVE-A-LIFE SMOKE DETECTOR PROGRAM

FPN/005 BUILDING PREPLAN PROGRAM

ADN/001ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES

Administrative activities of the suppression division should be concurrent with the procedures and policies outlined in each section of this manual. These will include, but not be limited to, personnel management, minimum staffing, emergency operations, public education, personnel training, fire prevention programs such as building inspections and surveys, target hazard identification, hydrant inspection, kid safe, and the smoke detector program.

ADN/002LATE FOR DUTY

The immediate officer in charge will notify their District Officer or Deputy Chief of Operations at 0700 hours when a employee that is scheduled to be on duty has not reported for duty at 0700 hours. If minimum staffing requirements cannot be met (Suppression/non emergency ADN-003), the district officer will determine if the apparatus is to be placed out of service or authorize someone from the previous shift to hold over until relieved by an on-duty replacement or the late employee arrives. When the employee does report for duty, the officer will notify their District Officer or Deputy Chief of Operations immediately. The action to be taken when an incumbent employee is late for duty during any twelve-month period is

  • 1st OccurrenceCounseling by immediate officer
  • 2nd OccurrenceVerbal reprimand by District Officer
  • 3rd OccurrenceWritten reprimand by District Officer
  • 4th OccurrenceTime off LWOP
  • 5th OccurrenceSuspension or termination as deemed by the Fire Chief

The Deputy Chief of Operations must approve any deviation from the above procedure. The factors to be considered in making this decision are the:

  • Seriousness of the offense
  • Employee’s past history with the Department

Consistency is critical to any disciplinary system. Although disciplinary actions for the same offense should be similar, the final decision to determine the exact action will be made after considering the factors previously listed, and applying them to the particular situation.

When an employee is late for duty, the amount of time they are late will be deducted from their FLSA overtime and not from their regularly scheduled base pay. (See Administration ADN/001 for procedures)

The actions listed above do not include AWOL, this is a different violation of policy and will be dealt with on an individual basis.

When an employee is absent from their duty station without permission for one hour or more and has not made contact with their immediate officer in charge or other appropriate authority, they will be considered AWOL and charged with LWOP on the current FLSA cycle.

This is the minimum action to be taken. More severe action may be warranted for an accumulated tardiness problem extending beyond the twelve-month period or circumstances pertaining to each individual case.

The action to be taken when a probationary employee is late for duty during their probationary period is:

  • 1st OccurrenceVerbal reprimand by District Officer
  • 2nd OccurrenceWritten reprimand by District Officer
  • 3rd OccurrenceOne shift off LWOP or termination
  • 4th OccurrencePossible termination or appropriate action as deemed necessary by the Chief

ADN/003STAFFING POLICY

To consolidate/replace: Suppression Non-emergency ADN/003 & ADN/012, Amends Articles 14, 16, 18 of the CBA

Minimum staffing will be maintained 24 hours per day
for all Oklahoma City Fire Department apparatus.
Current minimum levels are: / ALS Engine / 4 each / Battalion Chief Vehicle / 2 each
BLS Engine, RL, and/or associated Lt. Rescue / 3 each / Heavy Tanker / 1 each
BP 27 and 28 / 2 each / Hazmat 5 / 4 each
Other BP / 1 each / Rescue 8 (pg4e) / 4 each
Air-1 / 1 each / CSL / 1 each

The District Officer shall have the authority to adjust assignments in the district to maintain minimum staffing levels within the district.

ADN/003STAFFING POLICY- continued

District Hold Guidelines

All districts are required to provide one hold person above minimum staffing for unexpected daily absences. Unexpected daily absences include sickness, sickness-in-family, death-in-family, and other absences that may arise on a daily basis.

Each District Officer will schedule hold stations at least six (6) months in advance. Changes within their district may be made as requested by the Station Officer with the approval of the District Officer. Hold stations should be rotated in the district to not burden any one station with restricted days for extended periods.

Hold persons may be used for department schools, training exercises, meetings and bona-fide Union business as approved by the deputy Chief of Operations. Hold persons used for these reasons will be subject to being recalled and must be able to return to their worksite within thirty (30) minutes of notification.

Scheduling of Leave

Employees that have properly scheduled and approved leave shall not have their leave cancelled. During times of large scale emergencies and disasters the Fire Chief may cancel leave, restrict the approval of leave, or call back off duty personnel when necessary as per Article 19.3 of the current CBA. It is understood that large scale emergencies and disasters may only cause temporary disruptions in scheduling of leave, and that the Union and city will consult together during those times for the most efficient manpower utilization and productivity per section 1.2 of the CBA. Leave time will be scheduled and approved at the station/district level according to the terms of this policy.

  1. Leave time shall be administered by the Station Officer at each individual station within minimum staffing requirements. Employees shall be required to complete a Leave Request on-line, print the request, and submit the request to their Station Officer.
  2. The minimum amount of time that can be approved off is 6 hours.
  3. Once a lesser amount of time has been approved, an employee requesting a greater amount of time cannot override it.
  4. The Station Officer will approve leave up to 61 shifts in advance at the station level. The Station Officer will approve the leave and enter the employee’s time in the Leave Management Data Base. The Leave Request will provide a time stamp for the requested date. Leave requests may not be submitted prior to 0700, 61 shifts from the requested date. Any Leave Request submitted prior to 0700, 61 shifts from the requested date, will be considered invalid.
  5. If staffing is not available at the station level, a leave request will be filled out on the computer and entered into the database. Once the request is submitted into the database, it will automatically be electronically time stamped. It is understood that the leave request form is not a guarantee that an employee’s time off will be granted.
  6. Leave requests shall be held and administered by the Station Officer until 9 shifts from the time requested off. After 0700 hrs nine (9) shifts prior to the requested time off, any staffing that is available within the district, shall immediately be used to fill any remaining leave requests, based on the time stamp, from within the district. After 0700 hrs six (6) shifts prior to the requested time off, any staffing that is available within the city, shall immediately be used to fill any remaining leave requests, based on the valid time stamp.
  7. For extraordinary circumstances, the Deputy Chief of Operations (or designee) may approve leave time up to twelve (12) months in advance.
  8. Personnel taking a portion of a shift off shall return to the station no later than 2300 hrs.
  9. The Station Officer will manage holidays recognized by the collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), Article 16.6
  1. Employees with scheduled and approved leave shall not have their leave cancelled in the event of a transfer. Transfers occurring on the same shift: all policy provision herein shall apply to ensure their scheduled time off. In the event employees are transferred to another shift, the original time frame including all duty and non-duty days shall be honored. Any duty days falling within that time frame on the employee’s new shift shall be considered scheduled and approved leave.
  2. Employees who choose not to take scheduled and approved leave, will be charged for his/her leave time unless notification is made to their Station Officer, District Officer, and the DAA by 0800 hours of the shift prior to the scheduled leave. Upon notification, the District Officer will ensure that the available staffing is used to fill any pending leave requests.

ADN/003STAFFING POLICY- continued

In order to ensure personnel are allowed to use their scheduled and approved leave when unscheduled or unanticipated long term leave situations would otherwise result in staffing levels being reduced below minimum requirements, the Deputy Chief of Operations (or designee) may use any of the options listed below:

  1. Allow the use of the district hold person within the district in question.
  2. Approve the use of the hold person from other districts if available, within six (6) shifts of the date in question.
  3. Cancel or reschedule training and the person(s) scheduled to attend the training can be reassigned to maintain minimum staffing levels.
  4. Temporarily re-assign Community Service Liaison (s) (CSL)
  5. Temporarily re-assign a firefighter from BP27 and/or BP28.
  6. Employees with scheduled and approved leave will be offered their regular hourly pay rate, according to the CBA, in addition to their regular pay to report to duty on a scheduled leave day. This additional pay will be for the amount and type of leave scheduled. Employees with approved leave for the day in question will be offered the additional pay first and in ascending order by initial entry time stamp until minimum staffing levels are met. Employees that opt to report for duty on a scheduled leave day will have the amount of leave scheduled deducted from their accrued vacation or holiday leave.

After considering and/or using the options above, if minimum staffing levels are not met the Fire Chief (or designee) will exercise the following option:

Call-Back Procedure

Call-back will be used under the following guidelines to maintain minimum staffing levels in suppression. Call-back for the purpose of maintaining minimum staffing is not considered an emergency situation. Emergency situations are addressed by Article 19.3 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and are authorized by the Fire Chief or his/her designee.

  1. Call back shall be a voluntary program for FLSA 7 (k) 24hr operations personnel only who have completed the probationary period. All eligible personnel will be added to the call back list after completing the recruit probationary period. Employees will be placed on the call-back list in order of their seniority on the department. Employees with the same hire date will be added to the list in alphabetical order. Call back shall always start at the top of the list working downward according to the terms of this procedure. Employees called back shall be assigned to work at a location as determined by the Deputy Chief of Operations or their designee. Reasonable efforts should be made to assign personnel where they can function within their rank/classification.
  2. Employees working call back shall receive 1 1/2 times their regular hourly rate of pay asper Article 19.1 of the current CBA for all call back hours worked. Time willcommence when the employee arrives at the call-back assignment and end whenthe employee leaves the work site.
  3. Employees must work their last scheduled shift or be off on approved leave (dueday, comp time, vacation leave or holiday leave) prior to being called back.Employees on sick leave, injury leave, or any other administrative leave includingFMLA, will not be eligible for call back until they have been released to return toregular duty, but shall retain their position on the call back list.
  4. Employees rejecting call back will move to the bottom of the call back list. If theemployee accepts call back, their name will be moved to the bottom of the call back list.
  5. Employees must provide a contact phone number. Failure to reach an employee atthe provided numbers will be considered a rejection of the call back. Employeesare not allowed to work callback on their regularly scheduled duty day. If anemployee is next up to be called, and the call-back falls on his/her assigned dutyday, the employee shall be passed over yet retain their position on the call backlist. Should a complete rotation of the call back list not result in the attainment ofrequired staffing levels, subsequent notification shall require mandatoryparticipation, and will start with the least senior employees on the call back list. Exceptions to mandatory overtime will be allowed in instances where the employee is unable to report to duty in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 6. Employees shall be informed of the estimated call back period when offeredcall back.
  6. An employee being called back must be able to report to duty in less than 1 1/2 hours or reject the call back. Employees accepting a call-back offer will be compensated for not less than (4) four hours and must be available for the full call back period. In the event that a call back employee is unable to work the full call back period due to sickness, injury or other emergency he/she will be paid for the call back hours worked. Failure to report after acceptance of a call back assignment within the allotted time shall result in an employee being subject to Suppression Non-Emergency ADN/002, Late for Duty.

ADN/003STAFFING POLICY- continued

  1. At no time will employees be allowed to work more than three consecutive shiftsseventy-two (72) hours. In situations where the employee would be required towork more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours, the employee will beineligible for the call back, but will retain their position on the call back list.
  2. Employees accepting call back must physically report to duty. Duty exchanges forstraight time call back (earned leave buy back for normal duty days) or off dutycall back (at time-and-one-half) under the terms of this Call Back Procedure shallnot be allowed.

ADN/004 APPARATUS OUT OF SERVICE

The Deputy Chief of Operations must approve any apparatus being put out of service because of staffing shortage except for short term emergencies.

ADN/005 COMPANY RELIEF

When a Company leaves the station to relieve another company at an emergency scene at shift changing time, the Company Officer will log their time leaving the station in the station log book. When the company that was relieved returns to the station, the officer will log their time in upon arrival at the station.

ADN/006RELIEF DRIVERS POLICY

Employees with less than one (1) year seniority will not drive any fire apparatus, except a District Officer’s car, unless approved by the Deputy Chief of Operations.

An employee with over one year seniority and with less than two (2) years seniority will not drive any fire apparatus, except a District Officer’s car, until they have satisfied one of two requirements.

  1. They must have successfully completed the Apparatus Operators Academy at the Fire Training Division; or
  2. They must be checked out, on the Training Division’s check list, by their Company Officer and certified to the Training Division on each piece of apparatus that they may drive.

The employee must attend the AOA at the Training Division when scheduled to do so even if they have been certified by their Company Officer.

An employee with less than two years service will not drive on a regular rotation basis. They may drive after completing one of the two requirements, only on an as needed basis.

An employee in this category will not drive if any other firefighter is on duty at that station that has over two years of service and has been to the AOA. All employees that have over two years service and have successfully completed the AOA will rotate relief driving on a regular schedule, unless they do not want to relief drive, or unless documentation has been presented to the Deputy Chief of Operations, and it is determined that it would be in the best interest of the Department that this individual not be allowed to relief drive.

All personnel driving any Oklahoma City Fire Department equipment must possess a valid Oklahoma State driver’s license. Each individual’s driver license will be subject to a validity check semiannually.

Seniority is based on the date of last employment with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.

There should be flexibility to allow Code 1 driving and to encourage station school on driving in protected area for those employees with more than one year of service but have not been certified by their company officer, or who have not completed AOA.