BOCA FIRE RESCUE NET - City of Boca Raton

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BOCA FIRE RESCUE
workers, and commitment to always
project a positive image of the City.
Joanne is the person who is always attentive
to the special needs of others,
such as collecting money to send flowers
when a member of the Department
is hospitalized or suffers the loss of a
family member. For the past several
years, Joanne has been the driving force
behind our “Adopt a Family Program”
during the holiday season. She collects
monetary donations from our department
employees, works with a local
church or nonprofit organization to select
a family in need, and spends her
own time to purchase, wrap, and deliver
the gifts. Joanne also donates her time
and works tirelessly to assist with our
“Annual Softball Burn Tournament.”
Recently we had to adopt a new software
reporting program to comply with
State EMS reporting regulations. This
software is used daily by Joanne for
EMS billing purposes and to say it’s
been a challenge is an understatement.
Through the worst of it, Joanne worked
with IT, our personnel, the EMS billing
vendor, and the software vendor to correct
issues and find solutions. It hasn’t
been an easy transition, and even in the
most frustrating times, Joanne was calm
and worked to find the solution. In the
past year she has also dealt with numerous
difficult and sensitive collection
issues. Joanne is always composed and
professional when dealing with the
community we serve. She certainly
understands and demonstrates daily the
mission of the City to provide the highest
quality service not only to the community,
but to the employees of the
City as well.
For these reasons, Joanne Barnes has
been chosen to receive the “Department
Excellence Award.” Congratulations
Joanne!!!
Brush Fire Season Update
As of January 5, 2009, the Keetch
Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Palm
Beach County was listed at 614 on a
scale from 0 to 800. As of February 2,
2009 the KBDI had climbed to 674.
And as of March 2, 2009 the KBDI is
707.
Until next month…be safe.
Administration
By: Glenn Joseph
Deputy Chief
The first thirty days in Administration
has been nothing if not interesting and a
learning experience. I must thank the
team in Administration, Assistant Chiefs
Woodside and Travieso and the Fire
Department staff of Susan Sova, Cheryl
Freeman, and Kim Bunting for their
patience and assistance while I am getting
oriented to my new assignment.
According to a good friend, I may make
many mistakes, but my goal is to learn
from them so that they are not repeated.
I would also like to welcome Assistant
Chief Michael Gergora to Chief Wood’s
Executive Staff. His experience and
enthusiasm adds a new dimension to our
team that will improve our effectiveness
and help us meet our current and future
organizational challenges. Glad to have
you aboard Mike.
Well its time to look forward towards
planning our budget for the next fiscal
year. I would like to thank everyone
that submitted suggestions. I will respond
to each suggestion after March 6,
2009, to update everyone on the status
of their submission.
Well, till next month’s newsletter, Be
Professional, Be Competent, Be Safe.
Operations
By: John Johnson
Deputy Chief
The last few weeks have been very
busy with the swapping of Deputy
Chiefs and the moving of offices. The
division has many challenges and we
look forward to approaching these with
a positive attitude. We hope to inform
all personnel of any policies or procedures
that will assist us in providing the
highest level of service possible.
The first procedure that we learned
about is how Human Resources verifies
all employees’ driver licenses. Each
quarter, they do a search of all City
employees whose birth date falls within
that quarter. This is to ensure that all
employees have a valid driver’s license.
This past quarter showed that Fire Rescue
Services had two employees with
expired licenses. The Department advised
one of the individuals to renew
their license before they returned to
work. It’s a good idea for everyone to
check their license renewal date on a
regular basis.
This month the Operations Division
will be working with Lt. Jim Muro to
standardize the labeling of the station
lockers and bunker gear storage cages.
The station bids are in place and about
85% of Fire Rescue employees have a
home at one of the stations. We will
utilize the same materials for all stations
to provide uniformity. This will
also enhance the appearance of our stations
and provide pride and ownership
for our employees. The nameplates