CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the award of Cooperative Procurement 19-288, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Equipment, to Municipal Emergency Services for an amount not to exceed $1,250,000
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DEPARTMENT: Fire Department
SUBMITTED BY: Mark Puknaitis, Chief
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
One of the most important pieces of equipment for a firefighter is the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which provides them with breathing air when performing firefighting duties. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) outlines standards relating to this equipment. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) also has standards relating to this equipment, which they update regularly to ensure all SCBA are meeting the highest safety requirements and regulations.
The Fire Department anticipated this update and has been planning for this purchase for multiple years. An internal SCBA committee was formed to collect information and provide a recommendation. In April 2019, vendors provided an on-site demonstration of their respective units which Fire Department personnel tested in three days of live fire training. The vendors also provided two demonstration units that were rotated to the ten fire stations for a one-week period until all stations had an opportunity to evaluate the packs. A survey was provided to Fire Department employees to collect feedback on the evaluations. The SCBA committee also contacted other fire departments and conducted on-site visits to other departments to learn about their satisfaction levels of the equipment. In August 2019, the committee provided recommendations to senior staff.
The SCBA committee and senior staff recommended the Scott brand 5500psi platform with a 30-minute cylinder, selected for employee safety due to it being lightweight and having a reduced bottle profile. The low air alarm activates at 33% instead of the current 25%. The Scott brand equipment will be easier to maintain and train personnel since they are already familiar with the brand and the equipment and bottles are compatible with our current air compressor fill stations. The Scott brand facepiece is the only two-stage breathing reducer on the market and the mask is chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) compliant with no need for a second mask or extra fit testing time. If the first stage reducer fails, the second stage breathing reducer provides a backup breathing system that automatically activates without the user’s interaction. An automatic vibrating alert notifies the user when the backup breathing system is engaged. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides standards regarding CBRN requirements for full facepiece respirators. If a non-CBRN compliant facepiece was chosen, the Fire Department would need to purchase an additional separate mask to meet this standard. The SCBA pack has a Bluetooth technology that sends a signal back to the command post which notifies them of breathing patterns, air supply, location, and any air pack alarms on the user end. The Scott brand SCBA system uses active air packs as a repeater to strengthen the signal back to the command post, which is not available with other manufacturers. Finally, the chosen air packs include a no additional cost lifetime warranty that covers everything except normal wear and tear and high heat exposure on the harness.
DISCUSSION:
The Fire Department currently has approximately 150 air packs that are used for front-line vehicles, training, explorer post, and reserve vehicles. The updated NFPA standard will be released in October 2019, making the current air packs no longer compliant for front-line use. The Fire Department also has two in-station air compressor fill stations for the SCBA cylinders. The SCBA compressor fill station at Fire Station #7 was replaced in 2016 and the SCBA compressor fill station at Fire Station #4, which is over 25 years old, is intended to be replaced as part of this purchase. The old compressor is no longer serviceable and parts need to be specially made for any repairs. Both compressor fill stations are compatible with the new equipment.
As a 2020 CIP project, the Fire Department intends to purchase SCBA equipment, including air packs, cylinders, masks, and a compressor fill station using NPP GOV cooperative contract #00000168. The cooperative pricing averages about 22% less for the SCBA equipment, which saves about $250,000 for the overall project.
FISCAL IMPACT:
CIP#: EQ048
The cost for the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus equipment is scheduled in the capital maintenance plan. In the 2019 budget, the cost to be incurred in 2020 was estimated at $1,020,000. The cost through the NPP GOV cooperative contract is now estimated at $1,250,000. If approved by Council, this expense will be included in the 2020 proposed budget account listed below. It will be included in either the Capital Projects Fund or the Debt Service Fund depending on the total capital purchase approved for 2020.
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ACCOUNT NUMBER |
FUND DESCRIPTION |
2020 BUDGET REQUEST |
|
22252300-551505 |
Capital Projects or Bond Fund |
$1,250,000 |