116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Marion Fire Department finalizes new strategic plan
Jun. 12, 2023 6:00 am
MARION --- Marion Fire Chief Tom Fagan has presented a new strategic plan for the fire department to city council members, showing a goal of attaining the difficult-to-get blessing from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International by 2028.
Background
The Marion Fire Department started working toward a new strategic plan in March, when it hosted a community meeting at the Marion Library, inviting community members who work in health care, business, education, media and other areas. The meeting and data collection was run with help from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, a Virginia-based nonprofit.
Participants were asked to rate the priority levels of various fire department duties. The information gathered was presented to a group of internal fire department officials — including members of all different ranks and tenure within the department — which then performed an internal assessment of the department, working with the Center for Public Safety Excellence to put together the final strategic plan.
Before starting the process of creating the strategic plan, Fagan already had begun talking with the city about the possibility of relocating Fire Station 3 and building a fourth fire station to address continued expansion in the fast-growing city that has led to gaps in fire department coverage.
What’s happened since
The new strategic plan was presented last Tuesday at a work session of the Marion City Council. It doesn’t include specifics about fire station relocation or expansion plans, but does include guidance to help the department and city analyze the needs of the community and what changes can be made to better meet those needs.
“What I wanted to get is, what does our community, and our partners, what gaps do they see? What strengths do they see? And as we're moving forward together, working and planning for the future, how can we incorporate all that together into a plan or road map on how we can improve overall?” Fagan said.
The plan identifies six strategic goals, that align with the city of Marion’s overall strategic goals and plans, according to Fagan.
Marion Fire Department goals
1. Enhance external relationships through education, joint training, improved communication, the development of agreements and partnerships, and engagement to increase community safety and unified operations.
2. Identify and formalize the scope and level of services provided by the department to meet community expectations and support organizational planning.
3. Develop a staffing model that recruits and retains appropriate personnel and creates a pathway for professional member growth that aligns with the community and department needs.
4. Develop a community risk reduction program that identifies and creates partnerships, analyzes data, educates the public, and enforces the fire codes to improve overall community safety.
5. Enhance firefighter health and wellness by continuing and implementing new wellness initiatives resulting in a physically and mentally prepared workforce.
6. Prepare for, pursue, achieve and maintain international accreditation to better serve our community and embrace excellence through continuous improvement management.
One of the goals includes pursuing, achieving and maintaining international accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Fire department accreditation from the commission is rare, with only 308 departments in the world being accredited, most of which are in the United States. Six departments in Iowa are accredited, including the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City fire departments.
Fagan, who has been the Marion fire chief for about nine months, has gone through the accreditation process in previous fire departments that he’s worked for. He said going through the process of accreditation should help the department accomplish some of its other goals.
“My plan with this is to work collaboratively with our workforce. We’ll have committees and subcommittees as we're working through these different goals on different objectives and critical tasks,” Fagan said. “Ultimately, what (the strategic plan) will do is organize initiatives and work plans for us as we move into the future. Some of them may develop into budget proposals. Some of them just may end up being process improvement on how we operate, but this is essentially that road map for us.”
In order to become accredited, the fire department will have to fill out a self-assessment manual, providing documentation to determine how it is performing on 250 performance indicators, and show where there is room for improvement. A team of assessors will then review the information and visit the fire department to verify what was submitted. The Commission on Fire Accreditation then makes a decision.
Accreditation lasts for five years and can be renewed by completing the same process.
Part of the self-assessment will involve evaluation of gaps in service, and how best to fill those gaps. Fagan said he believes there is a response time gap in southern Marion that could be addressed by relocating Fire Station 3. He also anticipates a gap in being able to quickly reach new developments that are happening in northeast Marion, which he believes will require building a fourth fire station to cover.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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