Open Letter to Travis County Commissioners Court From Steiner Ranch Homeowner:
Travis County Commissioners Court,
On Saturday, February 8, a home sustained major damage as a result of a fire in the Steiner Ranch subdivision of Travis County. This fire, in and of itself, a tragedy for the family, would otherwise simply be another blurb on the local news. The first-in fire apparatus arrived on scene within a minute or two of the initial 911 call because it came from a fire station that is literally 2 blocks from the home. This fire station, operated by Emergency Services District (ESD) #6, is staffed full-time with at least three firefighters and provides service using a state-of-the-art “quint” fire apparatus.
What makes this devastating fire noteworthy is, unfortunately, it is not an isolated event, in fact it was quite the opposite, and it had a common outcome. Why would a common event be noteworthy? The home that was on fire essentially was destroyed by this fire. Time after time, in all areas of the county, we see simple structure fires turn into out of control infernos resulting in significant loss. This takes place even when the closest fire station is literally right down the street, as in this case. This takes place while often times the staff and equipment from the ESD is on scene.
Anyone in the fire industry will tell you some simple facts about structure fires:
1. Fire doubles in size for every minute it burns.
2. The first few minutes of a fire attack are the most crucial.
3. Four firefighters on an apparatus are much more efficient and effective than three (as sited in a recent national scientific study).
4. Training is the key to operational performance.
5. The level of skill, knowledge, and experience of the on-scene command staff can make or break a fire.
Those facts cannot be argued. The departments that recognize those facts and perform well in those areas lead the industry in performance. A great example of this is the Austin Fire Department. In my opinion, they are second to none. They have a goal of containing 90% of all structure fires to the room of origin and they routinely meet (and beat) that goal year after year. When a structure burns to the ground in Austin, it is the exception rather than the rule.
Unfortunately, in Travis County, as we again recently witnessed in Steiner Ranch and Lakeway, the opposite can be said. It is ironic that a local West-Travis County newspaper carried an article on the investigation of the recent Steiner fire. Buried in the same paper was a photo and brief story of similar house fire in the City of Lakeway, another area covered by ESD #6. The Lakeway picture showed a large home fully involved in fire. Again, ESD #6 has a staffed fire station in close proximity. http://www.newscastic.com/news/firefighters-battle-house-fire-in-lakeway-1410321/
This problem is not confined to ESD #6, but is rather a frequent occurrence throughout all of Travis County. I believe these types of outcomes are mostly avoidable, though with such a larger number of small independent fire departments, it is almost impossible to achieve the necessary performance outcomes the public expects and pays for.
How so? Simple. The existing system of fire protection in Travis County utilizing 13 different ESD’s with 13 Fire Chiefs, each earning over $100,000 annually (some with just ONE fire station!) , 13 administrative operations, and 13 different fire staffing protocols and fire fighting standards is horribly inefficient and ineffective. Too much TAXPAYER money is wasted on duplication of management and support services (I am told the waste is between $4-6,000,000 annually!!!!). It is for this reason that I write to you;
The Commissioners Court should make immediate efforts to consolidate and manage these services to ensure that the waste is redirected towards service to the tax payers. In addition, consolidated training efforts and programs would produce a more effective firefighting system in which all firefighters would be trained to the same level and be taught to use the same procedures.
A combined county-wide fire system could integrate with and find economies with the Austin Fire Department for support services such as training, supply, administration, payroll, HR, fleet, facility maintenance, and yes even operations, and the list goes on and on. In short, we have one of the most effective fire departments in the nation surrounded by some of the least effective departments. To leave it alone is nonsensical and is resulting in devastating loss to both families and business’ all across Travis County. The entire system of firefighting in Travis County needs to be revamped. We currently have 13 ESD’s.
When one steps back and objectively looks at the performance of the various ESD’s it is not impressive. ESD #6 is supposedly referred to as one of the elite ESD’s in Travis County and yet time after time they continue to be involved with structure fires that result in complete loss of the property and contents. These dollar amounts are, over time, quickly adding up to millions of dollars in fire related losses. We have been fortunate the loss of life has not followed this trend. ESD #6 is just an example but this problem is systemic within the entire Travis County ESD network.
Taxpayers in Travis County are spending millions of dollars annually and in return are getting a mediocre level of fire protection. If the results of structure fires are going to routinely result in complete fire loss, I would argue we could accomplish the same with significantly fewer dollars using a system of volunteer fire-fighters.
This is in no way intended to be an indictment of the individual fire-fighters that staff the ESD’s throughout Travis County. These dedicated professionals are working very hard to do the very best of which they are capable. Unfortunately, the old adage “work smarter not harder” comes into play. They are placed in an environment in which they are predestined to fail because the ESD structure is designed to support the low volume fire and medical demands of a rural area, not the high demands of the suburban-urban environment of Travis County. It is up to the County policy makers and elected officials to take aggressive steps toward consolidation of these departments before the local papers are not just showing pictures of damaged homes, but also telling stories of lives lost. Your leadership here can make a meaningful difference to the people of Travis County.
This is admittedly a political hotbed. Often times doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. Change is rarely met with open arms. That said, it is more than obvious that in the best interest of property owners and taxpayers in Travis County the time has come for you to act.
Doing nothing is doing something and brings along with it the realization that nonfeasance is worse than malfeasance.
As a Travis County homeowner, former business owner, and taxpayer, I implore you to act with a sense of urgency and immediately start the process of consolidation of all the existing Emergency Service Districts.
Steiner Ranch Homeowner
