Switala planning to update fire dept.
Butler Fire Chief Christopher Switala spent December reviewing policies and records, and plans to implement some updates and changes when the new year begins.
Switala, 49, said some policies and procedures haven't been updated in the two years the city had been without a chief and he plans to update them “now that we're getting ready to start a new year.”
He said he developed a strategic plan for the city fire department and the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District, at which he serves as chief on an as-needed basis in an agreement between the city and township.
Switala commended city firefighters for maintaining trucks and equipment, obtaining grants and updating equipment without a chief over the past two years.
One grant covered the purchase of computers and software for fire trucks. Those computers contain a “preplan” for each commercial and industrial building in the city. Preplans include locations of utility shut offs, entrances and exits, stored hazardous materials, nearby hydrants and contact information for company officials.
The existing preplans are old and firefighters will begin updating them in 2019.
“They have the old preplan. It's something you need to continually update. We will start at the beginning of the year,” Switala said.
The commercial fire safety inspection program will also get a new look in the new year.
Seven firefighters are certified fire inspectors who will inspect commercial buildings.
“We do it now. It needs organized,” Switala said.
Among other things, the inspectors determine which buildings are required to have sprinklers or other fire suppression systems, and make sure that the systems receive their required servicing.
He said he wants city and township firefighters to train together, so they operate better when both respond to emergencies.
The city has relied on the township's truck since the city ladder truck was damaged in a March 2017 fire and hasn't been repaired.
“The township has one, but we need a solution for fast response,” Switala said.
A new ladder truck costs a minimum of $1 million, and there is no allocation to buy one in the 2019 budget, he said.
“We need to find a long-term solution for the replacement of the ladder truck. That's going to take a lot of discussions with the mayor and council to come up with a solution,” he said.
The department applied for a grant to buy new vehicle rescue tools. Those tools would complement the small equipment purchases that the department made with grants, he said.
“The guys have done good over the years to use grant money and get grant money to get some needed small equipment,” Switala said.
Firefighters also did a good job of getting some reimbursement of costs for responding to fires and accidents from insurance companies, he said.
“A certain amount can be billed to recover service costs,” Switala said. “They've done all they can to keep things running and get some equipment upgrades.”
He said the city council's recent approval to hire two part-time firefighters will restore the part-time ranks to four. There are 16 full-time firefighters in addition to Switala.
The contract between the city and firefighters' union requires four firefighters be on duty at all times, while the part-timers can be used to fill in for full-timers when they are not working, he said.
Having a part-timer fill in for a full-timer saves the city from paying a full-timer overtime wages to cover a shift, he said.In addition, Switala said he wants to re-create a fire prevention program that was successful in Mount Lebanon, where he worked as a full-time firefighter for 17 years before he was hired as the fire marshal in Butler Township in April and, in October, was sworn in as Butler's fire chief.“I want to be proactive in fire prevention. I want to make a big emphasis on smoke alarms,” he said.During a cursory review of fire reports, he determined that 35 percent of the houses in the city don't have working smoke detectors.A total of 1,650 smoke detectors that the Mount Lebanon Fire Department obtained and installed in homes through a grant resulted in the department saving at least one home from being destroyed by a fire, he said. There were a few other instances when neighbors heard a smoke detector in other homes and called 911, he said.“In Mount Lebanon, there was a reduction in fire-related injuries of 60 percent, and we reduced property losses per structure fire by 20 percent,” Switala said. I want similar results here.”The lack of working smoke detectors in homes is his biggest concern.“Nationally, two-thirds of fire fatalities occur in homes without alarms. Having a working smoke detector is the best defense you can have,” he said.Switala entered the fire service as a volunteer firefighter in Baldwin Borough 32 years ago. He has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from John Carroll University in Ohio and a bachelor's in fire service administration from the State University of New York. Becoming the chief of the Butler Fire Department was an opportunity that came up at the right time.“When I served as fire marshal for the township, I got a feel for the fire operations in the area and thought this would be the next logical step to advance the fire service in the area — and a way to promote regional fire service in the area. This was a great opportunity. As I come to the latter part of my career, my focus is more on fire administration and fire prevention,” Switala said.
