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Consider a memorandum/resolution accepting the Wildland Fire Vehicle allocation from TIFMAS.
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DATE: January 16, 2024
TO: Kent Cagle, City Manager
FROM: James Kubinski, Fire Chie
SUBJECT: Accept the Wildland Fire Vehicle Allocation
BACKGROUND AND FINDINGS:
The Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), overseen by the Texas A&M Forest Service, stands as a crucial initiative with a multifaceted approach. Established following Hurricane Ike, TIFMAS integrates grants, training, qualifications, and mobilization systems to harness local resources on a statewide scale. Notably, the Killeen Fire Department has been an active participant since the Hurricane Ike response, consistently contributing to large-scale, all-hazard requests. In a forward-thinking move, the Killeen Fire Department established its Wildland Team in 2019, aiming to provide a deployable resource within the TIFMAS framework. This initiative bore fruit in 2020 when the Wildland Team undertook its inaugural deployment. TIFMAS allocates funds for various purposes, including apparatus (fire response vehicle) allocations, crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of wildland incident mitigation. Participating fire departments earn points based on criteria such as actual deployments, individual qualifications of team members, the number of "Carded TIFMAS Personnel," and department reporting to TXFIRS & Fire Connect. The coveted annual vehicle awards serve as a testament to the dedication and preparedness of agencies, with the highest point earners securing these vital resources.
TIFMAS met on November 1, 2023, at the annual TIFMAS Conference and allocated approximately $2,200,000 of budgeted TIFMAS funds for apparatus grants. A total of four fire suppression vehicles (3 Type III, 1 Type IV) were approved for allocation. The Killeen Fire Department had the highest number of points out of all participating agencies and was allocated one of the Type III suppressions units.
The awa...
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