1. Combination fire departments
Lawrence Di Camillo
Fire Chief
City of Stafford Fire Department

2. The Puzzle Pieces Types Funding Mechanisms Organizational Structure
Career
Combination
Volunteer
Industrial
Funding Mechanisms
Municipal government
Emergency Services District (ESD)
Contract agreement
Donations
Organizational Structure
Municipal
Private
Regulatory & Standards
Texas Commission on Fire Protection
State Fireman's & Fire Marshals Assoc.
National Fire Protection Assoc.
Fair Labor Standards Act

3. Regulations & Standards
Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP)
State regulatory agency equivalent to TCOLE for regulated fire departments (paid)
Authority to asses fines and close fire department operations
Conducts bi-annual inspections of regulated fire departments
Can adopt NFPA standards as rules which regulated departments must comply with
NFPA Protective Ensembles For Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting
NFPA Selection, Care and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting
Texas Government Code
Specific provisions for Police and Fire personnel
Disciplinary process – Chapter 614
Higher classification compensation (e.g. Fire Fighter functioning as Company Officer for a shift)
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
7K exemption / overtime thresholds that differ from 40-hour week employees
Volunteering and working for same entity providing “like” services
What is compensable time?

4. U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division
Days in Work Period
Fire Protection
Law Enforcement 28
212
171 27
204
165 26
197
159 25
189
153 24
182
147 23
174
141 22
167
134 21
128 20
151
122 19
144
116 18
136
110 17
129
104 16
121 98 15
114 92 14
106 86 13 79 12 91 73 11 83 67 10 76 61 9 68 55 8 49 7 53 43
U.S. Department of Labor
Wage and Hour Division

5. Regulations & Standards
State Firemen's and Fire Marshal’s Association (SFFMA)
Voluntary membership organization which has own standards for fire service (volunteer)
Evolution of standards almost mirror those of TCFP
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Standards council composed of fire department and related industry representatives
Develop standards for every facet of the fire service
NFPA standards are not law but can, and have, been used in civil litigation
And we still haven’t talked about…
Insurance Services Organization (ISO)
Accreditation
Texas Fire Chief’s association best practices
Texas Municipal Retirement System
Safe-D

6. Regulated Departments
#1 A government entity which employs full-time fire protection personnel
Structural Fire Fighters ARFF Fire Fighters Fire Inspectors
Fire Investigators Marine Fire Fighters
#2 Other entities which employ full-time fire protection personnel (e.g. intermediary)
#3 Departments who employ personnel who earn at least 2,080hrs X federal minimum wage
#4 Departments who choose voluntary compliance
The ubiquitous “intermediary entity”…
ESD #999 contracts with the Johnson FD, a private entity, to cover their area. The fire fighters are employees of the Johnson FD hence the department is not regulated unless personnel exceed earnings amount or they ask for voluntary compliance
ESD #999 ends the service contract with the Johnson FD and chooses to hire the fire fighters as their own employees; they would then become a regulated department

7. One versus the other Emergency Services District (ESD)
Legal taxing entity i.e. Government
Responsible for specific geographic area
FT & PT employees
Volunteer personnel
Emergency Services District (ESD)
Johnson Fire Department
FT & PT employees
Volunteer personnel
Legal taxing entity i.e. Government
Responsible for specific geographic area

8. Balancing Act
Most difficult type to manage with regard to personnel matters, compliance and operationally
Very easy to make assumptions not based on law or fact
Appearances of similarity to a neighboring department can not be made because of subtle differences which have wide ranging implications
Utilization of PT personnel by a municipal department must be carefully balanced with the TMRS 1,000 hour limitation rule

9. Common Misconceptions
We only have PT and volunteer personnel. We aren’t required to be TCFP compliant
True only if PT employees do not reach minimum income threshold
True only if actual employer is a non-governmental entity; not a city, county or ESD
We do not have to follow NFPA because it is not law
False if the NFPA std has been adopted by TCFP then regulated depts must comply (e.g. NFPA 1851)
We do not have to allow TCFP to conduct an inspection
False if your department is a regulated department you can not refuse inspection
We are a regulated department but only our full-time personnel must comply
False if you’re a regulated department ALL personnel groups must be compliant

10. ?