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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.3 After Action July 4 Rptor D, STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL File # ❑�©©- 100 DATE: July 19, 2011 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers FROM: x Joni Pattillo, City Manager SUBJECT: After Action Report on July 4, 2011 Public Safety and Staff Activities Prepared By: Bonnie Terra, Fire Marshal and Tom McCarthy, Police Chief EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Staff will present a report on the Public Safety and Staff -actions associated with July 4, 2011 activities within the City of Dublin. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The costs for Public Safety and Maintenance Staff actions are included in the Fiscal Year 2011- 12 budget. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report. Submitted By Police Chief Submitted By: Fire Marshal - 2 Revie by: Assistant City Manager Page 1 of 3 ITEM NO. '7 ° 0(,K DESCRIPTION: The following is a report on the Public Safety activities associated with July 4, 2011 within the City of Dublin. This report will include calls for service, booth activities, enforcement activities and summary of complaints. Several tactical elements continue to be deployed to ensure that citizens of Dublin as well as visitors are operating under the City sanctioned use of "Safe and Sane" fireworks in a safe environment at the three designated City Parks (Dublin Sports Grounds, Emerald Glen Park and Alamo Creek Park) or at their private residences. Staff also worked to curb the use of illegal fireworks. Key elements of the tactical elements used on July 4, 2011 include: • The use of additional Police and Fire Patrol personnel that augmented the regular complement of staff. • Supervision was increased • Designated Units were assigned to each of the designated City Parks • Use of citations for the possession/use of illegal fireworks based on City Ordinance • Utilization of bicycle patrol teams • Use of crowd control barricades to block off designated fireworks in the three designated parks assisted in crowd control and designated boundaries for safe fireworks usage • Vegetation Management The Alameda County Fire Department responded to 4 fire calls on July 4, 2011. All of the calls were the result of fireworks. Two of the fires occurred in dumpsters (Sorrento Neighborhood and Alamo Creek Park) where "Safe and Sane" fireworks were disposed of while still hot. The other two fires were grass fires caused by the use of dangerous illegal fireworks and the improper use of "Safe and Sane" fireworks. The grass fires occurred in the neighborhood of Inspiration and Bloomfield and in the neighborhood of Sparrow Ct. Property damage for all calls was limited to vegetation, dumpsters, and the debris inside the dumpsters. No other property damage occurred. It should be noted that there were no fireworks related medical calls or injuries. Dublin Police Services (DPS) began preparing for the July 4th event in May of 2011 by identifying staffing needs, determining hours of deployment, and evaluating statistical data from past years. Documents with pertinent information such as Penal Code sections, Health and Safety Code sections and Dublin municipal code sections pertaining to fireworks were distributed amongst patrol staff to refresh their knowledge. As the event drew closer all staff were provided with the locations of all fireworks stands and they were directed to conduct patrol checks throughout the day including during the night time hours when the booths were closed. Over the last two years, calls for service have declined significantly, which has resulted in reduced staffing levels of officers assigned to the fireworks suppression detail. In 2010 calls for service during the same 24 hour period was 41 % higher (92) as compared during the same period of time this year (54). During the hours of operation from 4:OOpm until 1:OOam calls for service declined 18% percent from 38 in 2010 to this year's totals of 33. Two citations and one arrest were made for illegal fireworks as compared to last year when no arrests were made and only one citation was issued. Approximately 28 pounds of fireworks were confiscated this year as opposed to approximately 10 pounds the previous year. DPS's usual number of patrol Page 2 of 3 officers was complimented this year with eight additional officers assigned to the fireworks detail. Two officers were assigned to each of the designated parks with the exception of Alamo Creek Park which had one bicycle officer assigned. Emerald Glen Park had two dual sport motor officers. Dual sport motorcycles are motorcycles designed to operate in both on and off road capacities. This allowed for versatility when maneuvering throughout the large geographical area of Emerald Glen Park as well as ease of movement throughout the crowd. Two traffic motor officers were assigned to the Dublin Sports Park which allowed for traffic control if needed for the increased volume of traffic on Dublin Blvd. Supervision was increased by the addition of an operation sergeant who ran the event and an operations lieutenant who managed and was present at the event the majority of the calls for service occurred between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 pm. When the parks were closed at 10:00 pm, the officers assigned to the parks went into service responding to calls. The highest volume of calls was from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Calls for service declined rapidly after 10:00 pm, and after 11:00 pm, calls had diminished to a level that could be easily managed by the normal patrol shift. Therefore, the operation was terminated at midnight. Overview on the three (3) desiqnated Citv Parks Dublin Sports Grounds: Use and clean up time at this park was slightly up from previous years. A total of 10 maintenance staff hours was spent on clean up this year. Emerald Glen Park: Significantly more citizens used this park to enjoy their "Safe and Sane" fireworks than in past years. As a result there was an increase in the clean up efforts. A total of 24 maintenance staff hours were needed to clean up the park included cleaning up fireworks from the parking lots as well as the grass areas. Alamo Creek Park: Use of this park was about the same as in previous years. This year's clean up efforts took only 3 maintenance staff hours. There was no reported damage to city owned property in the parks attributable to the use of fireworks in the three designated parks. Safe and Sane Sales Booth activities appeared to run smoothly with 14 booths selling "Safe and Sane" fireworks. The booths reported varied sales volumes which seemed to depend upon their location. Two booths were not cleared of all materials by the July 8, 5:00 p.m. deadline and therefore, those deposits will not be returned. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: No public noticing is required for this item. ATTACHMENTS: None. Page3of3