We regret to report that there was one fire casuality this year.  One civilian was trapped and unable to escape an early morning mobile home fire on November 18, 2003.  Two other civilians were injured trying to gain entry to help during this fire.  We have had one other civilian with a minor burn injury occurring during a kitchen fire this year.

The top ten fire losses for the year 2003 are listed on page four of the report.  The total estimated fire los for the incidents to which we responded amounted to $600,800 with the breakdown $404,600 in the City of Norwalk, $146,200 in Norwalk Township and $50,000 in Bronson Township.  Please note that these are our estimates at the time of the incident and actual costs may have exceeded these figures.

During 2003 we had 56 calls that overlapped other incidents.  Storm activity on July 4, 2003 caused 8 different reports involving 15 incidents in the same time frame.  On July 8, 2003, another storm created 5 reports involving 14 different incidents occurring in the same time frame.  In both cases, our incident command structure allowed response of fire department units to all locations within 5 minutes.  The East Coast power blackout problem caused us to activate our local emergency command structure.

This year we continued our work in the fire prevention education and inspection programs.  On page 10 you will notice the fire education impact our department has had during the year.  We have increased our Adult presentations and expanded our Junior High School presentation and the Juvenile Fire Setter Program.

Our inspections were somewhat adversely affected by an off duty injury and the new inspector going through training.  The data entry of inspection reports into the National Fire Incident Reporting System program was a main priority and I am happy to report we have accomplished that mission.  I expect 2004 to be a great year in our inspection program as both fire inspectors are available.  A fire prevented is a fire that we don't have to extinguish.

Response time for emergency calls remains excellent.  Our records show the overall average emergency response time is 3 minutes and 31 seconds for city calls, while the townships shows a 5 minute and 5 second average response in Norwalk Township, and 7 minutes and 37 seconds in Bronson Township.

During 2003 we budgeted $1,347,360.43 and had actual expenditures of $1,264,518.49 with personnel costs accounting for 75.7% of expenditures.  All equipment repairs were accomplished with no supplemental requests being needed.

The fire department applied for three different grants during the 2003 year.  We were awarded a grant from the State Fire Marshal, The Firefighter Training grant for reimbursement costs associated wit the 240-hour fire academy.  We received a grant from FEMA through the Huron County EMA to purchase two new tornado sirens ($17,000), and also the Fire Act Grant was applied for and received in the amount of ($66,510) to purchase new SCBA air compressor and upgrades to our (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) to make them Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear protective.

The intended goals for 2004

1. Increased fire inspections

2. Building and equipment needs

3. Training requirements

Projects for 2004

1. Continued preplans of factories and facilities

2. Hydrant testing program

3. New Construction building reviews

Respectfully submitted,

Robert N. Bores, Chief

Norwalk Fire Department