REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
June 21, 2018
FROM: KERRI L. DONIS, Fire Chief
Fresno Fire Department
SUBJECT
Title
Approve an agreement with Industrial Scientific Corporation in the amount of $142,191.84 to provide the Fresno Fire Department with gas monitors and monitor services for a four year period.
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that Council approve a four year, gas monitor lease and servicing agreement with Industrial Scientific Corporation in the amount of $142,191.84.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Fresno Fire Department uses gas monitors to evaluate the atmospheres in structures after fires have been extinguished. The Department’s HazMat coordinator, who is trained in this area, evaluated equipment and monitoring services offered in the industry and determined that Industrial Scientific Corporation offered unique components needed by the department to accurately measure emissions and particulars following fire incidents. The contract with Industrial Scientific Corporation will provide the department with some of the most advanced technology in the industry.
BACKGROUND
Council previously approved carryover funding for the Fire Department to be used for the acquisition of gas monitors and monitoring capabilities.
The Fire Department uses multi gas monitors on its truck companies as well as on its Hazmat and USAR teams. The monitors utilized on truck companies are mainly to evaluate the atmospheres in structures, once the fire has been extinguished. The majority of time spent on fire incidents is typically in the salvage and overhaul phase. This phase is typically in environments where byproducts from combustion are off gassing, which can pose a significant health risk to firefighters. The monitors allow crews to evaluate the atmosphere and determine the level of PPE required to safely operate in that environment. The specialty teams (Hazmat and USAR) utilize the monitors to evaluate atmospheres that crews will be working in to mitigate a hazard or perform a rescue. Both teams are also required by federal and state regulatory agencies to have the capabilities to accurately monitor atmospheres that crews will be operating in.
There are a number of companies providing various gas monitoring services. The Fire Department’s HazMat Coordinator, who is experienced with essential gas monitoring components, conducted research on three industry leaders and concluded that Industrial Scientific Corporation provided all the essential components needed by the department. Three unique components that the department would like to utilize, which are only offered by Industrial Scientific Corporation - inet, Iassign, and LENS wireless.
Inet is an all-inclusive lease program, only available with Industrial Scientific, The gas detection units will be remotely monitored, calibrated and repaired by expert technicians. This remote program provides for online technical needs for monitors, calibration docking stations, calibration gases, sensor replacement, firmware updates and technical support and repair. Iassign allows instrument operators to assign an instrument to individual users and the information gathered by that monitor will be assigned to that member allowing exposure information to be downloaded on-site and recorded. LENS wireless, Ventis Pro instruments are equipped with LENS Wireless (Linked Equipment Network for Safety), a long- range, power-efficient wireless mesh network.
LENS functionality enables instrument-to-instrument communication of data through wirelessly connected, ad-hoc-formed "instrument groups" or "peer groups". A LENS group can accommodate from 2 to 25 peer instruments.
These components, unique to Industrial Scientific Corporation, will provide firefighting crews greater resources for detecting gas and overall safety during emergency situations. This sole source purchase complies with A.O. 3-1 and has been approved by the Purchasing Manager and the City Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applied. Service provider was selected based on unique technical components not offered by local service providers.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for this project is appropriated in the Fire Department’s FY 2018 General Fund budget.
Attachments:
iNet Subscription Service Agreement
Exhibit A
Gas Monitor Evaluation Matrix