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3. The sale price of each old mid-level fire suit sold pursuant to Article 8 Response: Same response as stated in l and 2 above. 4. The average active (use by a fire fighter) life of a mid-level fire suit Response: In the past, the disposition of old bunker gear has been treated as expendable equipment rather than an asset: therefore it did not appear on the Division Fixed Asset report. Bunker gear is budgeted and purchased from the 035.24 (Uniforms and Clothing) account and is removed from service when it presents a safety concern. Due to exposures to heat. chemicals, jagged metal, broken glass, victim's body fluids, air bome pathogens, and contact with people with contagious diseases. a neve set of firefighting has a various service life. It has been our experience that bunker coats can have a life from one day to roughly no more than three years and a set of pants rarely last more than two years. For example, on April 28. 1999. we had to replace five sets of bunker gear, gloves, etc., subsequent to a plane crash due to contact with impact and fire fatalities. This bunker gear then becomes items that can not be sold (should not be sold) at surplus and has to be disposed of properly since it is extremely contaminated and a health and safety issue. Page 2 - No. 1 Using 1992 as the base year, the number of mid-level fire suits considered necessary and the number of mid-level fire suits in inventory. Response: Between career and volunteer personnel, we have 154 sets, pants and coats issued. Because each of these items are a special order item, we try to keep a reasonable supply of replacement equipment on hand. Incidents, such as the plane crash alluded to above, has an impact on the level of inventory. At the present, we have 34 pants and 23 coats that are nearly new, most are the odd sizes and all have been issued on an interim basis until fitted replacements could be received from the vendor. We also have 26 pants and 33 coats which are deemed to be in marginal condition meaning they are a last resort of the more common sizes, having rips, tears, stains, and or other defects. Between the nearly new and marginal garments, this quantity represents the approximate number of replacement sets required to temporarily outfit one shift who may have received a substantial exposure from a commercial type fire or other significant event where chemicals, petroleum products, hazardous smoke, contact with infectious/contagious individuals, or body fluids may have contaminated most of the responders. Those items that warrant being replaced or are of an exposure condition that lends to liability for any future users are usually placed in the dumpster or "red bagged" for biohazardous waster disposal, but given the existing policy, some direction will have to be obtained given no exceptions are provided for in existing policy. Page 2 - No. 2 The number of mid-level fire suits, year by year, that were purchased, and the number of said suits considered necessaryfor each year. Response: The number of bunker items purchased since 1992 are as follows: YEAR PANTS COATS 1992/93 28 32 1993/94 42 24 1994/95 44 26 1995/96 30 30 1996/97 35 29 1997/98 46 13 TOTAL 225 154 Page 2 - No. 3 The information requested above is not necessary if records establish, on a year-to-year basis, the number of said suits that were removed from active inventory. Response: No response required. MAY 4, 1999 -59- BOOK hO GAGE 2'