Page 25 - Microsoft Word - FY 2022 Adopted Budget Document

Business Plan Return to Table of Contents
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The Fire Department consists of Fire/Rescue Operations, Fire Prevention Inspections/EOD Services, Medical
Operations/Public Health, Fire Training, Resource Management, the Office of Emergency Management, 9-1-1 Dispatch/Public
Safety Communication Services, Office of Special Events, Special Operations Groups, and Business Services. The Arlington
Fire Department team's mission is to meet and exceed our community's needs and expectations by providing high quality
emergency response, life safety, and community support services.

The Arlington Fire Department (AFD), Tarrant County College, and the Arlington Independent School District (AISD) collaborate
to provide a two year/college credit program for high school students who wish to pursue a Firefighter/EMT career. The program
allows students to graduate with a certifiable status in Basic Fire Suppression from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection
(TCFP) and a National Registry EMT certification, with college credits and potential job opportunities. This initiative has served
as a model for future AISD vocational credit career programs. For the 2021-2022 school year, AISD will provide funding support
for a dedicated Fire Academy Officer to coordinate the program. To date, the Fire Academy has completed 10 total classes and
10 alumni have been hired by the Fire Department.

In FY 2021, AFD was challenged to respond to a wide range of
community service demands beyond typical structure fires and
emergency medical services. One such challenge was managing
the COVID-19 pandemic, by administering testing and
recommending strategies to minimize the spread of the virus.
Beginning in December 2020 the Department opened one of the
first mass vaccination sites in the North Texas area. The
vaccination effort was so successful, that AFD partnered with
FEMA and the Department of Defense to assist the military in
operating a second mass vaccination site. The Department was
also able to open a new public health facility in the Spring of 2021
to assist in stopping the spread of COVID-19. These efforts were extremely valuable in assisting the City in safely reopening.
Beyond COVID-19, the Department led recovery efforts following
multiple natural disasters including an EF-2 tornado in November
2020 and the once in a lifetime winter storm event which affected
the entire State of Texas in February 2021. The Department’s
TIFMAS and USAR teams were called upon to deploy and assist
with hurricane recovery operations along the Gulf of Mexico in
August 2020 and were also called upon to assist in combating the
California Wildfires in September 2020. AFD’s Special Events team
hosted multiple large events including the National League
Championship Series, the World Series, the National Finals Rodeo,
the Cotton Bowl, and the Rose Bowl.

FY 2022 Adopted Budget and Business Plan 14 City of Arlington, Texas