The Southlake Fire Department’s Annual Report provides an overview of activities during FY2020 and summarizes the hard work and dedication of the men and women that make up the City of Southlake’s Fire Department.

It also highlights the services that are provided to the Southlake community, which includes emergency response, emergency management and community risk reduction through inspections and education.

Last year, the Southlake Fire Department was faced with addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The department was in charge of distributing information to the public regarding the health and safety of the community.

To ensure that information was consistent and accurate, the department continuously worked with local, state and federal partners, followed advice and directives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the Denton and Tarrant County Health Departments.

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) instituted the www.protectsouthlake.com webpage in order to communicate the most current COVID-19 information, case data and City response actions, as well as continued to provide education on safety topics.

Several safety procedures were implemented for staff reporting to City facilities, as well as distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitizers, cleaning procedures, health screenings and continued situational reports, to keep leadership informed of all changing aspects of COVID-19 response and recovery, including vaccine distribution.

The team also adapted to new COVID-19 restrictions when dealing with the public. The team introduced virtual station tours, child safety videos, candy caravan and Story Time at the Station.

OEM also implemented the Vector Program dedicated to the public education campaign for mosquito reduction and responsibility. In 2020, the City set 135 traps between April and November with 24 returning positive for the West Nile Virus, and responded to 25 citizens’ concerns or reports of standing water.

The report also covers response statistics. During FY 2020, SFD responded to fires in under 6.35 minutes, responded to 3,210 service calls, saved $5 million in property and held the record for a 45 second EMS dispatch time.

The department also achieved the 2020 Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Level recognition award presented by the American Heart Association for the second year in a row, which is the highest level of recognition related to pre-hospital cardiovascular care available to EMS providers nationwide.

Another notable achievement mentioned in the report was the department’s goal to maintain financial stability. SFD was able to make great strides in building a healthy financial foundation to continue to fund the department’s operations. In FY 2020, the department received over $80,000 in grant funding to help achieve the highest standards of safety and security.

Fire Marshal services are pivotal in maintaining the safety mission of the department. The goal of the Fire Marshal’s Office is to develop proactive risk management awareness through plan review, fire inspections, code enforcement, as well as fire investigations. Within the last year, approximately 4,124 fire inspections were completed.

“As we all know, 2020 was a challenging year with COVID-19, yet the members of our department continued to explore ways to provide world-class service to our community safely and effectively,” Southlake Fire Chief Mike Starr said.

The full report can be found online. For more information about Southlake’s Fire Department, please visit www.CityofSouthake.com/Fire