John Preston

Assistant Fire Chief

Steve Krivjanik,

Fire Chief 

Issue Statement: Oakland Park Fire Rescue's Fire Prevention Division is responsible for the reduction of fire and safety hazards in the community through fire code compliance activities, such as plans review and inspections of commercial and other structures. Structures that require fire protection systems are responsible for obtaining a certified contractor to perform inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) of the applicable systems.  These reports are then submitted to the Fire Prevention Division.  Fire Prevention does not have a comprehensive software solution for managing 3rd party ITM reporting.  Approximately 29 percent of the Fire Prevention Division's time is spent administering 3rd Party ITM reports submitted for structures within the City.  Fire Prevention is seeking an efficient software solution that will simplify reporting, monitoring, and notifications by creating a comprehensive system for ITM reporting,  allowing for more staff time to be spent on inspections.

Recommended Action:  City Commission adopt a resolution authorizing the appropriate City officials to execute the attached agreement with Brycer and The Compliance Engine to provide monitoring and submission of third party fire inspection related reports.

Background:  The Compliance Engine is a simple, internet-based tool for Oakland Park Fire Rescue to track and drive code compliance, reduce false alarm activity, and provide a safer community. It provides a secure cloud environment in which third party contractors that inspect, test, and maintain fire protections systems, submit their reports via BRYCER’s web portal directly to Oakland Park Fire Rescue, facilitating a more efficient review, tracking, and follow-up process with occupants to correct deficiencies and maintain critical life-safety systems. In addition to the web-based technology, the services provided include a team to administer hard and soft copy notifications and perform follow up calls to help increase testing and maintenance activity in Oakland Park. The end result is a comprehensive and accurate aggregation of data around which buildings have what types of systems, when they were last tested, and if there are any open deficiencies that could jeopardize their successful deployment in the event of an incident. With The Compliance Engine, Oakland Park Fire Rescue will be better equipped to do more with less in their mission to drive 100% code compliance with fire and life safety laws.

Oakland Park Fire Rescue has been looking for a third party vendor to monitor and drive compliance in between our fire inspections. The Compliance Engine was found to offer the following benefits:

• Drives 100% Compliance with fire & life safety code
•  Electronically collects, organizes and tracks fire and life safety test results
•  Maximizes limited resources, saves time and streamlines communication
•  Built to ensure a safer environment for firefighters, citizens and guests
•  Saves Oakland Park Fire Rescue time while strengthening life safety

The Compliance Engine has been implemented in many Cities in the United Sates and locally in Fort Lauderdale,  St. Lucie County, Indian River County, and Martin County. Several other jurisdictions in Broward County are also currently considering this solution.

The term of the contract is three years, with automatic three-year renewals thereafter unless either Brycer or Oakland Park provide a notice not to renew 90 days prior to the expiration date of the current term.  Oakland Park may also terminate the contract at any time with 90 days written notice.

The Compliance Engine is free to the Fire Department and City of Oakland Park and may generate a small income steam. There is also no direct charge to City of Oakland Park building owners. The fee for this service is paid by the 3rd party contractors who service the life safety systems on a per system, per premises, per annum basis. The model also delivers compliance resulting in new business and maintenance revenue for 3rd party contractors.

This proposed agreement will result in a small revenue sharing income for the City after the vendors service fees. The total number of reports that will be submitted through this system has been estimated  and we expect a total annual revenue of approximately $3,000 when all 3rd party contractors are utilizing the system. This additional funding would then be targeted to life safety education and training, such as swim safety, fire extinguisher training, and other community benefits.