The country experiences immense fire tragedies will often require a swift response by the fore department. Annually, such fire emergency calls go beyond the one million mark with billions of dollars in losses reported (( Mydin, 2014) . Such significant fire emergency statistics would mean that fire prevention strategies would be critical in reducing the loses that Americans incur every year. The delivery process for fire protection services consists fire prevention and fire suppression. The fire prevention services focus on preventing fires before they occur and reducing damage in case they occur ( Gairson, 2013) . Currently, the department seems to be overwhelmed in its operations due to exploding fuel costs and a solution could be feasible when considering its fire prevention efforts. The inspection division of the department carries out expected inspections while pre-planning efforts are directed to the individual fire companies. It is prudent to identify why it would be more cost-effective if inspections and pre-plan efforts where tasked to an inspector.
Cost-benefit analysis of having the companies do the inspections
Companies need to be well-equipped in how they can prevent fires from occurring in the communities they serve. Such efforts would include the identification and implementation of fire unquestionable fire prevention strategies ( Cain, 2008) . Benefits of having individual companies do inspections and develop pre-plans are that the department will get unique and sound-proof inspections and pre-plans. The individual companies would ensure that their specific inspections are done to the best to make sure that their role in the department is catered for. Just like any department in an organization wants to shine in its output, it would be the same for either the ladder or engine companies.
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Nonetheless, having the individual companies engage in the processes mean that the department has to deal with different inspection strategies and plans. The ladder and engine companies will both develop unique inspection strategies and pre-plan best suited for their unique needs. It would mean that the department gets more financial responsibilities to address when the responsibilities are split among the companies. The companies may not opt to do inspections that cater for the requirements of the other. They will only ensure that the inspections and pre-plans cater well for the roles the individual company is needed to fulfill. Their focus is that the individual company fulfills its responsibilities flawlessly. The divided responsibilities call for more input from the larger department which is what it is trying to deal with in order to reduce the costs it is incurring as dictated the rising fuel costs.
Cost- Benefit analysis of having an inspector do the inspection and pre-plans
An inspector provided by the department would be the most effective strategy for inspection and pre-planning. such a resource would mean that all responsibilities are directed towards a single entity which may not be as costly to finance as it would be the two companies. A single inspector would be tasked with inspections that fit well with the needs of the individual companies. It would be necessary that the inspector is well-trained and experienced in dealing with the unique needs of the individual companies to ensure that inspections conducted cater for their unique needs. It would also require that the professional is well-trained and informed in pre-planning for individual companies for effectiveness. Overall, the inspector would need to be significantly experienced and educated. Once this is assured, especially at the hiring level, the costs that would have been directed towards different unique inspections and pre-plans would be reduced by almost half as only one entity would develop uniform inspection strategies and pre-plans.
The costs would be incurred in pilot programs to ensure that the uniform inspections and pre-plans work across companies. The one-all effort would mean that the department tries out the inspection strategies and pre-plan before implementation to ensure that they work as expected. Financial resources would be necessary for such and endeavor.
It is undeniable that both options have varied costs and benefits for the department. Nonetheless, having an inspector carry out inspections and develop pre-plans presents more benefits than costs. The department would only be required to channel resources to one entity to carry out roles that would have been carried out by a number of individual companies. When the department would have been required to direct financial resources to the engine and ladder companies separately for inspection and pre-plans, it can accomplish this through a single inspector who can serve both companies as required. It would mean that the resources that could have been directed towards two entities may be reduced by half as a single inspector may not need what was needed by two or more companies. The cost for this option would be catered for through ensuring that the inspector is well-experienced in inspections and pre-plans for the individual companies. It would need to hire a professional who would be aware of the unique requirements for inspection and pre-plans for the ladder and engine companies to ensure that the intended functions of these efforts are well-addressed.
Overall, the costs of companies carrying out the inspections and pre-plans would out-weigh those of these roles being played by an inspector. The department may manage to reduce costs directed to these functions by half if the responsibilities are assigned to a single inspector. He or she would carry out responsibilities required by two companies as a singe entity and therefore reduced financial resources needed. This therefore presents the most feasible option.
References
Cain, R. A. (2008). Fire prevention inspection effectiveness-Creating an assessment methodology for the Cary Fire Department . National Fire Academy.
Gairson, P. S. (2013). Examining the value of fire prevention inspections in commercial occupancies.
Mydin, M. A. (2014). Human Factors in Fire Safety Management and Prevention. Analele Universitatii'Eftimie Murgu' , 21 (1).
