Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Safe Place Policy PDF

TO: ALL PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE PERSONNEL FROM: MICHAEL C. MACKEY FIRE RESCUE ADMINISTRATOR PREPARED BY: FIRE RESCUE PPM COMMITTEE SUBJECT: SAFE PLACE PPM #:...

TO: ALL PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE PERSONNEL FROM: MICHAEL C. MACKEY FIRE RESCUE ADMINISTRATOR PREPARED BY: FIRE RESCUE PPM COMMITTEE SUBJECT: SAFE PLACE PPM #: FR-O-505 ISSUE DATE EFFECTIVE DATE January 12, 2014 February 12, 2014 PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to identify the procedures for personnel to take if a troubled teen should seek refuge at a fire station. UPDATES: Future updates to this PPM are the responsibility of the Deputy Chief of Operations, in conjunction with the PPM Committee, under the authority of the Fire Rescue Administrator. AUTHORITY:  Fire Rescue Administrator  Safe Place Site Agreement, as may be amended. SCOPE: This policy applies to all Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel and reservists. POLICY: Fire Rescue and the Children’s Home Society have entered into a Project Safe Place agreement to assist in the safe refuge of teens in crisis. Every fire station for Fire Rescue is designated as a Safe Place and personnel shall abide by this policy. PROCEDURE: 1. Each Fire Rescue fire station shall display the Safe Place sign in a highly visible area on the outside of the building. 2. Each fire station shall be provided with a Safe Place decal to affix visibly at the main entry points of the fire station. This decal provides a contact telephone number for the teen to call in the event that the fire station is closed due to an emergency or other call of duty. 3. The Operational Captain shall ensure that the Safe Place procedure sheet is maintained in a location where all employees have access. In addition, the Safe Place procedures sheet shall be maintained on the Fire Rescue Intranet site. 4. Each Lieutenant or Operational Captain is responsible for reviewing the Safe Place procedures with their personnel and new employees. FR-O-505/Page 1 of 3 5. Once inside the station, the Lieutenant or Operational Captain shall ensure the teen is provided with a safe environment where the youth can wait until a Safe Place Representative can respond to assist the needs of the youth. 6. To ensure continuity and safety of the youth, the Lieutenant or Operational Captain shall notify the Communications Center that a unit from their station is “out of service” until a representative from the Safe Harbor Runaway Center arrives. 7. The Lieutenant or Operational Captain shall contact the Safe Harbor Runaway Center (561- 868-4444) to inform them of a youth in their station. Personnel are responsible to be supportive of the youth, to relay information about them to Safe Harbor Runaway Center staff and to keep such information confidential. 8. The Safe Harbor Runaway Center shall call back the fire station within 15 minutes to advise the name of the representative who shall respond to the station to pick up the youth. The representative shall arrive at the fire station within 45 minutes to accept responsibility for the youth. The Safe Harbor Runaway Center Representative shall inform the Lieutenant or Operational Captain if they need additional time due to extenuating circumstances. 9. The Lieutenant or Operational Captain shall ensure that the teen only leaves with the approved and authorized representative from Safe Harbor Runaway Center. 10. The Lieutenant or Operational Captain shall notify the Communications Center that the unit is “back in service” and document all events in the station logbook. PROCEDURES FOR SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES Special Circumstances for Safe Place 1. If a child is followed to a Safe Place site by an angry parent, the employee needs to call the police. Fire Rescue personnel and Safe Place Representatives should never try to intervene between an angry parent and a teen. The parent has every legal right to take the teen with them especially if they are calm and rational. If the employee is concerned for the teen, they can get the license plate # and follow up with a call to the police to check on the family. 2. The only time a representative can legally stop a parent from taking a child from a site is if abuse is suspected, the teen says they are being abused or the abuse is witnessed. Once again, if the parent shows up, the Lieutenant, Operational Captain or Safe Place Representative needs to call the police. At times the situation may warrant keeping the teen and parent separated until and the police shall arrive to resolve the situation. However, follow the above instructions if the parent decides to take the child before the police arrive. 3. If a teen is at the site and then decides to leave, they can. Project Safe Place is a voluntary program. The only time the police should be called is if the teen is suicidal or homicidal. Do not under any circumstances call the teen’s parent. 4. After the Lieutenant or Operational Captain calls the Safe Harbor Runaway Center about a teen being there, Safe Harbor Runaway Center shall call the fire station back within 15 minutes to advise the name of the Safe Place Representative who is coming to pick up the FR-O-505/Page 2 of 3  teen. Safe Harbor Runaway Center shall provide identifying information about the volunteer such as the individual’s name and make/model of the vehicle. The Safe Place Representative shall be there within 45 minutes. If it shall be longer, the Lieutenant or Operational Captain shall be notified. If the Lieutenant or Operational Captain has difficulty contacting the Safe Harbor Runaway Center then they should call Michelle Galloway, (561) 598-4150. 5. If a teen arrives at a fire station very stoned or drunk, call the Safe Harbor Runaway Center for guidance with handling the situation. If the teen is high, but coherent they may be able to go to the shelter. If the teen is hallucinating and out of control the teen may require medical care and the police should be contacted. The teen may also need to go to detox. The Safe Harbor Runaway Center or Safe Place Representative can make this decision. This has never happened at a site, but is a possibility. 6. The teens that arrive tend to be the quieter kids and need extra effort to feel comfortable at the sites. Please give the teens something to eat and drink when they arrive, if possible. ______________________________ MICHAEL C. MACKEY FIRE RESCUE ADMINISTRATOR Supersession History 1. PPM#FR I-20, issued 04/01/2001 2. PPM#FR I-20, issued 02/12/2014 3. PPM#FR O-505, clerical 03/01/2018 FR-O-505/Page 3 of 3