Case Study : City & County of SFFD

New national fitness standards imposed by the International Association of Fire Fighters, required the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) to completely upgrade the fitness rooms in its 47 fire houses. Armed with a FEMA grant, the SFFD put out a bid to nine different fitness suppliers and consultancies, and AFP was awarded the $500,000 project. AFP’s solutions included state-of-the-art equipment from Precor and Paramount to each of the 47 locations, and a six-week training program to ensure that every fire fighter was effectively trained in proper daily use of the equipment. Finally, AFP provided a long-term preventative maintenance contract, alleviating the SFFD of the time-consuming responsibility of regular maintenance and extending the life of the equipment and the long-term value of the SFFD’s investment.

Project Summary

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) recently implemented a fitness protocol for all fire stations throughout the United States.  The City & County of San Francisco’s Fire Departments (SFFD) current facilities were out-dated and did not meet the IAFF requirements. The SFFD received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which was to be used to re-structure the SFFD fitness facilities.  Armed with the FEMA grant, the SFFD put out a bid for revitalizing its current facilities. The bid was written up with great detail on product and manufacturing specifications, and nine companies from across the country bid on the $500,000 project. Through a six-month bidding process the SFFD ultimately turned to the experts at AFP to handle the task of revitalizing 47 of the SFFD’s fitness facilities.

In addition to meeting the IAFF’s guidelines for a new fitness facility, AFP was put to the task of providing critical preventative maintenance and repairs on all the stations throughout San Francisco County.

Results

Led by Key Account Manager Gordon Sterling, AFP determined that in addition to replacing the fitness equipment in the 47 facilities, it would be critical to ensure that all fire fighters were effectively trained in proper technique and day-to-day use of the fitness equipment. To accomplish this, AFP conducted classes led by qualified trainers on an ongoing basis at the SFFD training head quarters over a six-week span, using the same equipment that was being provided to each of the 47 fire houses. This included state-of-the-art equipment from leading manufacturers Precor and Paramount. All 47 stations received a Precor EFX elliptical, recumbent bike, stair climber, power rack bench, weights and a Paramount FT150 Functional Trainer.  Over 350 pieces of equipment were supplied throughout the county.

Another critical strategy would be to outsource the costly ongoing maintenance and upkeep within a long-term service agreement, relieving the SFFD of this management responsibility and saving potential costs down the road, while maximizing the life of the equipment and the SFFD’s overall investment.  The importance of outsourcing the ongoing maintenance should be emphasized, as it alleviated the SFFD of the costly, painstaking and time-consuming responsibility, allowing it utilize this valuable time and related funds for other initiatives. As with every AFP customer, the SFFD now has a devoted long-term partner in AFP, continually identifying significant cost-savings over the life of the facility and maximizing the SFFD’s investment every step of the way.

Key Stats

• 47 Elliptical Trainers
• 47 Recumbent Bikes
• 22 Climbers
• 47 Paramount FT-150 Functional Trainers
• 47 Tuff Stuff Power racks
• 47 Tuff Stuff Adjustable Benches
• 47 Hampton Weight sets and Bars
• 10 Hampton Dumbells sets with Racks
• 47 AFP Exercise mats
• 4 x 4 Sets of IAFF fitness testing equipment

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