Dear Citizens,

I am very proud to present East Pierce Fire & Rescue’s 2010 Strategic Leadership Plan (PFD). This is our vision and plan for the future of our department. East Pierce Fire & Rescue has experienced rapid growth, not only with the expansion of our communities, but also through the many mergers and annexations. These changes have made us one of the most progressive fire and emergency medical services providers in Western Washington. While our growth has made us much stronger, the continual change has made it difficult to plan for the future. Our leadership has determined that it’s time to take a long look at our current capabilities, evaluate where we’d like to be in five years and develop a plan on how to achieve those goals.

This plan is somewhat unique because it has a dual purpose of planning for the future and developing our current and future leaders along the way. This Strategic Leadership Plan involves seven key groups of internal stakeholders who are responsible for the research and development of the plan. These groups serve as the catalyst for the planning process; working with other department members to make recommendations for consideration by the Command Staff and Board of Fire Commissioners. This process helps to ensure that the recommendations are acted upon, while at the same time assisting in the development of our current and future leaders.

The Strategic Leadership Team has identified 10 Top Priorities for the department to accomplish in 2010. Each year, the team will evaluate our progress on those priorities and make recommendations for the next year. Our Command Staff will consider how to fund the items in each subsequent year’s budget process. The plan is intended to be an ongoing effort rather than a plan that sits on a shelf and is only considered by the Chief Officers.

While the plan is something for us to be proud of and celebrate, I’m most proud of the efforts of our Strategic Planning Team. They accepted the challenge to roll up their sleeves and develop a process that will help us to achieve some challenging goals. Not only did they accomplish that, but they’ve committed to continuing to work on this for the next several years.

As I review our vision statement and core values, two thoughts come to mind: "Our community and our employees are our most important resource" and "Everyone must make a difference". This plan truly demonstrates this philosophy. We are staking our success on our employee’s abilities to accomplish great things and our confidence in their ability to make a difference. I encourage everyone to get involved and help take our department into the future.

Sincerely,

Jerry E. Thorson
East Pierce Fire & Rescue Fire Chief

If you have a comment or feedback regarding our Strategic Leadership Plan, email me at firechief@eastpiercefire.org. I look forward to hearing from you.