Emergency preparation

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: May 29, 2008

Orange County’s fire and EMS agencies are beginning to piece together a plan for the county’s future public safety needs, as they blend professional and volunteer staff in an era of increased emergency needs.
At the request of Orange County officials last year, the Virginia Fire Services Board, Virginia Department of Fire Programs and the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services completed a comprehensive study of the county’s emergency services. Orange County Fire and EMS Director Jamie Clark presented the results of the study to the board of supervisors.
“We basically felt like it was a pretty good framework for putting together a strategic plan,“ Clark said.
The study recommended the creation of a central authority to manage county-wide emergency management services. But Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Johnson wasn’t convinced that position was necessary quite yet.
“We don’t want to go out and hire a county-wide fire chief now, but it may be necessary down the road,“ he said. Hiring someone to oversee and organize the county’s fire and rescue organization, Johnson speculated, could push those agencies towards an unprecedented level of bureaucracy, he added.
Lee Frame, District 5 Supervisor, said a more timely concern was the dwindling number of volunteers.
“We need to improve volunteer recruitment and retention,“ Frame said. The strategic plan developed as a result of last year’s study results will be a useful resource to develop better volunteer recruitment and retention strategies, he said.
With fewer and fewer individuals volunteering to serve as first responders, more and more professional firefighters and EMTs are being hired to provide emergency service throughout the county. The result is a larger county staff, and consequently, a larger county payroll.
“This is becoming a more complex service delivery system,“ Orange County Administrator Bill Rolfe said. “In the last four years, there have been 50 employees hired for public safety positions.”
But whether emergency responders are paid employees or volunteers is irrelevant if they can’t communicate properly. And according to the study, the current two-channel radio communication system is very nearly obsolete.
First responders rely on one channel for dispatch, and reserve the use of the second channel for serious incidents or large-scale emergencies, Clark explained.
Johnson observed that, “On any given time there are several different ambulances out on call simultaneously.“ And with the present radio system, each of those emergency crews is operating on the same channel at the same time.
“Two automobile accidents (occurring at the same time) tax the county,“ Clark confirmed. In a widespread disaster, like a tornado, “we’ll be more than overtaxed,“ he said. As far as radio technology, “We’re still in the 1990s.“
The solution doesn’t come cheaply, Rolfe said. A new radio system would cost more than $10 million.
Clark said the next step in developing a plan for county fire and EMS future was input from the board of supervisors. Frame said a review of each station’s financial accounting and reporting methods, operating procedures and volunteer recruitment and retention strategies were the most important topics; but he cautioned against creating a bureaucratic quagmire in the process.
District 2 Supervisor Zack Burkett said he thought county government should maintain a limited level of involvement with fire and EMS agencies’ development. Those services are highly specialized, he reasoned, and should be left to the experts to scrutinize.
“It’s easy to sit behind a desk and say, ‘Here’s what we should do,‘ “ Burkett said. He preferred county government take a facilitating role, rather than a management role in the matter, he added.
“You have to do a little more than facilitate when you’re talking about a budget of $3 million,“ Frame countered.
Supervisors are developing a list of topics which Clark will discuss at a conference with representatives from each fire and rescue agency in the county.