Emergency chief to ask BOC to match grant funds

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Monday, February 13. 2012

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Barrow County's emergency services chief will ask the board of commissioners Tuesday night to provide 20 percent in matching funds so that the department can buy six new cardiac monitors and defibrillators. The department has a federal grant of $209,900 for the monitors, but needs the BOC to match that with $52,500 locally. Chief Dennis Merrifield will also ask the board to allow him to apply for another $1.5 million in federal grant funds over the next two years to add 12 additional staff members. But after two years, those funds would go away and the county would have to pick up all of that cost if the grant were given to the county.

MONITORS

Rob Aldred, the president of the Barrow County Professional Firefighters Association, said his group strongly favors the public expenditure for the six proposed monitors.

“The cardiac monitors we have now are junk,” he said. “A first-hand example is the monitor used on my cardiac event last year – we could not send telemetry to the hospital, because it was malfunctioning.

“The interference we get on 90 percent of the machines in the county is because they are so old.”

STAFFING

A proposed resolution inside Tuesday’s meeting packet says the additional firefighters under the proposed grant would help Barrow County move closer to national firefighting standards. Among other things, those standards call for 16-17 firefighters to respond to a residential fire, Aldred said.

“Barrow puts seven to nine on a fire,” he said. “We are operating 25 guys every shift; that’s our minimum and maximum staffing. So if we start to lose people… we are automatically dipping into overtime. While we have part-time people on the roster, they are not always available.”

He said Winder’s request for 12 hours of daily staffing of an ambulance downtown also is creating an operational issue for the county department.

“Six days a week, it takes two firefighter/emergency medical technicians or firefighter/paramedics out of a station and shifts them into the city, which leaves any of the (six county) zones without a med unit and two firefighters,” Aldred said.

He said if the BOC were to allow the chief to apply for the two-year federal grant, six of the new firefighter/paramedics could be assigned around the clock to the Winder-based ambulance and the remaining six could be used to bolster regular staffing of the county stations.

“By doing this we would be taking care of the city of Winder and taking care of the outlying areas,” he said.

OTHER AGENDA ITEMS

Also on the agenda of Tuesday night’s meeting are the following issues:

• Board appointments to Council on Aging and Planning Commission.

• New county extension agent.

• Partial county funding of lighting of three future interchanges on Highway 316.

• Easement for anchor guy poles and wires.

• Tax-exempt debt policy resolution.

• CFO’s financial update for the first quarter of FY2012.

• Adoption of revised statewide mutual aid agreement.

• Ratification of a memorandum of understanding between BCES and Barrow County Amateur Radio Emergency Services for emergency radio support.

• Agreement to pay $18,000 for an aerial survey of the route for the West Winder Bypass.

• Barrow County Sheriff's Office vehicles.

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#1 pmedic on 02/13/12 at 04:08 PM [Reply]

Its is best to ask for this stuff at the beginning of the Fiscal year, as such; so hopefully it will go through. Cross your fingers on the W Winder Bypass $ and 316 interchange lighting...

#2 What???? on 02/13/12 at 04:19 PM [Reply]

"Agreement to pay $18,000 for an aerial survey of the route for the West Winder Bypass." Why not just use Google Earth Maps for free?

#2.1 Anonymous on 02/13/12 at 05:11 PM [Reply]

Does one of Danny's Airport buddies needs some folding money?

#3 Does anybody rember what the County did with that $400,000.00+ on 02/13/12 at 04:44 PM [Reply]

Hey, what want happened to the "Did Barrow County end FY2011 in the black? County CFO brings encouraging numbers to BOC"

http://www.barrowjournal.com/archives/6074-Did-Barrow-County-end-FY2011-in-the-black-County-CFO-brings-encouraging-numbers-to-BOC.html

I guess, giving away, forgetting about, ho... and misplacing a dozer... ran up some ~400,000.00+... Does the County have some magic budget adjustment to make that disappear too?

#4 Longtime on 02/13/12 at 05:41 PM [Reply]

We need EMS and Fire to be capable to serve ALL of Barrow County, that, IF properly managed, should be funded, but the key words are properly managed. We need to do better.

I want Better response times and better chance of survival if in accident or have medical emergency. This is vital to outsiders before considering a move to Barrow, that includes move their industry or business to Barrow.

We have not been mananging our EMS/Fire well in the recent past. We can and need to do better.

#4.1 Longtime on 02/13/12 at 07:17 PM [Reply]

" A proposed resolution inside Tuesday’s meeting packet says the additional firefighters under the proposed grant would help Barrow County move closer to national firefighting standards. Among other things, those standards call for 16-17 firefighters to respond to a residential fire, Aldred said.

“Barrow puts seven to nine on a fire,” he said. “We are operating 25 guys every shift; that’s our minimum and maximum staffing ."

National 16-17, Barrow 7-9 (Watch it Burn??)

GEE, This sounds Allot like what Professional Former Fire Chief Bob Post told the BOC before Yearwood ran him off...

Bob Post who ran GWINNETT COUNTY, the Largest Fire Dept in Georgia, who retired and Barrow Hired him until Danny Yearwood Got into Power-Trip of who is the Boss here and ran him off. What LOST RESOURCE that was!!!

I don’t know Bob Post, Never Met the man, but I saw his Resume; we will probably never get a Chief of that Quality and Experience combination ever again.

I wonder if Citizens sued the County for poor inadequate emergency services would that get the BOC's attention?

I am not saying that the dedicated firefighters are the problem so don't come heavy with that, but you can't properly do the job with 1/3 of the recommended team. This puts lives at risk of the firefighters and the citizens.

---------------------------------------
Mike Buffington: Can we get the staffing Ratio for the bordering Counties to compare how far Barrow is in the hole verses our neighbors?

#4.1.1 Anonymous on 02/14/12 at 07:25 AM [Reply]

Good question,.......so what do you think Jack..I mean mike can we get that article?

#4.1.2 Just a Jake on 02/14/12 at 12:56 PM [Reply]

An apples to apples comparisons is in no way possible due to the composition of everyone of the neighboring counties fire and EMS agencies being constructed with different core elements.

But in an attempt to draw some clarity to the issue at hand; staffing and response, I will both describe and state the figures as best we have determined them as firefighters:

Oconee County: Volunteer fire service with contracted private EMS, 19-25 FFs to a structure fire.
Jackson County: 12 individual fire departments* with County wide EMS, 20-30** FFs to a structure fire.
*Better than half the departments are combination with paid FFs during the day, with some 24/7
** This numbered is inflated due to the county’s use of a prison fire brigade (11 FFs convicts )

Walton County: Monroe & Loganville FDs, Social Circle Public Safety* and Walton Co. FD (Combination: Vol. & career)with a County wide EMS. 14-16 FFs to a structure fire.
*”Public Safety… Cops with an identity crisis, they carry guns and hoses. Nationally this is not a frequently used model, due to many known problems…

Also, The Walton County Fire Services received a SAFER grant in 2010, to improve their staffing numbers.

Hall County: Gainesville FD & Hall Co (both career)with a County wide fire based EMS model . 17-20 FFs to a structure fire.
Also both GFD & HCES play well with others… The closest fire apparatus go to all call fire emergencies, regardless of whether it is within the city limits or within the county. Novel Idea!

Athens-Clarke County: one career fire department with contracted private EMS. 16-18 FFs to a structure fire.
ACFD if it ain’t burning they don’t go!

Gwinnett County: one career fire department with a county wide fire based EMS model . 21 FFs to a structure fire.

The statistics stated are derived from informal conversations with members of the respected neighboring agencies. In an effort to avoid needless arguments over the numbers, I will state that a + or – factor of 2 is possible, and that the numbers stated are will vary based upon time of day and chance of simultaneous calls occurring…

I comparison to BCES response of a merger 7-9 FFs, all neighboring agencies send more!

And by the way... All funds from EMS billing go in to the general fund, and not directly back to the BCES budget. So Mr."Anonymous" Chief Merrifield would still have to get the approval of the BOC.

#5 Anonymous on 02/13/12 at 07:37 PM [Reply]

Where is the training facility that was to be built with the new station. Splost funds were collected for a new training building and training center to be built with the new fire station an 911 center. Never happened, is that money gone.

#5.1 Humpty dumpty on 02/23/12 at 08:22 AM [Reply]

I think I heard that the new chief would like to give the money for that to the city of winder to bulk up their training center.

#6 Anonymous on 02/13/12 at 07:44 PM [Reply]

Let's see...purchase the defibs...we need that equipment. Pay the 18G's for the aerial, the bypass isnever gonna happen anyway. If you don't, it will just give DOT another chance to delay again and again and again.

Neighboring counties fire resources...Jackson, volunteer, Walton, some paid and mostly volunteer, Oconee, volunteer, Gwinnette full time paid, Clark, full time paid, Madison volunteer, Banks volunteer.

Awh...remember the days of volunteer firemen in Barrow. Could turn out or 40 or 50 firemen on any structure fire...more if needed and at a cost of approximately half million a year.

You take the handout for the extra firemen now and in two years the fire budget goes up another million with salaries, benefits, uniforms, etc...

#6.1 Anonymous on 02/13/12 at 10:19 PM [Reply]

Ok, be like some others, burn them down with 40 or be like the best and save something.

#6.1.1 Former Volunteer Fireman on 02/14/12 at 01:51 AM [Reply]

At least when we were called out at 3 in the morning on a sub freezing night, we were doing it for the community. Not a dimes pay for the work and the risk.

We didn't whine because we did not get a pay raise every year or a new truck or new equipment.

When was the last time you bunch had a chicken BBQ to raise money to purchase new equipment and help the community and taxpayer?

As for the best vs 40 let it burn. I see no difference now when 7 let it burn to the ground now.

Let me see if I have this right. Volunteers went thru the same firefighter training at the fire academy and fire sponsored training programs as today. EMT's and Paramedics (that's right, we had volunteer Paramedics on rescue units back then) were trained and tested on the same materials then as today. Water is still wet and still used to extinguish a fire today as it was then so how in the hell does a minimal response of 7-9 firemen compare to the 40 then. You can't turn out 40 people if you empty every station in the county....and half of the people you turn out today are officers.

And how many millions of dollars do we pay for your service today? A hell of a lot more than the half million dollars the last volunteer budget before the county went all paid?

Ever notice how much new industry and how many new jobs Jackson Counnty has brought in to their community in the last few years. Just travel up I-85 sometime and look...those businesses and large industries were really concerned because Jackson County only has an all volunteer fire department. How much industry and how many new jobs has Barrow's fulltime department brought us?

Oh yeah, and as for "your the best". Last time I read a local newspaper about a house fire, the healdlines did not read "Firemen Saved Home". Get your head our of your butt and remember who paved the way for you to have the job you have today.

#6.1.1.1 Current Volunteer on 02/14/12 at 07:16 AM [Reply]

Almost every "Volunteer" fire department in Jackson County is either paid per call or has hourly paid staff. WJFD Staffed, Jefferson Staffed and paid per call, North Jackson paid per call, Jackson Trail, staffed and paid per call, Harrisburg paid per training, Arcade Staffed and paid per call, South Jackson staffed, Nicholson Staffed and paid per call, Commerce staffed and paid per call, Plainview maybe all volunteer, Maysville all volunteer. Don't think that just because our fire department's name is ##VFD that we don't get some kind of payment. Barrow Volunteers used half a millon? I bet Jackson County FD's use at least 2 Million. Things are different, please don't assume that Volunteer is as big a savings as you think.

#6.2 SJVFD, JTVFD, WJFD on 02/14/12 at 07:07 AM [Reply]

Every fire department in Jackson County that touches Barrow is at least staffed with paid people during the day.

#7 Anonymous on 02/14/12 at 12:11 AM [Reply]

Just think. If Chief Dennis Merrifield had not forgot to renew the ems license. He would not have to ask for any extra money.

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Emergency chief to ask BOC to match grant funds

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