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27 <br />----~ <br />TO: Orange County Beard of Cammissianers <br />Jahn Link, County Manager <br />FROM: Rod visser, Assistant County Manager <br />Nick Waters, Director of Emergency Management <br />DASE: September 29, 1994 <br />RE: Rescue Service Options <br />During the last few months; we~have conducted a series of very <br />productive meetings with various emergency service pr+aviders to obtain <br />information concernz.ng the provision of rescue service in Orange <br />County. Ae have examined how rescue service is aurrently.pxovided, <br />what options exist far.providing.that service, and what we think is the <br />best approach far prav~.ding rescue service in Orange County today. Our <br />analysis included a review of the diffexent categories of rescue <br />service that are and should be provided; the historical and <br />anticipated incidence of xescue ca11s in each. of those categories; <br />and the current, and desirable future, capabilities of agencies to <br />respond to various categories of rescue calls. The matrix at <br />Attachment.l represents our effort to succinctly capture the-main <br />points of our analysis. - <br />During staff and agency discussions, widespread agreement emerged <br />an a•number of paints and principles: <br />* the driving force behind the structure of rescue service-must be the <br />best passible service to Orange County's citizens, regardless of which <br />agencies provide that service; • <br />* the most economical use ot~limited resources for rescue, being wary <br />of unnecessary duplication of service capability; <br />* the need far e~ctensive coordination and cooperation between the <br />rescue-squads, volunteer fire departments, municipal fire departments, <br />Orange County Emergency Management; and other emergency responders; <br />* the focus of rescue service provision should be Cauntyvri.de, rather <br />than by individual response axea;~ <br />* resources should be allocated in griority.to meeting the mast likely <br />and frequent categories of .rescue calls (pramarily light vehicle <br />extrication) while ensuring that a capability to respond to any of the <br />categories of rescue calls exists (among agencies either internal or <br />external .to Orange County). <br />A strong spirit of cooperation among emergency response agencies has <br />led to the development of a draft working agreement {Attachment <br />2) between the South Orange Rescue Squad~(SORS) and Grange County <br />Rescue Squads (OCRs). OGRS has agreed to provide heavy' rescue <br />throughout Orange County, SORS will provide technical rescue services <br />th~caughaut Orange County, and the rescue squads and fire <br />departments will work to provide light vehicle extricatioa, which is by <br />far the mast frequently required rescue service. County staff will <br />work with, rescue providers to augment their organic rescue. capabilities <br />with centralized resources. Centralizing certain resources should help <br />