Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
93 <br />• improving radio communications and call notification <br />o loaning or giving $20,000 worth of radios (allowing them to use their <br />limited budgets on other purposes), <br />• assisting -with station siting and development, <br />• adding technology capabilities for department super✓isors to monitor units, and <br />• sharing dispatch information to increase responder- safety. <br />Coupled with these examples, OCES has offered to provide support for department -led <br />fire prevention programs such as free smoke alarm alarms to citizens. <br />EMS Response <br />Much has been stated about response times. It was established during -a report to the <br />Board of County Commissioners and the Assembly of Governments. Prior to that report <br />the Emergency Services Department -had at its disposal three full -time (24 hour-) -units <br />and one part-time unit. Since that time a (24 hour) and (12 hour) units have been <br />added to address significant deficiencies in resource availability. The lack of paramedic <br />level transport units increased - response times, required- fire units to stay on the scene <br />longer and left no reserve available for large incidents, such as bus crashes or mass <br />evacuations during fires. The added units have reduced the resource gap, but the <br />response times -still remain above the 12- minute goal as established. The additional <br />unit and half only addressed the severe gap created by years of resource shortages. <br />Even though additional positions were approved in FY 2010 -2011 and 2011 -2012 the <br />competition for paramedics is steep and many go to neighboring- agencies for better pay <br />and reduced call load. Whenever a unit- responds to more than 150G - 2000 calls per <br />year it is typically an indicator to -place another unit in service. Last year, OCES- units <br />responded to over 13,0_00 calls for service (CFS), which equates to over 2,600 CFS per <br />unit, thus increasing fatigue to crews and increased on -scene time for area fire <br />departments. <br />DTCC and OCES started a hybrid paramedic training program called a paramedic <br />academy in late 2010. The goal is to attract paramedic candidates, train them as <br />they work for the department, precept them in a condensed schedule and get <br />them assigned- to field duty 3-4 months quicker than .in the traditional manner. <br />The first class will "graduate" in October with a targeted field assignment date of <br />November 2011 — before the originally estimated date of March 2012. With this group <br />an additional paramedic unit will be placed in service in November, thus further <br />addressing our response tunes and hopefully reducing on -scene times by fire <br />units. <br />Disaster and Large -scale Incident Capabilities <br />All across the Country emergency responders are dispatched to auto accidents, house <br />fires and medical emergencies. In most cases one to two emergency units can <br />effectively and safely mitigate the event. But more and more the need for additional <br />S Page <br />