Agenda - 11-17-2011 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 well, but there are challenges operating out of a facility not owned by the County. The facility is filled to maximum capacity with South Orange vehicles and equipment so much that the County ambulance must park outside in the elements. It is not in an optimal location as growth in that area is moving north and west. The area can be served much better from the UNC (Medic 5) station and deserves relocation to another site within the Carrboro area with quick access to Highway 54. Station 3 -Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill (UNC): The University of North Carolina and Orange County worked for two years to secure a facility maximizing service to the UNC campus, Chapel Hill a.nd parts of southern Orange County. This location's close proximity to the UNC Medical Center and campus and south-central Chapel Hill is a strategic for improving response times. The station opened for business in 2011 with the support of the Board of County Commissioners in an effort to continue reducing response times. This facility does not have a structure that facilitates keeping the ambulance out of the elements. Station 4 -Mount Willing Road, Efland: Owned by the former Efland Rescue Squad, it is managed by the Efland Fire Department with OCES operating from it since 1985. It was cleaned and cosmetically renovated for approximately $5,000 in 2009 and offers basic comfort and convenience to the crews. It is a metal skin butler building served by a forty year plus septic system, has no parking for the crews, and does not include a structure that accommodates an ambulance. The one room station is minimally furnished, it does not have backup power to accommodate disaster operations, and units are stored outside in the weather. The one room crew quarters does not lend itself to adequate living conditions. It is in an excellent location to serve the west side of the County both north and south of its location due to its proximity to I-85/140. The building is a metal skin over metal frame building that will need significant upgrading should the County wish to continue operating from it in the near future. It does not provide shower facilities, requiring the crews to stop into another station should they need to decontaminate following a significant event or call. Station 5 -Eubanks Road, North Chapel Hill: This station opened for business in 2011 and the unit currently operates 12 hours daily, seven days a week from the Operations Base of the Solid Waste Department. It is an excellent site strategically serving the New Hope, Orange Grove and North Chapel Hill areas. The site is used simply as a rest area for the crews allowing them to stop in between calls, catch up on incident and patient reports and fix a light meal. This is another example of innovative use of County assets supported by the Board to further serve the public need. Response is impacted by call processing time, distance to the call and readiness of the resources to respond. A robust roadway system in Orange County does not exist, with reliance on two major thoroughfares (Old Highway 86 and New Highway 86) for north-south access and two major thoroughfares(I-40 and I-85) for east-west access to access the bulk of the population. Therefore it is necessary to develop and maintain a system of strategically placed points of delivery -EMS stations -throughout the community served. Staff recommends additional resources to reduce response times and recommends that a consultant be engaged to review and determine feasibility of those recommendations to assist the.department in the development of a strategic plan.