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Sage Group Countywide Recommendations <br />The county policy of volunteer departments using fire water hauling apparatus to fire scenes is <br />necessary unless an expensive capital infrastructure program of hydrants and water lines are <br />established. Purchase of apparatus is more cost - effective than a countywide hydrant/water line <br />system. Orange County EMS uses IRV, which is more cost effective than traditional <br />urban/suburban approaches. <br />Financial stability can be easily reached with slight tax increases in some districts and moving to <br />a county -wide policy of not lowering the tax rate after property reassessments. The county <br />should help each department certify and document water sources in order to lower the ISO <br />ratings by supplying water engineers and topography reviews. <br />The county should arrange for one or more building inspectors to be trained and licensed in <br />asbestos inspection. Asbestos inspection should be at no cost to volunteer departments. <br />Water is the most portable, cost- effective tool to suppress and extinguish fires. The county <br />should commission an engineer to conduct a 50 year drought study on farm ponds and similar <br />water sources in rural areas of the county. This will help to reduce the DOMSO rating <br />requirements. A hydrant should be installed along the water line following Highway 54 from <br />Chatham County through Orange County; White Cross and Orange Grove will be the primary <br />beneficiaries. The water line is mapped. <br />A two year $.01 tax, generating $1,000,000 each year, should be implemented for purchase of <br />800MHz radios. Two additional communication specialists are needed in the first year and two <br />in the second year at a cost of $100,000 each year to implement the system. Computer Aided <br />Dispatch (CAD) should be intergraded into communication and call response protocols. The <br />card/notebook system for response protocols is old and needs modernization. Tracking data of <br />response by fire department first responders is critical to planning and analysis on the county <br />level. Accuracy in obtaining and documenting response data within the CAD system needs <br />improvement. <br />A County commissioner should be assigned as a representative to the chief s council. Attendance <br />by a commissioner to chief council meetings will help build trust between county government, <br />volunteer fire departments, and rescue squads. <br />r 27 <br />