Orange County NC Website
1 <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />47 <br />48 <br />49 <br />12 <br />Commissioner McKee said he is hearing that the County needs to look comprehensively <br />at what it has and what it needs in determining which direction to go. He said there is no <br />reason not to revive the Emergency Services work group to look at the options going forward. <br />Emergency Medical Services Co- location <br />Jim Groves said it has been over a year since the first co- location. He said in his <br />opinion it has been incredibly beneficial, and EMS is learning a lot more about what emergency <br />response is all about. <br />Bill Waddell said this has been a great contribution to the wellbeing of their residents, <br />and response times have improved. <br />Jim Groves said the relationship with Carrboro has been a great asset. <br />Commissioner McKee said he pushed this idea in the Emergency Services work group, <br />and he knew there would be challenges to overcome. He said the departments have gone out <br />of their way to make this work. <br />c. False Alarm Discussion <br />Jason Shepherd reviewed the following background information from the abstract: <br />Many times the Fire Departments are dispatched to false alarms, often occurring at the same <br />address. The Fire Departments and Orange County Emergency Services (OCES) Fire <br />Marshals Division has limited options to encourage a facility owner to correct an issue with a <br />faulty alarm system (or homeowner /employee error in activating /deactivating the system). <br />Jason Shepherd said the fee schedule is basically for fire inspection fees, and there is <br />no enforcement authority over the local business owner to repair fire alarm systems in a timely <br />manner. He said he has come up with a proposal that will be submitted with the next budget. <br />He said this will propose a fee schedule for false alarm activations. He said there are not a lot <br />of false alarms in Orange County, but the ones that do occur happen at two particular <br />institutions. <br />He said in 2011 it was suggested that the County enhance fire inspection fees to bring <br />in more revenue. He said at the time, the division elected not to charge any more for <br />inspections, but some of the optional permits were changed to mandatory permits. He said this <br />did not take into account the issues with the false alarms. He said his proposal will allow <br />enforcement of properly maintained fire alarm systems. He said three or more activations <br />within a month would result in a $100 fee, and anything over three would add an additional $25 <br />charge. He recommends that the revenue for this should go to the Jaycee Burn Center. <br />Commissioner Dorosin asked Dan Jones if the program in Chapel Hill includes non- <br />profits or if there are exemptions. <br />Dan Jones said there are no exemptions in their program. He said the revenue goes <br />into their general fund. <br />Jim Groves said Jason Shepherd needs some leverage for residents to come into <br />compliance, but Orange County could also be the ones paying that fee since County Buildings <br />have had some false alarm issues. <br />Jason Shepherd said the County is currently being charged for multiple fire alarm <br />activations from the Town of Hillsborough. He said he is encouraging asset management to <br />keep up with the maintenance on these fire alarm systems. <br />Dan Jones said every time there is an alarm it ties up law enforcement and fire <br />equipment and prevents that resource from being available to other calls. He said there is also <br />wear and tear on equipment and the safety aspect of putting equipment on the road. <br />He said the schools often do not maintain their alarm systems, and this results in a lot of <br />calls. <br />