Minutes 10-02-2014 Fire - Laserfiche WebLink

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Tony Blake said it seemed to him that the primary station had to be dispatched first in order to receive the classifications. Commissioner McKee said these are items that can be discussed in more detail at their Fire Chief's Council meeting. Commissioner Gordon asked if the drawing of the lines has to do with the insurance purpose or if it is more about the kind of unit that is dispatched. She asked what is involved in mutual aid. She asked for an explanation of the differences in insurance costs. Phillip Nasseri said the departments are still sending all trucks that are needed and there is no change in mutual aid. He said the only change is the order on the piece of paper to allow a better insurance rate. Commissioner Gordon asked him to confirm that it was not true that only the primary station sends all of the equipment and everyone else sends a truck. Phillip Nasseri discussed a specific example scenario. He said the departments would send everything that was needed to provide the best service. Commissioner Gordon gave an example where the station for Chapel Hill was three miles away and North Chatham was 5 miles away. Phillip Nasseri said all three departments would be dispatched — Carrboro, Chapel Hill and North Chatham. Commissioner Gordon said it appears that residents are getting the same service; and this is just a discussion of the insurance rates. Jason Shepherd said the insurance companies are there to make money, and for residents outside of 5 miles, the charge is higher even though the service is the same. Commissioner Gordon said this is important for people to know Phillip Nasseri said their service delivery is always the same. Jason Shepherd said that once the department of insurance certifies station 2 in White Cross, it will take a maximum of 120 days to find out when the new rating will take effect. He thanked the fire departments and the Board of Commissioners for their work and support. Commissioner McKee said he has noted two items where Orange County can help. He said one of these is the issue of trees overhanging the road on Shade Tree Lane. He wonders if the County can prod the community to open this for better access. He said the other issue to look into is the fire road connections. Jason Shepherd said he is planning to talk to neighborhood associations about the dangers of fire departments not being able to reach certain homes due to impassable roads. 2. Traininq � Collaboration with Durham Technical Community Colleqe Durham Tech Public Safety Department Dean and Department Head, Randall J. Egsegian, introduced himself. Commissioner McKee said this is an open discussion on training issues. Phillip Nasseri said there have been some communication issues and a lack of funding for training. He said departments have sometimes had difficulty getting classes, or there has been a lack of instructors for much needed classes. He said the hope is that this will turn around with Randall Egsegian stepping into this position. Phillip Nasseri said more funding is needed for Fire/EMS training classes. He asked the Board of County Commissioners and Commissioner Price (who is on the Durham Tech Board of Directors) to help this move forward in this area. He would like to see more funding shifted to the fire side and the continuing education. He said these are life and death decisions, and it would be good to have the best possible training. Commissioner Price said the board of trustees has discussed this, and there have been assurances that this will be taken care of. She said she will bring this up again at an upcoming