Agenda 10-15-19 Item 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

8 1 Jeff Cabe, Orange Rural Fire Chief, reiterated that this would not have happened without 2 White Cross taking the lead, putting a lot of money into it, and made great efforts to get funding, 3 and provide support with food and drinks at the training. 4 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there are ongoing operating costs that will need to be 5 covered. 6 Jeff Cabe said each department pays $2,000 a year in maintenance fees, and that will 7 keep gravel and future props going, and hopefully add on to it. He said hopefully these funds 8 will not have to be used to replace props. He said there are other potential opportunities in the 9 area including a natural gas line to consider going forward. 10 Matt Sullivan thanked the BOCC for its time and ongoing support to keep things 11 moving forward. 12 Commissioner Marcoplos said he is glad the Chiefs value these meetings with the 13 BOCC. He asked if more information could be given about the rise in cancer risks with 14 firefighting, and if needs or solutions have been identified to help. 15 Jeff Cabe said cancer amongst firefighters has been a problem for some time, but has 16 come to the forefront recently. He said it is a serious issue, and is killing firefighters. He said 17 it has hindered people for retention, and from coming into the business. He said all are 18 working very hard to do an extensive decon process, to clean up the fire gear fully and 19 quickly, and a lot of it is training and awareness. He said for some in this room tonight, it is 20 too late, and the risk is understood for the professional firefighters. He said protecting 21 volunteers is a bigger problem, and there is a great effort to reduce the risk of exposure in 22 firefighting gear. He said buying additional equipment, such as structural gear, helps in some 23 situations, but it gets smoke contained in certain types of fires. He said the solution is 24 extensive decon, and having portable showers at the sites and treating situations like hazmat, 25 but Orange County does not have enough resources to do this. 26 Tony Blake, President, Board of Directors for White Cross said it would be good to be 27 able to provide a baseline medical check each year for the volunteers, which is being looked 28 into. He said it would also be good to provide health insurance for the volunteers, but there is 29 an IRS ruling that prohibits governments to provide health insurance to nonprofits without being 30 a government agency. He said the BOCC may be able to help on the legislative side to create 31 some solutions. 32 Pete Hallenback, Efland Fire Chief said his department has had 4 firefighters develop 33 cancer in their early 40's and 50's, all of which were typical cancers developed by firefighters. 34 He said this problem is very real. 35 Commissioner Price referred to the equipment for cleaning suits, and asked if Durham 36 or Wake County has it, and if collaboration is possible. 37 Jeff Cabe said the machine is like a commercial washer. He said there are a few 38 machines in the County, but this involves multiple layers of cloth, and there is no way to get it 39 all out. He said the machines cost $8,000 - $10,000 each, and contracting the cleaning out is 40 very expensive, and the equipment is gone for several weeks. He said the best option would 41 be to get rid of equipment after one use, but that is not a financially viable plan. 42 Commissioner Dorosin asked if recruitment could be discussed, and if understaffing is 43 a problem. 44 Matt Sullivan said recruitment is actually two different questions: the escalating harm 45 risk and salary. He said the Council is working with the Human Resources department to see 46 what can be done. He said starting salaries are not as high as Wake County and Cary, so 47 competition is high, but there is a local training opportunities program, which helps. 48 Ralph McDonald, Eno Assistant Chief, said the other issue is with the rural areas. He 49 said volunteers who are getting out of school are going out of the County, or with their 50 working schedules, they fail to show up. He said the new kids are looking at it as a career;