Not your father's fire service

Before we go any further, please check your smoke alarms to make sure they work. If you do not have at least one smoke alarm in your home, preferably near bedrooms, put them on your next shopping list. They are inexpensive and save lives.

In recent months, there has been a  great deal of discussion about the amount of growth, especially residential, that Goochland can “digest” without placing a serious fiscal burden on all taxpayers. The county is in the process of crafting a model to help the supervisors evaluate the cost—if any—of new development.

Each year, county department heads address the Board of Supervisors about the achievements of, and challenges facing their departments. (The “slides” of most of these are now available on the county website http://goochlandva.us/ under the “transparency” tab. These files contain lots of good information and are well worth perusing for a better understanding of the many functions of county government.)

Goochland Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay gave the supervisors an overview of his department at their November 8 meeting. He began his remarks with “..it’s not your father’s fire service.”

The duties assigned to fire-rescue, which in Goochland includes emergency medical services (EMS), are very different than they were even a generation ago. Today, contended MacKay, fire-rescue is an “all hazards” mitigation service.

Fire-Rescue’s job is to identify anything that threatens the health, safety, and economic well-being of citizens and businesses in Goochland. Things are changing rapidly. “We don’t know what’s coming next,” said MacKay.

Education to prevent incidents is ongoing  and important. “The best (fire) is one that never happens,” the Chief declared.

Recent hurricane devastation illustrated the importance of assistance during disaster, but, just as important, MacKay said, is recovery. “Fifty percent of all small businesses never recover from a disaster,” he said.  “We want to prepare the citizens and business of Goochland  to respond to and recover from them.”

Goochland fire-rescue providers, whether they be career (paid) or volunteer are all well-trained professionals who “treat all people with compassion, dignity and respect when we meet them on the worst day of their lives.”

A wreck on the interstate can easily morph into a hazardous materials incident if leaking fuel or mechanical fluids threaten groundwater. Goochland firefighters  are trained to contain those spills before the reach streams.

Even your basic house fire can be a toxic situation as many of today’s building materials are derived from hydro carbons, which MacKay has described as “solid gasoline”.

Saving lives and protecting property is an expensive proposition. Gone are the days when the alchemy of community spirit could translate spaghetti and chicken dinners; Brunswick stew sales; raffle; and Bingo into ambulances and fire engines.  A fully equipped ambulance costs approximately one half million dollars, fire vehicles, especially ladder trucks, multiples of that. Aging, high mileage ambulances are out of service for repair for longer periods as parts become more difficult to find.

MacKay said that Goochland Fire-Rescue seeks to performs its functions “in a fiscally sound manner respecting the citizen investment made in our department”.

Early ambulances were little more than a means to get a patient to the hospital quickly while performing advanced first aid in the back. Today, they equip our well-trained and  highly-skilled EMTs and Paramedics with sophisticated live-saving tools, including telemetry to transmit vital data, like EKGs, to hospitals while en route.  This enables immediate delivery of appropriate treatment when the patient arrives at the emergency room.

Life safety services are a risky business. In addition to the obvious dangers of entering a burning structure, or stabilizing an overturned vehicles to free entrapped occupants, more subtle perils plague providers.

Cancer, said MacKay, occurs at a rate six times greater in firefighters than in the general public due to contact with toxic substances. Steps being taken to protect our firefighters include a ventilation system at the new Hadensville Company 6 station to vent diesel fumes. Washing machines to clean turnout gear after fires also reduces exposure. Upgrades of the self-contained breathing apparatus (air, not oxygen, bottles and filtering mask units)is vital for the health, safety, and welfare of firefighters.

The emotional toll of responding to serious incidents is also a concern.

MacKay sang the praises of our amazing fire-rescue volunteers who work as equal partners with the career staff. Currently, said MacKay, four of the county’s six fire-rescue stations are manned 24/7 with at least two people.  Extra resources are deployed in the more heavily populated east end of the county. All stations are now equipped with dormitories, kitchens, and showers to enable round the clock shifts.

Calls for service increased 5.13 percent in the past year. Overall, response times are shorter. MacKay explained that a typical EMS call involving transport takes approximately three hours or longer. Our ambulances log many miles taking patients to hospitals in Henrico, Richmond, and Charlottesville, so they wear out quickly. Maintenance of aging fire-rescue vehicles, that takes them out of service is a concern. The average mileage of the ten unit Goochland ambulance fleet is over 128,000, said MacKay.

Creative leveraging of available resources to enhance coverage includes creation of a “flying truck” where volunteers from different companies form crews to respond whenever and wherever they are needed. The county is able to access the Med Flight air ambulance thanks to D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Deputy Chief—EMS, who serves  as an air medic with Med Flight.

Volunteer EMS hours are declining at a precipitous rate—23.82 percent in rescue duty hours in the past 12 months for instance—and have been for some time. The reasons for this include increased training and certification requirements and demands of daily life. Fewer people are willing or able to commit to a rigorous schedule of training in addition to  being on call to respond to emergencies.   This has  created a leadership vacuum in most of the county’s six companies. Volunteers who run calls—many of whom live outside Goochland—show little interest in serving as company officers.

Newcomers to Goochland show little interest in becoming fire-rescue volunteers. They have neither the time or inclination, or somehow feel that this most vital of local volunteer opportunities is beneath them. Not that long ago, a daytime weekday EMS Centerville crew was comprised of “country club” ladies from Broad Run who wanted to serve the community.

MacKay praised members of the fire-rescue team, both volunteers and career who continue the tradition of saving lives and protecting property begun in 1952. We cannot underestimate the contribution that these volunteers have made by freely giving their time, talents and treasure for the well-being of the county.

Fire-rescue is just one core service impacted by growth. The supervisors must ensure adequate resources to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all.