{"id":2377,"date":"2017-07-03T09:39:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T13:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/?p=2377"},"modified":"2019-07-27T09:22:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-27T13:22:10","slug":"durham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/durham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This is a blog archives posting from February\u00a05, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>February 5<br \/>\nReports this <em>Herald-Sun<\/em> story[1], Durham County Commissioners will vote next week to endorse (or not) the recommendations of the recently receive fire protection study. On Monday, the Interim County Manager provided a lengthy briefing. There was also some voice disagreements by a fire chief, on points related to staffing requirement and composition of governing boards. The biggest change suggested by the study involves southern and western Durham County. In both areas, it&#8217;s recommended that the city fire department be instead contracted for fire protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>[1] Link now broken, http:\/\/www.heraldsun.com\/news\/x849281197\/Commissioners-mull-fire-study-s-advice<\/p>\n<p>December 31<br \/>\nHere&#8217;s a <a href=\"http:\/\/legeros.com\/ralwake\/photos\/weblog\/docs\/durham-county.pdf\"> <strong>copy of the entire study<\/strong><\/a> (PDF, 1.5M).<\/p>\n<p>Notes and observations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Three county fire departments ceased ambulance operations in 2012. Bahama on December 31 of that year, and Bethesda and Redwood on June 31, 2012. Parkwood is the only county fire department that&#8217;s also an EMS provider.<\/li>\n<li>Newer apparatus is recommended, particularly for nine pieces of frontline apparatus that should be replaced. Of the 39 pieces of major fire apparatus in the five departments, eleven were manufactured prior to 1991.<\/li>\n<li>New station locations are recommended for Redwood Station 2 and Station 3, which the study cites should be &#8220;farther out&#8221; to improve their effectiveness. The study also raises the idea of a Bahama Station 4 in the northeastern corner of the county.<\/li>\n<li>See page 56 for a map showing the planned location for Durham Station 17, located just up the road from Bethesda Station 2. Don&#8217;t have any idea on timeframe, and the project isn&#8217;t listed in the latest city CIP budget document. Maybe readers can assist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more-->The recommendations starting on page 67 are more extensive than reported by the <em>Herald-Sun<\/em> and which were noted in our original posting. They address these issues:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"auto-style1\" valign=\"top\">\n<ul class=\"auto-style2\">\n<li>Level of Service\n<ul>\n<li>ISO Ratings<\/li>\n<li>Response Times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Contract Limitations\n<ul>\n<li>Personnel<\/li>\n<li>Apparatus<\/li>\n<li>Apparatus Standards\/Minimum<\/li>\n<li>Financials<\/li>\n<li>Purchasing<\/li>\n<li>ISO Requirements<\/li>\n<li>Dispatch Protocols<\/li>\n<li>Response Times<\/li>\n<li>Contract Attachments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"auto-style1\" valign=\"top\">\n<ul>\n<li>Data\n<ul>\n<li>(As entered in) FIREHOUSE<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Revenue Management<\/li>\n<li>Fire Stations and Fire Apparatus<\/li>\n<li>Volunteer and Department Staffing\n<ul>\n<li>Volunteers<\/li>\n<li>Department Staffing<\/li>\n<li>Response Personnel<\/li>\n<li>Compensation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Consolidation\n<ul>\n<li>BFD\/LFD\/RFD &gt; Rural Fire Service District<\/li>\n<li>BFD\/PFD &gt; Suburban Fire Service District<\/li>\n<li>Authority<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Bethesda Fire Department today:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Merged with Durham County effective July 1, 2013<br \/>\nNow named <strong> Durham County Fire-Rescue: Bethesda District<br \/>\n<\/strong>Two stations<br \/>\nThree engines (one is a 75-foot quint), one aerial platform, one rescue, one tanker, one brush, one &#8220;squad&#8221;<br \/>\nHas 31 full-time employees, part of Durham County Fire Marshal&#8217;s Office &#8211; Fire Suppression Division.<br \/>\nHas ten to twelve volunteers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thanks to readers, for the BFD\/DCFR information. <br \/>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>\u00a0 <br \/>\nDecember 29<br \/>\nDurham County officials recently received the results of a consultant&#8217;s study of the county&#8217;s fire protection services. The efficiency study (my words) cost $68,300 and was conducted by Charlotte-based consultant Steve Allan (source: <em>Herald-Sun<\/em> story[2], January 18). He has worked in the area before, and had (as of January) recently completed a study of EMS services in Orange County. The study was prompted by County Manager Mike Ruffin, who has expressed a desire to see a &#8220;uniform fire service across the county.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>[2] Link now broken, http:\/\/www.heraldsun.com\/news\/x2029061884\/County-to-study-fire-departments<\/p>\n<p>Outside of the City of Durham, unincorporated areas of Durham County are primarily protected by five fire departments: Bahama, Bethesda, Lebanon, Parkwood, and Redwood. Some information about them as <strong>cited in the study\/effective at the time of the study<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bahama<\/strong><br \/>\nThree stations<br \/>\nFire <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">and EMS<\/span> department<br \/>\nOperated by non-profit corporation<br \/>\nHas no full-time, 26 part-time, 41 volunteer members<br \/>\nFour engines, three tankers, two brush trucks<br \/>\nProtects 4,725 residents in 58.48 square miles<br \/>\nAnswered 668 calls in 2012<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bethesda <\/strong>(now <strong>Durham County Fire-Rescue<\/strong>, see above)<br \/>\nTwo stations<br \/>\nFire <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">and EMS<\/span> department<br \/>\nOperated by Durham County<br \/>\nFull-time employees are county employees<br \/>\nHad 19 full-time, 22 part-time, 24 volunteer members<br \/>\nDepartment merged with the county on July 1, 2013<br \/>\nSee <a href=\"http:\/\/www.legeros.com\/ralwake\/photos\/weblog\/pivot\/entry.php?id=5917\"> April 13 posting<\/a><br \/>\nOne engine, two pumper\/tankers, two ladders, one rescue, <br \/>\none brush, <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">two ambulances<\/span><br \/>\nProtects 7,550 residents in 19.41 square miles<br \/>\nAnswered 2,170 calls in 2012<br \/>\n\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lebanon<\/strong><br \/>\nOne station<br \/>\nFire department, no EMS<br \/>\nOperated by non-profit corporation<br \/>\nHas 10 full-time, 19 part-time, 17 volunteers<br \/>\nFull-time employees are county employee members<br \/>\nThree engines, one tanker, one brush truck<br \/>\nProtects 9,275 residents in 21.50 square miles<br \/>\nAnswered 823 calls in 2012<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Parkwood<\/strong><br \/>\nThree stations<br \/>\nFire and EMS department<br \/>\nOperated by non-profit corporation<br \/>\nHas 29 full-time, 13 part-time, 25 volunteer members<br \/>\nOver 900 calls last year.<br \/>\nFour engines, two tankers, two ladders, one rescue, one air truck,<br \/>\none brush, five ambulances<br \/>\nProtects 3,675 residents in 18.33 square miles<br \/>\nAnswered 914 calls in 2012<br \/>\n\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Redwood<\/strong><br \/>\nThree stations<br \/>\nFire <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">and EMS<\/span> department<br \/>\nOperated by non-profit corporation<br \/>\nHas no full-time, 46 part-time, seven volunteer members<br \/>\nThree engines, three tankers, one brush truck, <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">one ambulance<\/span><br \/>\nProtects 7,650 residents in 49.14 square miles<br \/>\nAnswered 1,135 calls in 2012<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>This Herald-Sun story[3] from December 11 reports on some of the study&#8217;s findings and suggestions, which include (as described by them):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Establish common pay scale for all fire departments<\/li>\n<li>Establish common capital-improvement plan, to govern equipment purchases and building upkeep<\/li>\n<li>Make all county firefighters county employees, which Lebanon and Bethesda currently area.<\/li>\n<li>Create within the county Emergency Management Department a supervisory position for county fire chiefs to work and communicate with.<\/li>\n<li>CConsolidate the Lebanon, Bahama, and Redwood tax and service districts into a single northern\/northeastern Durham district.<\/li>\n<li>Consolidate the Bethesda and Parkwood districts, and eventually turn to the City of Durham to provide fire coverage.<\/li>\n<li>In western Durham, request the City of Durham to take over coverage of two areas served by New Hope and Eno fire departments of Orange County.<\/li>\n<li>In northern Durham County, consider if Bahama can take over coverage of areas covered by Butner and Moriah fire departments of Granville and Person counties, respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[3] Link now broken, http:\/\/www.heraldsun.com\/news\/x1401022772\/Suggested-fire-consolidation-only-for-tax-districts-county-says<\/p>\n<p>Next steps for the study is preparation of a report on the study, for the County Commissions. This report will be delivered in early February or early April.<\/p>\n<p>Related to the study&#8217;s release is this News &amp; Observer story from yesterday[*], about the Parkwood Fire Department and its finances.<\/p>\n<p>[*] Link now broken, http:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/2013\/12\/28\/3486593\/parkwood-fire-department-paid.html<\/p>\n<p><strong>Comments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Legeros &#8211;\u00a0Updated department information, as contained in the report. Also, today&#8217;s N&amp;O featured this letter to the editor, as a response to the Parkwood FD story: <a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/lqgl75k\">http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/lqgl75k<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Legeros &#8211;\u00a0Further updates to department information. Only PFD is an EMS provider. Bahama ceased ambulance operations on December 31, 2012. Bethesda and Redwood ceased ambo ops on June 30, 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Charles &#8211;\u00a0Durham county EMS stations an Ambulance at Bethseda station 1.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Bishop &#8211;\u00a0Mike I believe I was told that Parkwood has ceased or is about to stop providing EMS units as well.<\/p>\n<p>Legeros &#8211;\u00a0Correct, Parkwood was notified that the county will be taking over its EMS service and equipment as of July 1.<\/p>\n<p>Legeros &#8211;\u00a0Mike, thanks for mentioning. Forgot about that development, in the context of this subject. Here&#8217;s a Herald-Suns story from January about that, http:\/\/www.heraldsun.com\/news\/x1401032140\/Trustee-to-manage-Parkwood-VFD-finances<\/p>\n<div data-animation=\"no-animation\" data-icons-animation=\"no-animation\" data-overlay=\"on\" data-change-size=\"\" data-button-size=\"0.7\" style=\"font-size:0.7em!important;display:none;\" class=\"supsystic-social-sharing supsystic-social-sharing-package-flat supsystic-social-sharing-content supsystic-social-sharing-content-align-left\" data-text=\"\"><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fdurham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014%2F\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u={url}\" data-nid=\"1\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"2377\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-facebook\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fdurham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014%2F&text=Durham+County+Receives+Results+of+Fire+Service+Study%2C+2014\" data-main-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url={url}&text={title}\" data-nid=\"2\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"2377\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-twitter\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Pinterest\" href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fdurham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014%2F&description=Durham+County+Receives+Results+of+Fire+Service+Study%2C+2014\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url={url}&description={title}\" data-nid=\"7\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"2377\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-pinterest\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a blog archives posting from February\u00a05, 2014, and re-posted here as the original is unavailable due to technical issues. February 5 Reports this Herald-Sun story[1], Durham County Commissioners will vote next week to endorse (or not) the recommendations of the recently receive fire protection study. On Monday, the Interim County Manager provided a &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/durham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &lsquo;Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014&rsquo; &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-animation=\"no-animation\" data-icons-animation=\"no-animation\" data-overlay=\"on\" data-change-size=\"\" data-button-size=\"0.7\" style=\"font-size:0.7em!important;display:none;\" class=\"supsystic-social-sharing supsystic-social-sharing-package-flat supsystic-social-sharing-content supsystic-social-sharing-content-align-left\" data-text=\"\"><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fdurham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014%2F\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u={url}\" data-nid=\"1\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"2377\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-facebook\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fdurham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014%2F&text=Durham+County+Receives+Results+of+Fire+Service+Study%2C+2014\" data-main-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url={url}&text={title}\" data-nid=\"2\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"2377\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-twitter\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><a data-networks=\"[]\" class=\"social-sharing-button sharer-flat sharer-flat-8 counter-standard without-counter pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Pinterest\" href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flegeros.com%2Fblog%2Fdurham-county-receives-results-of-fire-service-study-2014%2F&description=Durham+County+Receives+Results+of+Fire+Service+Study%2C+2014\" data-main-href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/link\/?url={url}&description={title}\" data-nid=\"7\" data-name=\"\" data-pid=\"1\" data-post-id=\"2377\" data-url=\"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php\" data-description=\"Durham County Receives Results of Fire Service Study, 2014\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-mailto=\"\"><i class=\"fa-ssbs fa-ssbs-fw fa-ssbs-pinterest\"><span>Share<\/span><\/i><div class=\"counter-wrap standard\"><span class=\"counter\">0<\/span><\/div><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,11,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2377"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4757,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2377\/revisions\/4757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legeros.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}