By Jesse Leavenworth
The Hartford Courant
MANCHESTER, Conn. — Emergency calls for everything from house fires to sprained ankles continue to increase as the town grows, creating mounting pressure on fire and emergency medical services.
In the face of burgeoning demand, town leaders have launched a strategic planning process designed to optimize emergency services, General Manager Scott Shanley and the town’s two fire chiefs said Tuesday.
“Our present method of doing business is not sustainable for the long-term future,” town Fire/Rescue/EMS Chief Dave Billings said. “As the call volume increases, we will fall further behind our capacity to respond.”
The town department and the Eighth Utilities District Manchester Fire Department are fielding a total of about 12,000 calls annually. The current population, which is approaching 60,000, is expected to climb to about 65,600 by 2025, making Manchester Hartford’s largest suburb, according to the Connecticut State Data Center at the University of Connecticut.
Firefighters now are continually running to multiple calls, Billings and district Fire Chief Don Moore said. The district recently hired two more paid firefighters to keep up with demand and to supplement its main force of about 75 volunteers, Moore said.
At the same time, the diversity of calls has widened. Along with house fires, heart attacks, car crashes and heroin overdoses, emergency crews also are handling increasing numbers of relatively minor injuries, flooded basements, emotionally disturbed patients and calls such as a parakeet stuck in a tree.
The Fire/Rescue/EMS department employs 69 line personnel, including 28 paramedics, Billings said. At least five paramedics are on duty at all times. Paramedics have more training than emergency medical technicians and can dispense medication and intubate patients, among other higher-level services. The increase in calls means more demand for those services, Billings said.
Also, firefighters are traveling farther to cover the greater volume of calls, he said. For example, if Company 2 on Center Street is busy on a call and another emergency happens in the town center, firefighters from McKee Street or another station must respond. If a call comes in on McKee Street, another company must respond. Frequently, all companies are either on calls or headed to calls, and the result is longer response times, Billings said.
Another issue driving the need for strategic planning is the increased training firefighters need in areas such as active shooter response and handling hazardous materials, Billings said.
District firefighters cover the northern third of town, while the Fire/Rescue/EMS department covers the rest. Those lines frequently are blurred, however, particularly during working fires and other emergencies that require more personnel. Billings and Moore said their departments work well together now, but they want to explore ways to make services more efficient and effective. Shanley and the two chiefs said the plan is not to merge the departments, but rather to identify opportunities to continue providing the best service as demand climbs.
Panels that include first responder representatives are to meet over the next six months and then report to a committee that includes members of the town board of directors and the utility district’s board. A paid facilitator, The Guercia Group, has been hired to help guide the process.
A good strategic plan, according to the company, has four main areas: identify the primary mission; determine present status; identify steps needed to fulfill the mission; and determine who is responsible for each agency role.
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