By Patrick McCreless
The Anniston Star
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — The Fire Department won’t respond to medical calls in surrounding communities, unless requested by another emergency agency, starting Jan. 30, city leaders decided Monday.
Fire Chief Wade Buckner said medical call volume has increased so much from the Webster’s Chapel, Angel and Knightens Crossroads communities that it sometimes leaves the city without sufficient coverage. But while the fire department will no longer service those areas on medical calls, work is underway to find other agencies to pick up the slack, officials said.
The Jacksonville City Council approved the change during its regular Monday meeting at Buckner’s request. With the change, Fire Department personnel will only respond to regular medical calls as far as the city’s fire district, which is about 60 square miles. Currently, the fire department is responding to medical calls for a 150-square-mile area.
The fire department will still respond to emergency aid calls from outside agencies, Buckner said.
Buckner said call volume from the outside communities had just grown beyond the department’s ability to handle and still provide sufficient service for Jacksonville.
“We had 375 more medical calls last year than in 2015 and we’ve already had 60 more calls to date than by this time last year,” Buckner said. “This is just putting us back with the city, which is our primary responsibility.”
Buckner said that the Calhoun County 911 District Board of Commissioners had approved his request during its last Thursday meeting. Calhoun County 911 provides dispatch services for multiple first responders in the county.
In a Monday email to The Star, Kevin Jenkins, director of Calhoun County 911, wrote that his agency was working to finding coverage for those communities.
“We are working to schedule meetings with Anniston EMS and Piedmont Rescue this week in an attempt to reach an interim agreement for either or both paramedic services to provide EMS response for 9-1-1 calls within the affected communities after Jan. 30,” Jenkins wrote.
Also during the meeting, the council accepted a $60,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation to buy a 17-seat senior citizen bus. As part of the deal, the city agreed to pay a 20 percent match on the grant.
“The bus will be used to transport senior citizens from their homes to the city senior center,” said Jarrod Simmons, city administrator.
During the meeting the council also:
- Agreed to spend up to $20,000 to add lighting to a walking trail in front of the Public Safety Complex.
- Agreed to spend approximately $15,000 on materials testing on upgrades at the city wastewater treatment plant.
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