Committee of the Whole Meeting - HR Training Room — Minutes
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6:00 PM City of Smyrna Mayor and Council Meeting 2800 King Street SE Human Resources Training Room Page 2 of 4 displacement or shelter-in-place situations. Councilmember Wilkinson asked about the community rating scale that can decrease flood insurance rates. Paul Osburn, Interim Public Works Director, explained that through the process of trying to gain federal funding for flooding in the past, Smyrna does not qualify because it was considered nuisance flooding rather than a catastrophic flooding, and that is based on the age of infrastructure. Staff will be researching flood insurance rates for residents. ATH2026-093: Eric Mohrmann, Deputy Fire Chief / Emergency Services, stated that Smyrna Rescue 4 - 3366 (2016 Ford F-450) is approaching the end of its service life and is scheduled to be replaced in FY27. The total cost to replace Rescue 4 w/ equipment is $490,000.00. By equipping one of our rescue units with transport capabilities, we will be able to transport critically ill or injured patients in emergencies when the response times of contracted transport providers are longer than expected. The apparatus will be built and shipped from the manufacturer approximately 12 months after the order is received. Mayor and Council asked the following: • Councilmember Welch asked when the rescue vehicle is deployed? It deploys for any medical calls. • Councilmember Welch asked if an accident occurs with injuries, do both a fire truck and Rescue 4 deploy? Yes, but it can depend on the severity and the other vehicles that are deployed for that accident. • Councilmember Welch asked would staffing remain the same for this new vehicle? Yes, at Fire Station 4 there are three staffed for the truck and two staffed on Rescue 4. • Mayor Norton asked for clarification as to why a fire truck and rescue vehicle would be deployed when they were told in the past that this would stop the fire truck from being deployed; and the rescue vehicle is supposed to be quicker? Deputy Chief Mohrmann explained that it is quicker, but the rescue unit’s priority is medical. For an auto accident, the fire truck and rescue vehicle are both deployed. The fire truck assists with blocking, and the rescue unit is a backup for medical. If another medical call comes in, then the rescue vehicle can go to the medical call more quickly. The medical calls are its priority, but it is equipped with air packs and medical tools to assist with fire calls as well. • Councilmember Welch spoke about a particular situation with a neighbor when there was a fire truck deployed, but there was no fire. He asked why would a truck be deployed rather than a rescue vehicle? Deputy Chief Mohrmann explained that all of the fire trucks are ALS, and there is a paramedic at every station. It has to do with capability, coverage, and territories. If the fire truck can get to an area more quickly, then that is what is deployed. All trucks can service a medical situation. • Councilmember Welch asked about its capabilities as a transport vehicle. Deputy Chief Mohrmann explained that this is a transport capable vehicle but not an ambulance. They are the Fire Department, not an ambulance service, but a rescue vehicle gives them the capability to transport a patient in dire situations. Though Metro Ambulance’s response times have improved, there are still times when response is too long, and a vehicle like this will give them the opportunity to help the patient more quickly. It also allows for addressing ‘fire fighter down’ or ‘police officer down’ calls. • Councilmember Welch asked if there is a record of Metro’s response times? Deputy Chief Mohrmann stated the data is available and part of the reason why they moved in this direction, though he does not have that data with him. Most jurisdictions are moving to this model because of response times. They have taken several steps to remedy this issue including working with dispatch, working with Metro, but this vehicle allows for an added capability to get people where they need to be, and it provides added coverage if other vehicles are already at a scene.