Dispatching procedures, emergency responder liability and the concept of combined dispatch headlined a meeting Thursday night between representatives of volunteer fire departments, emergency service districts and law enforcement and county officials.
An objective to the meeting was to determine ways that the communication process and emergency response procedures could be improved.
Sheriff Thomas Kerss kicked off the meeting by explaining current dispatching procedures and calling on the various VFDs to come to a consensus if they would like protocols changed.
"When it comes to fire and EMS response, we are truly just the communication link," Kerss said. "How the protocols came about, the 18 VFDs established what they wanted as the standards.
"It's impossible for our dispatchers to have 18 different sets of rules," he added.
One major concern with many citizens and VFD members is the City of Nacogdoches' involvement in emergencies out in the county.
Nacogdoches Fire Department Chief Keith Kiplinger explained that the city department only gets involved in county emergencies if the emergency is within the "two-mile line," or jurisdiction, surrounding the city limits, or when county responders call for help regarding equipment or manpower, or if the city fire department is needed for rescue calls where a person needs to be extricated from a vehicle.
He said that NFD and the VFDs of the county need to work together, admitting that the city has done a "poor job helping to build capacity," meaning to help the county VFDs with training and cataloging equipment to better assist each other in emergency situations.
"We've got to have you," Kiplinger said to the audience of VFD and ESD board members. "Learning to work together is a part of that. I know that I want to know who the guy on the hose next to me is."
Among the new strategies NFD plans to incorporate regarding county involvement are equipment sharing and cataloging, training and communication.
"We're going to invest something back into the county, which is something we have not done in the past," he said.
Kerss displayed a map showing first responder coverage in the county, which only reflected a small portion of the county concentrated on the eastern side.
First responders are members of VFDs who are certified through the state to provide basic medical care at the scene of an accident.
"A volunteer fire department without a first responder certification is just hanging out there in the wind," Robert Y'Barbo of Memorial Hospital said. "It can be a liability if a VFD handles that."
Kerss said because those people who are certified as first responders are not always available, the county "cannot afford to take on the liability of dispatching non-certified fire groups out for medical calls."
"If you send folks out in a situation that calls for certified first responders, and you don't have that certification, then you can forego your immunities (from lawsuits)," County Attorney Jeff Davis explained.
The concept of centralized dispatch, which has been kicked around by the city and county for years, is drawing closer to fruition, County Judge Joe English announced.
"We've had meetings with the (Deep East Texas Council of Government) about it, and we are working hard towards centralized dispatch," English said. "This is something two to three years down the road until it happens. I do want all of your input on that."
The major problem that combining dispatch offices would hopefully solve, he said, is to address the obstacle that the city and county dispatches can't communicate with each other because of technical equipment differences.
"We see that as a problem, and I do see the light at the end of the tunnel," English said.
Kerss also spoke on the concept and the "hiccups" the idea has encountered over the years, admitting there are several issues with antiquated equipment as being a major obstacle.
"I really believe that the discussions we are participating in right now, have the best chance of succeeding than any of the other that I've been a part of in the past," Kerss said.
Volunteers belonging to the many VFDs and ESDs also heard from Department of Public Safety Sgt. James Brazil regarding DPS troopers working with VFDs on motor vehicle accidents and from Director of Homeland Security for Nacogdoches County Bob Hurst on emergency response as it pertains to major disasters.
At press time, a question and answer segment of the meeting began, where the VFD representatives could ask questions and potentially vote on changes to the sheriff's office dispatching protocols.
