By Happy Carlock
The arrival of Rockbridge County’s first director of fire and EMS is expected to improve collaboration between departments and shorten emergency response times.
Craig Bryant, deputy chief of the Mason, Ohio, Fire Department, will be the first paid official to oversee all the fire departments and EMS agencies in Rockbridge County. He begins Feb. 10.
Rusty Ford, who represents Kerrs Creek on the Board of Supervisors, said he thinks the new position will improve emergency response and volunteer training standards.
“People say, ‘Well if they’d been here sooner, maybe he or she wouldn’t have died.’ And they might be right,” Ford said. “We’ve had those situations, especially involving the Fairfield Rescue Squad, which has been notorious among the rescue squads of the county for not getting out on calls in a timely manner.”
Fire Safety and EMS have existed as two separate departments in Rockbridge County and have been staffed completely by volunteers in the past. County Administrator Spencer Suter said Rockbridge had been one of the few remaining counties in the Shenandoah Valley without a paid director who oversees both divisions. Local volunteer EMS agencies requested a paid director in 2007. Last year, the County Board of Supervisors agreed to include the position in the 2013-2014 budget.
Responders have struggled with miscommunication between the 12 fire departments and EMS agencies that are run independently in the Rockbridge area. There aren’t always enough volunteers to answer calls since squads are often short-handed and volunteers work other jobs during the day. The Fairfield Rescue Squad currently has 35 volunteers, and the Kerrs Creek Volunteer Fire Department has 15 active volunteers out of 30 total.
But volunteers often have to go beyond their “first-due” response area. That term refers to the geographical region closest to a fire or rescue facility.
“Sometimes you get the second-due, third-due, or fourth-due before you finally get somebody who will respond to the call,” Ford said. “All it takes is for one person to have a stroke or a heart attack and to be lying there unattended for a lengthy period of time, and you’re going to get all kinds of complaints.”
Ford said when his house caught fire about 30 years ago volunteers from three different departments responded.
“I’ve been told that the responders from one fire department had a different idea of how to fight the fire than the chief on the scene who was in charge,” he said.
Fairfield Rescue Squad Chief Steve Reese said he thinks the presence of a director will eliminate some of the inefficiency.
“It’s just been what I see as a lack of communication between agencies, and having this position on staff will bring all the agencies together and get everybody on the same page,” Reese said.
Suter hopes that Bryant’s position will improve the training level of volunteers and translate into better ISO ratings, resulting in lower insurance costs for Rockbridge County. An ISO is the insurance rating for fire departments and partially depends on responder training.
“Anytime we’re helping volunteers to improve service delivery, then you have a potential outcome of improving ISO ratings,” Suter said.
![PJSibold](https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/files/2014/01/PJSibold2-300x234.jpg)
A selection committee with representatives from the Board of Supervisors, the Rockbridge Firefighters Association, Rockbridge Emergency Rescue Group, and a citizen representative conducted the six-month search for a director. Kerrs Creek Fire Department Chief P.J. Sibold served on the committee and said having a director will provide a common goal for volunteers and county officials.
“I think it will give the volunteer agencies a voice to the county government and give us a common advocate for the volunteers,” Sibold said.
Bryant said during his 22 years of experience in Fire and EMS, he came to understand the importance of volunteer work. He grew up in the Buchanan, Va., area where he volunteered with the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad. He also served as a firefighter and paramedic in Salem, Va., from 1996 to 2008.
“The first thing I want to do is meet all the agencies and be a good active listener,” Bryant said.
This new position could lead to a contract ambulance service for Rockbridge County. The Board of Supervisors is discussing plans to hire paid, full-time staff members for the Glasgow and Fairfield Rescue Squads. These workers would take calls but contract with a a third-party provider with trained personnel for ambulance services.
“One of the largest impacts is that it will ensure that the calls are being answered in a timely manner, instead of, for instance, if the first-due agency doesn’t respond because they don’t have enough man power during the day,” Reese said.
Suter said this change was also requested by volunteer EMS agencies.
“It’s not in the current year budget, but we are moving in that direction,” Suter said.