PINEYCREEK'S hodgepodge of fire department buildings needs to be replaced, an emergency services consultant says. A new facility could include a small EMS outpost.

Emergency services need long term plan, board told

Distance, mountains, tight spaces, and sometimes subpar equipment and buildings are things that hinder Alleghany County's emergency services. The county can do much in the long run to improve services and save lives and property, a consultant told county commissioners on Feb. 4. Stephen Allan, president of a company called Solutions 4 Local Government based in Charlotte, gave an extensive report to commissioners at their Monday night meeting. Allan said he studied the facilities and equipment, met and talked with people and rode with them through the service areas of Alleghany's five fire departments, rescue squad, EMS and the county sheriff's office.

"You've got some people who are unbelievably committed to what they're doing," Allan told the commissioners. But to provide the best services possible, needs must be answered through long-term planning.

"I think every citizen in Alleghany County will thank you for it in the long run," he said. About two dozen people from the county's emergency service organizations were in the audience for Allan's presentation.

"You ask people what they want" from emergency services, he said. "They want qualified people, with the right equipment, here fast."

He said he studied response times—the time lapsing from the moment an alert tone is sent out until personnel arrive on the scene with wheels stopped. Response times over the past two years averaged between about eight and about 12 minutes for the various departments, he said.

"A big issue for medical responders is oxygen to the brain," Allan said. Brain damage begins six to eight minutes after the brain is deprived of oxygen. Heart patients are more likely to be eventually discharged if CPR began within four minutes and advanced life support began within eight minutes.

 

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