KINGWOOD — Preston Commissioners approved changes Monday in the call-out protocols used by Preston 911 for fire departments.
Emergency Management/911 Director Duane Hamilton and Assistant Director Justin Wolfe brought the proposed changes to Commissioners Craig Jennings, Dave Price and Don Smith for approval.
The county’s volunteer fire departments requested the change in call out protocols for fire departments, Wolfe said.
Currently after a fire department is called out, dispatchers wait 5 minutes and, if they don’t hear there is a crew, page the department again. Five minutes later another department is called out, if the first can’t muster a crew.
Wolfe said fire departments want to change that to 3 minutes between the first page and the second, and if at least two people are not responding, they want the back up department called at the time of the second page, rather than waiting.
“So we went from a 10-minute maximum to where we’re down to about 3 minutes before somebody else is getting alerted,” Wolfe said.
“That’s kind of stemmed from a lot of the departments during the day not having any membership and they don’t want to hold off,” Hamilton said.
A similar protocol is already in place for EMS.
Another change is that both EMS and fire departments will automatically be called out to calls of active cardiac arrests. Hamilton said it is a manpower issue, and the county fire association did not object.
The changes were approved unanimously by commissioners.
Also at the meeting, the commissioners:
- Asked Chief Tax Deputy Jennifer Lewis to get the prosecutor’s opinion on whether it can pay attorney fees for someone who bought property at the tax sale that was later found to be part of a bankruptcy proceeding. The county has refunded the purchase price and back taxes to the buyer.
- Agreed to hire Tiffany Cutlip as a 911 dispatcher to fill a vacancy created by a resignation. She started Monday at $12 per hour.
- Agreed to send a letter in support of a grant application by the Preston County Economic Development Authority. The grant would help with the expansion of broadband services.
- Signed a resolution in support of lobbying for Appalachian Forest Heritage Area status. The organization seeks to support business and promote tourism in West Virginia and Maryland.
