Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services has placed into service one of two new fire apparatus known as Quints. Quint 8 (currently in service) and Quint 10 (scheduled to be in-service within two weeks) will be stationed at Fire Station No. 8 located on Flat Creek Trail and Fire Station No. 10 on Seay Road. The Quint fire apparatus were approved last year in the 2006 Vehicle Replacement Schedule of the budget process along with the approval of the position for Fire Apparatus Operator, to serve as the Quint engineer in driving operations, hydraulic water pumping, and in aerial ladder operation.
Twenty-five years ago the Department’s first significant hurdle was to assure at least one certified Firefighter/EMT per fire truck which progressed to two certified Firefighter/EMTs per truck in the early 1990’s. The Board of Commissioners recognized the need last year to begin placing three Firefighter/EMTs with one being the Fire Apparatus Operator especially trained to operate this multifunctional fire apparatus vehicle.
Firefighters undergo over 600 hours of initial training to become both nationally and State of Georgia certified to function as a firefighter, and an additional 500 plus hours to become a nationally and State of Georgia licensed Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate. In order to become a certified fire apparatus operator in Fayette County the Firefighter/EMTs must complete an additional 80 hours of training and have a minimum of 3 years of experience with Fayette County to apply and participate as a candidate in the highly competitive process.
The goal over the next five years is to assure that all fire apparatus, both Quint companies and Engine companies are driven and operated by certified fire apparatus operators who have more experience and are promoted through the rigorous process. Novice firefighters should begin their careers learning the basics of fire fighting, fire prevention and suppression, and basic rescue techniques, as well as the basic and intermediate principles of emergency medical care, which is consistent with the local Atlanta area fire department standards as well as national and industry standards.
Fayette County has grown significantly over the last twenty-five years and has always been supported by the Board of Commissioners in the growth of human resources, apparatus, equipment, and stations. Fayette County has now grown to the point in which we must begin more of a division of labor and begin to specialize in areas which have the greatest criticality. Certainly, one of the positions with the greatest liability at risk management issues are those who drive and operate fire engines and quints. We have seen first hand from neighboring communities where the novice firefighter is allowed to function as the apparatus operator without adequate training and experience. This is the right thing to do to operate as a professional fire department in today’s world in Fayette County to protect and serve our community needs.
The Fayette County Board of Commissioners approved this philosophical shift in staffing as well as the change in fire apparatus design and function last year, and agreed that the quints would better serve the community being multifunctional in fire suppression, rescue services, aerial and expanded ground ladder capability, as well as functioning as an advanced medical life support first responder apparatus as part of the comprehensive emergency medical services provided within Fayette County.
Quint 8 and Quint 10 are 2007 Emergency One manufactured apparatus known as the Typhoon HP75 Model/Side Stacker and equipped with a 75 foot aluminum aerial ladder for rescue, as well as fire suppression with a fire nozzle on the ladder end. Ground ladders include 1-35 foot, 1-24 foot, 2-16 foot and 1-10 foot ladders. The quints have a storage capacity of 500 gallons of tank water and has the capacity of flowing 1,500 gallons per minute with a water supply.
Each quint carries 1,050 feet of 4-inch supply hose as well as 300 feet of 3-inch hose, 2-200 foot, 1.75-inch attack lines and 200 feet of 1.0-inch attack line. In addition, each quint is equipped with all the necessary tools, nozzles, and related fire equipment to meet the demands of fire fighting and to be compliant with state certification requirements. Each quint is also equipped with on-board generators to support emergency lighting, as well as the Hurst extrication tools for victims entrapped in vehicles and from other rescue emergencies.
Each quint is also licensed by the Department of Human Resources as an Emergency Medical First Responder, carrying oxygen, respirators, medical equipment, a defibrillator, intravenous therapy and other emergency medical pharmaceutical and emergency supplies. Each quint will be staffed
with one fire officer, one fire apparatus operator, and one Firefighter/EMT or Firefighter/Paramedic. All Fire and Emergency Services staff from Firefighter/EMT and/or Firefighter/Paramedic all the way to the Chief of Fire and Emergency Services are cross-trained in both fire/rescue services as well as EMS, to provide the most cost efficient and effective public safety service to the community we protect and serve.
Last year, the average residential square footage permitted in Fayette County was 3,889 square feet with a national average of 2,330. Many homes in Fayette County are equivalent in square footage to small businesses and commercial structures. The usual primary response sent by Fire and Emergency Services to a residential structure fire includes 3 engines, 1 rescue truck, 1 EMS medical unit, the squad (manpower unit), and one supervisor. This based upon our present minimum approved staffing model will turn out 11 firefighters on a first alarm primary dispatch. It is not unusual to strike a second alarm, doubling the apparatus and staff to manage a single major residential fire. When this occurs, this will take up to 75 percent of our fire and EMS resources out of service just to handle one house fire.
This is beginning to occur much more frequently as the community grows. We do not need the extra apparatus and equipment on the second alarm, usually we need the firefighters. The goal over the next fire years is to increase minimum level staffing on all fire apparatus to three, as well as three on the manpower squad and two assigned to rescue, so that we can meet the daily demands of firefighting within our community. The deployment of the quint apparatus to stations 8 and 10 are the first step in implementing this new strategic plan in fire service operations in Fayette County.