Fire protection needs growing, chief says

Salisbury today has the same number of fire stations it had 44 years ago.

Back then, the city encompassed some 6 square miles; today, it covers about 17 square miles.

“The city is outgrowing its fire department,” Fire Chief Sam Brady warned Salisbury City Council at its retreat last week in Southern Pines.

Several years ago, the city bought 3 acres on U.S. 70 near Godley’s Garden Center as a site for a future station. The city also has bought a firetruck to be part of a new station, but budget pressures and a failed annexation attempt delayed construction.

If Salisbury is successful in its latest annexation attempt along U.S. 70 from the city limits to Enon Church Road, the need for the new station may become a top priority.

Brady said his department, which has three stations now, answered 2,600 alarms last year. He judged that 70 percent of the department’s calls are related to emergency medical needs, not fires.

“And I don’t see those calls cutting back any,” he added.

Brady said he thought it would be an advantage to the Rowan County Emergency Medical Service and the fire department if the city could provide a downtown location for a county EMS unit. It would save the county money in renting or purchasing the space and trip miles, while possibly reducing the number of emergency medical calls to which the city sends equipment, Brady said.

“I think we need to pursue that,” Councilman Bob Martin said. Brady said the closest county EMS station serving much of Salisbury is on Old Concord Road.

Council members touched on many other topics during their two days in Southern Pines. Here’s a brief look at some others:

• Community access television. Many interests in the city, including the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, have pushed for broader community access options through Time Warner Cable, including government access.

In other areas, a non-profit board usually governs access to the local community channels. It also requires a studio, increased access to channels and equipment.

Mayor Susan Kluttz said the city needs to determine what the merits of community access are and how the city might play a role at minimal cost to taxpayers.

Councilman Pete Kennedy asked city staff members to pursue the question, while enlisting the Chamber’s help.

• Emergency preparedness. Kluttz said she learned from her recent meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors the importance for city fire and police to receive adequate training and perform as many disaster drills as possible.

The mayors’ conference, which included a trip to Ground Zero in New York, also stressed the importance of a city taking care of its employees once a disaster is over, through counseling, workmen’s compensation and insurance claims.

During a disaster itself, a city faces many key decisions, such as determining the need for evacuations, the magnitude of the situation, how long it’s going to last and what threat citizens face.

Assessing damage becomes especially important in determining whether a city qualifies for state or federal aid.

• Information technologies. City Manager David Treme said he believes the city’s Technology Services Department, headed by Mike Crowell, is one of the top seven in the state. The department relies on its own expertise to address its technology needs without outside consultants or contractors.

“Unified messaging” among city departments has meant, for example, that the city now has only three fax machines, not 14, Treme said.

n Human Resources. Melissa Taylor, director of human resources, said the city’s tight financial situation will pressure Salisbury to retrain workers and give them the skills to do more things because the city faces having less staff.

The city must find ways to help employees “to be better employees for us,” she said.

• Community policing . Salisbury Police Chief Chris Herring and his department have divided the city into two districts, instead of three, and each of the districts has been divided into three beats.

The nationally recognized community policing strategy stresses preventive police practices, while the beat structure helps meet that goal and decreases response time to calls for service. Officers also feel more ownership toward the areas they patrol.

Herring said it’s important to have line officers and their supervisors buy into the strategy.

“I like where we’re headed,” he says, acknowledging some early frustration.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com .