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Fire and rescue leaders will address spotty coverage areas at emergency meeting Date published: 4/2/2007
By DAN TELVOCK Filling gaps in fire and rescue coverage in Spotsylvania County has taken on new urgency. The Spotsylvania Fire and Emergency Medical Services Commission will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to come up with a plan. The meeting comes after the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week requesting the commission expedite the process and have a plan in 30 days. Staffing stations and encouraging retention of volunteers is a hot issue in Spotsylvania, Stafford and other area counties as budgets are being developed. Kevin Dillard, chairman of the commission, said the group has already created a master plan to get 24-hour coverage, seven days a week for all nine fire stations and nine rescue stations by July 2009. Of those stations, three currently have coverage gaps, he said. "We will look at it as an opportunity to accelerate what we were going to do," Dillard said about next week's meeting. "The sense of urgency has now been expressed." Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue Chief Chris Eudailey said there will be an open dialogue at the meeting. "I think considerable progress has been made on the coverage, and we've done it collectively using our volunteer and career resources," Eudailey said. He said if the effort for 24/7 coverage countywide can be expedited, then it's worthwhile to pursue it. Eudailey requested 48 new positions for the 2008 fiscal year. County Administrator Randy Wheeler recommended supervisors fill four positions for a new station in the Salem Fields area. Supervisor T.C. Waddy has often complained about the lack of rescue service at Belmont Rescue Station 9. He wants to add more career rescue employees to the station because the next closest rescue station is about 16 miles away. "This has been going on for about four years and it is time to put a halt to it," Waddy said in an interview about the coverage problems at Belmont in his rural Livingston District. "I want some fire and rescue coverage up here."
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 4/2/2007
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