August 27, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
First Responders associated with the Alexandria Fire Department will soon be authorized under certain conditions to respond during medical emergencies up to five miles outside of the Alexandria City Limits in DeKalb County.
The Inter-Local Agreement for Automatic Response of EMS Services between the county and the City of Alexandria was adopted Monday night by the county commission on an 8-6 vote and establishes a pre-determined plan with specific arrangements by which aid may be rendered as needed for emergency medical services. The agreement does not address whether Alexandria fire trucks or other city vehicles may or may not be used by first responders to travel outside the city into the designated response areas.
Commissioners voting in favor were Jenny Trapp, Beth Pafford, Janice Fish-Stewart, Jerry Adcock, Julie Young, Jeff Barnes, Sabrina Farler, and Scott Little. Those voting against were Dennis Slager, Anita Puckett, Myron Rhody, Matt Adcock, Bruce Malone, and Bobby Johnson.
Should a medical emergency arise in that area, proponents say it would be helpful to have first responders spring into action because they would likely arrive on the scene quicker than an ambulance and be able to render aid to a patient while EMS is enroute.
Under this agreement, the DeKalb County 911 Emergency Communications District (911) is authorized to send out a specific tone for First Responders associated with the Alexandria Fire Department when their services are needed as per dispatch protocols for DeKalb County First Responders. All such First Responders must first be approved by the DeKalb EMS Director.
Under EMS Dispatch Protocols, DeKalb County First Responders may render to aid for complaints of chest pain, respiratory distress, seizure activity, motor vehicle accidents with personal injury, any incident in which there may be multiple victims (more than 3), cases of cardiac arrest, unresponsive patients, falls greater than 10 feet, choking, severe bleeding (hemorrhaging), etc.
The response area will be delineated as an area drawn from the outer limits of the Town of Alexandria up to approximately five road miles of the Alexandria Fire Station. Responses will only be authorized when dispatched from the DeKalb County 911 Emergency Communications District (ECD)
The agreement shall be valid between the signed parties when the mayor and EMS director of the respective political jurisdictions execute it pursuant to the ordinance/resolution of each jurisdiction authorizing the mayor to execute it.
With the exception of the specific services described in this inter-local agreement, all other requests for aid or assistance between the parties shall be governed by Tennessee Code Annotated (State Law).