During this week’s Town Council meeting Fire Chief Barry Moorhouse presented the Prescott Fire Department Review.
Fire Chief Moorhouse, and some other members of the fire department, was on hand to talk about what the department saw in 2017. This included 196 calls to 9-1-1 which consisted of 109 fire or fire alarm calls, 48 medical assistance calls, 37 calls for the jaws of life, one water rescue and one mutual aid.
Moorhouse says there has been a steady increase to the number of medical assist calls they receive, pointing out that in 2011 they answered 17. These calls are specifically from EMS requiring their assistance and fall under a contract that was signed in the past. The Fire Chief says the increase in medical assist calls is a concern and that it might be in the town’s best interest to review the current contract. According to Moorhouse members of the Prescott Fire Department are often made to stand down once they arrive at the scene because EMS vehicles actually arrive first.
Construction on the new fire hall is on schedule according to the fire chief, he says the challenge going forward is packing everything in the current hall and that they have a lot of work ahead of them. The fire department has also opted not to carry Naloxone on their vehicles. Moorhouse says having it would be ideal for the safety of firefighters responding to incidents where fentanyl might be present but taking on the responsibility also opens the department up to possible liabilities in the future. Moorhouse says if the fentanyl problem becomes worse in the area they will reconsider the approach but they only received one call about the drug in 2017.
There are currently 25 members of the Prescott Fire Department and they are hiring two more. Anyone interested in joining can find the details here.