The Genesee County Emergency Services Task Force on Monday night took another step on the road to a countywide “reliable, capable and professional” fire and emergency response strategy by interacting with project managers of the Municipal Resources Inc., a consulting firm headquartered in Plymouth, N.H.
Emergency Services Coordinator Tim Yaeger reported on the Zoom call with MRI representatives Brian Duggan and Peter Finley Jr.
Duggan is director of Fire EMS & Emergency Management Services, and Peter Finley Jr. is senior associate for Fire EMS & Emergency Management Services.
“Our initial work is to get a lot of data sets to them – demographics of the county, the number of fire calls, number of EMS calls – as they want to be familiar with us before they come to Genesee County,” Yaeger said. “Then we want to get information out to the fire companies and to the general public about why this study is being done.”
The Genesee County Legislature is on board with allocating up to $101,675 to fund MRI’s study of the emergency response situation in the county and to develop a plan to ensure that all areas have enough staffing to meet the public’s needs and expectations.
“The end goal is to have a reliable, capable and professional emergency services response,” Yaeger said. “It’s a countywide problem and we need a countywide solution or solutions. Right now, we’re all over the board; some days we’re reliable and some we’re not.”
Yaeger said the MRI managers plan to make at least four trips to Genesee County for meetings, with the first one expected to take place at the end of July. He added that media briefings with the consultants will be slotted into their visits.
He also said surveys are being developed as the task force wishes to receive feedback from “anyone who has a vested interest in public safety.”
Calls to Duggan for comment on MRI’s framework and timeline for implementing change were not returned at the time of the posting of this story.
Previously: Yaeger: Paying 'volunteers' is an option as county seeks outside help to solve emergency response woes.
