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Resident, commissioners take issue with emergency boundaries

BY JOHN D. HOMAN, THE SOUTHERN

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:15 PM CST

MARION - A longtime volunteer firefighter and semi-retired emergency medical technician with the Carterville Fire and Ambulance Departments - Tim Coogan - recently wrote a letter to the Williamson County Board stating that jurisdiction issues with emergency responders need to be resolved soon or lives may be lost.

Board Chair Brent Gentry read portions of the letter to fellow board members Bob Barnett and Tracey Glenn at Tuesday's regular commissioners meeting.

"I have witnessed and been present at a motor vehicle accident on the south side of Route 13 near Playport Marina at which multiple injuries occurred," Coogan said. "Ambulances from two close-by communities had received multiple calls from concerned citizens requesting their aid.

"The criticism concerned a contract the Lake of Egypt states it had with the Refuge," Coogan said. "The ambulance I was on had already extracted the most serious victim and we were stabilizing her injuries in the ambulance by the time the first Lake of Egypt emergency vehicles finally arrived at the scene from behind Crab Orchard Lake. What if that was your wife, daughter or grandchild (who was injured)? Would you really give a damn who has what contract?"

Coogan also spoke about an incident at Hurricane Cemetery Road and East Grand Avenue, across the road from Crainville, a few years ago. He said Williamson County responded when it would have made much more sense for Carterville to respond. The difference in response time, he said, resulted in the house being a total loss and the death of a family pet.

"I know this letter may ruffle some feathers, however my allegiance remains with the people I've tried all my life to help," Coogan said. "The heads of these departments and boards must be made aware of the dangers of their policies before they wind up killing someone."

Gentry said the county's 911 program has worked well in many ways since it was founded, but he has fielded another six or seven complaints about jurisdiction from residents in addition to Coogan.

"It is time for this board to look into this issue," he said. "Our No. 1 concern is and should be the safety of the people of this county. I don't care anything about agreements that have been written, not when lives are on the line.'

Commissioner Bob Barnett said he's in a position where he doesn't care about "ruffling any feathers" and said the jurisdiction question has been an issue for years.

"Morally, it is our responsibility to provide the most effective and timely emergency services. And the truth is that some (emergency) situations were not handled as quickly as they should have been. We need to meet with the 911 director and board and get some of these problems ironed out."

Ken Smith, 911 coordinator for Williamson County, said he welcomes a meeting with the county board and added that he and the 911 board always put the safety of the public first.

The board hopes to hold a meeting with emergency responders on Thursday or Friday of next week.

"My response to the issue of medical emergencies along Route 13 was to get the chiefs of Cambria, Carterville and Lake of Egypt together to create a new map in which the closest ambulance service is sent," Smith said. "The Refuge management did not consider medical emergencies on the north side of the lake when they contracted with Lake of Egypt for fire and ambulance service. The issue was addressed and resolved."

Smith said the 911 board's efforts to set up emergency response zones in which the closest department is sent are hampered by laws and policies that are beyond the board's control.

"Lifeline Ambulance, due to its city funding arrangement, may not be the primary responder for any address outside the city," Smith said. "If a person lives in Carterville and pays taxes to Carterville, he gets Carterville Fire, even if he lives across the street from the fire protection district station.

"If a person lives in a rural area and pays taxes to the rural fire protection district, that is who gets sent to fight his fire, even if he is close to a city," Smith said. "If they (rural residents) want city services, they can annex into the city. If the city department and rural district sign mutual aid or joint response agreements, we'll send both departments."

john.homan@thesouthern.com

351-5805