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Howard Thompson and Danny Lawson
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — City firefighters and county emergency medical personnel have responded jointly to trauma scenes inside the city limits for several months.
Now, the Bradley County Commission is being asked to authorize County Mayor D. Gary Davis to sign a formal agreement with the city for such services.
The formal agreement is no more than what is already taking place, Bradley EMS Director Danny Lawson said during last week’s commission meeting.
“It’s been a very good relationship,” Mr. Lawson said. “People in the city have had a better level of service because we’ve had more qualified people on severe scenes.”
But one county commissioner says he is suspicious of the city’s intentions.
“I can’t support anything that’s got EMS on it for the city,” Commissioner Howard Thompson said last week.
In the past, the county’s volunteer rescue squad responded countywide. It is now part of the county fire department.
The Cleveland Fire Department had created its own rescue service before it was certified at the beginning of the year to respond to medical emergencies.
Mr. Lawson urged the commission, including Mr. Thompson, to support the agreement.
“They have fire suppression, which is an added plus to us,” Mr. Lawson said of the city department.
Being close to the scene already on some city calls, “they may save somebody’s life,” Mr. Lawson said.
“I think we provide a great level of EMS in Bradley County,” he said. “Our response time is six to seven minutes. ... They are going to be in that business, and we need to work with them.”
But Mr. Thompson said the agreement would only be a duplication of services.
“The commission always sits up here and talks about we need to listen and work with the city of Cleveland,” he said. “I agree probably we do. But you know, it’s time they worked with us, too.”
Bradley County had one of the best rescue squads in the state, Mr. Thompson said.
“Well, they decided they wanted their own rescue. Well, they’ve got their own rescue,” he said. Now city taxpayers are footing that bill while the county provides the service too, he said.
“Why would they want to start another ambulance service?... It doesn’t cost the city a thing to use our ambulance service,” Mr. Thompson said.
The city and county are preparing to either extend a fire protection contract already in place or end it.
Last week a joint study committee on fire protection called for updating of fire study plans developed in 2002 by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service and the County Technical Assistance Service.
City Councilman Richard Banks, who leads the joint fire study committee, said the group had agreed to seek MTAS and CTAS updates.
Should the county leave the current fire contract and expand its own fire department, Mr. Banks said the city will be facing a $1.9 million deficit.
Randall Higgins covers news in Cleveland, Tenn., for the Times Free Press. He started work with the Chattanooga Times in 1977 and joined the staff of the Chattanooga Times Free Press when the Free Press and Times merged in 1999. Randall has covered Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Alabama. He now covers Cleveland and Bradley County and the neighboring region. Randall is a Cleveland native. He has bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University. His awards ...
