KIMBALL, Tenn. - Changes are coming to the way the Kimball Fire and Rescue Department handles calls outside the city limits.
In a letter to the Kimball Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Fire Chief Jeff Keef asked the board to establish a permanent response zone within the city limits and on Interstate 24 to mile marker 147.
Keef asked that Kimball be excluded from being the first department dispatched to areas outside the city limits by the Marion County 911 dispatch center.
"The department does not want the town to have any liability for being the first department paged to a fire call in any of these county areas," he said.
Officials fear it is becoming routine for Kimball to be dispatched to emergencies outside its coverage area, when other agencies are supposed to be the first to respond.
"They're going to call whoever they think will go, regardless of where it is," Mayor Rex Pesnell said.
In the letter, Keef said he "realizes there are some issues with these areas [not] having fire coverage" but that's "not Kimball's responsibility."
The department will still assist in mutual aid calls, and the rescue squad's response areas will remain unchanged since a limited number of departments across the county have the needed equipment and training for those situations.
"We're not saying that we won't go to any of these other areas," Pesnell said. "If it's outside the city limits, someone else should be paged first."
The board voted unanimously last week to accept Keef's request and to have City Attorney Billy Gouger draft a letter to Jerry Hutchins, the county's communications director, explaining the town's position.
"If we don't send the [Marion County 911] dispatch a letter, then they are going to tune us out," Keef said.
Gouger said if the town responds to an emergency without it being a proper mutual aid call, Kimball takes on "primary responsibility" for potential liability issues.
"There's a question about whether you're legally authorized to respond outside the town limits unless you're doing it as part of a request for mutual aid," he said.
If Kimball's department responds outside the city limits, and then a separate emergency occurs inside the city limits, "it makes it, really, multiple potential liability claims," he said.
"The department's first responsibility is always going to be to the citizens of this town," Gouger said. "[Kimball's] liability insurance company is going to be much more comfortable with this position. I actually think it's an excellent policy."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.