Fire/Rescue Puzzle Comes Together after Months of Planning, Work

By Fire Chief Miford Jordan
Montgomery Fire/Rescue

When we placed new Rescue 98 into service Friday at Fire Station No. 9, it was like adding that final piece of a complicated jigsaw puzzle that you've been working on for a long time. What a relief ... and what a satisfying moment!

Many people may not realize it took more than 18 months of saving and planning through two budget cycles to put Rescue 98 to work for our city. Before the vehicle was even built, we were occupied behind the scenes for months working to equip it. Then, moving into DPS SouthCentral gave us enough space to add the new medic unit, and a federal grant allowed us to hire more firefighters to provide the staffing we needed.

Determining the need for this truck and where it would go involved many working pieces, much like that large puzzle. An important piece was figuring out where the demand for emergency services will be in Montgomery and how we can fulfill that demand. We also used data to learn where we could best reduce response times for the greatest number of people.

The data confirmed that Station 9, located right at the intersection of McGehee Road and East South Boulevard, is a busy place that's centrally located. This year in February alone, Engine 9 responded to 191 medical calls and 44 fire suppression calls. The addition of Rescue 98 will make Engine 9 more readily available for suppression, plus the smaller medic unit operates at reduced cost.

So, why go to all this trouble for one new medic unit? In our business, seconds count. In fact, a few seconds can make a life-or-death difference to a cardiac patient or car wreck victim waiting for emergency medical response. We believe we'll see reduced response time for both medical and suppression calls, and those seconds could mean a life saved or a family home preserved.

We are always looking to the future at Montgomery Fire/Rescue, especially as our city continues to grow. The next puzzles we take on may be even larger and more complicated, but we owe it to Montgomery to plan for its future needs in fire services and to figure out how to meet those needs.