Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2007 - (Page 19)

The larger issue at hand is no different than any other form of government, and that is funding. For ESDs to provide service on par with medium and large municipalities, the allowable tax rate will have to be addressed. combination or paid departments. We are now exploring the possibility of formally sharing resources across the entire county. The concept of sharing in Travis County is not new. I believe that the genesis of this latest development is based on the successful foundation of our County Resource Coordination (CRC) team that was formed many years ago by the Capital Area Fire Chiefs Association, then headed by ESD 2 Fire Chief Ron Moellenberg. Travis County has a large wild land/urban interface and many potentially devastating fires throughout the year that require multitudes of brush and structure apparatus. The problem was that one department alone was unable to handle such incidents. The solution was to more or less place all brushfire resources into a pool to be available and coordinated by the duty officer for response to the entire county. Thus, we became stronger as one than we were as many. I believe that no single ESD was the benefactor of this sharing of resources, but the people of Travis County benefited greatly. The logical next step was to look at a county-based coordination for all incidents. The larger question today is how this will be accomplished, and in the end, how it will function. It seems too late to form one county fi re department. The logistics and labor concerns may be insurmountable. However, coordination and collaboration between departments can still achieve great things, even if all the departments maintain their independence. What seems to be the difficult part in a countywide collaboration is the control factor and setting a standard across the board. After all, not all ESDs are created equal. Perhaps the test for any collaboration or consolidation efforts should first be automatic aid. What does the future hold for ESDs? Pretending for a moment that my crystal ball is working, I would say that the future for ESDs is questionable as a long-term solution. Over time, many ESDs will be eliminated through annexation, LAUNDRY SOLUTIONS FOR TEXAS FIRE STATIONS NFPA 1851 created new washing requirements for turnout gear. Mega-Max 6000 for SCBA & SCUBA refills High Pressure Breathing Air Compressor The most compact and light weight 6000 psi high pressure breathing air compressor on the market today. Specifically designed for high air demand, at a fast rate, from 16 cfm to 21 cfm, for fire departments, military and commercial applications. tm Milnor has the only machine specifically designed for handling firefighter turnouts. Contact us for details on Milnor washers and turnout gear dryers. • • • • • • Fully automatic – continuous duty unit For SCBA/SCUBA cylinder refills Rated at 25.2scfm*/20HP or 19.2scfm*/15HP Compact size with a sound attenuated, powder coated cabinet Exceeds all CGA/NFPA standards for Grade “E” breathing air Programmable Logic Control (PLC) with fault light and shut down features Easy to service and maintain New Equipment Planning Parts Service • • GSA CONTRACT GS-07F-9245S Max-Air offers a complete line of stationary, mobile, diesel, gasoline or electric units. Call today for more information about our Compressors, Custom Air Storage & Cascade Systems. *based on charging an 80 cu.ft. cylinder from 500 to 3000 psig Pellerin Laundry Machinery Sales Co. North Texas 1-888-830-6276 South Texas 1-800-535-8754 www.pellerinlaundry.com www.max-air.com info@max-air.com (830)257-5006 – fax (830)257-3720 Kerrville Texas USA TEXAS FIRE CHIEF Fall/Winter 2007 329091_firechief.indd 1 19 5/8/07 11:06:49 AM http://www.max-air.com http://www.max-air.com http://www.max-air.com http://www.max-air.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2007

Contents Executive Director’s Report Fire Chief of the Year What is an Emergency Service District (ESD)? Tax-Exempt Financing 101 The Benefits of Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) Southwest Fire Rescue 2008 Preview Membership Application ‘Courage to be Safe’ Program Aims to Save Lives Red Truck, Green Building Index to Advertisers

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2007

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