Truckee Meadows Fire District calls automatic aid the first step in improving fire services regionally

TMFPD agrees to meet in June to discuss automatic aid for fire services with City of Reno.

Reno, Nevada. May 26, 2015. The Reno City Council and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Board agreed to move forward with discussing an automatic aid agreement, define areas of coverage, fiscal issues related to automatic aid and continue the conversation for a regional fire service at Tuesday’s concurrent meeting.

Fire Chief Charlie Moore gave the Reno City Council and Fire Board an overview of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District’s current (TMFPD) services.

Chief Moore said he believes regional leaders should focus first on providing automatic aid before moving forward with plans to consolidate fire services with the City of Reno.

“I am glad to discuss a regional fire plan and I want to thank the City of Reno for their proposal. There are places Reno can help the County and areas the County can help Reno, which is why my Fire Board and I support Senate Bill 185 which establishes automatic aid,” said Chief Moore. “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a first step and the first step is automatic aid.”

Chief Moore said the 2014 Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) on regional fire services recommends automatic aid and provides a good chart on how to move forward with fire services.

The BRC was comprised of 11 citizens selected by Washoe County to evaluate the potential for regional fire services. The purpose of the BRC was to recommend the most efficient and effective regional delivery of Fire, EMS, and Patient Transport services to all communities in Washoe County possible. The Blue Ribbon Committee Report is the culmination of nine months of work gathering data.

Commissioner Bob Lucey (District 2) said the focus should be on doing what’s best for citizens.

“Public safety is the number one concern here and that continues to resonate with the Council and Fire Board,” said Lucey. “I think we can move forward diligently and effectively toward a regional agreement. Automatic aid is the way to improve fire services for our citizens now.”

The Fire Board and Reno City Council agreed to reconvene on Monday, June 15, 2015, to further discuss automatic aid and other fire services.

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