Fire, ambulance reports for the week ending May 10

By Charlene Sims, info@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – The Linn County Commissioners received reports from the ambulance and fire department services on Monday, May 12.

Fire Chief Randy Hegwald reported that there were 13 calls for the past week which brings the yearly total up to 273 calls. Two of the calls were for fires, nine for EMS assistance, one gas leak and one call cancelled enroute.

Hegwald received permission from the commissioners to hire Easton Anderson as a probationary firefighter for the Pleasanton fire station pending pre-employment physical and drug screening. Hegwald said that Anderson had been serving as a junior firefighter. He said that would bring the total firefighters at Pleasanton to 22 out of 22 spots.

Hegwald asked the commissioners for permission to send out and advertise to take sealed bids on five plastic utility task vehicle (UTV) tanks, seven aluminum UTV tanks. He also said the department had two Ford Excursions and one Suburban he wanted to advertise and accept bids on.

Hegwald told the commissioners that the department had received the trucks that they had purchased in November so the department was able to rotate those Excursions out.

Hegwald said that he had received a lot of local interest in the tanks and the vehicles. He said he would like to advertise them locally on Facebook and in the newspaper and take sealed bids and open them up in a couple of weeks.

The plastic ones are the ones that were replaced by the aluminum tanks and then the aluminum tanks we replaced with the newer plastic tanks, said Hegwald.

Hegwald told the commissioners, “I think its stuff we can get decent money out of just doing it locally.” 

Commissioner Jason Hightower said that in the past the county had been sending stuff to Purple Wave and Big Iron to get a broader base on our bids.

Hegwald said that was up to the commissioners.

Commissioner Alison Hamilton said she would like to see a list of the items with pictures.

American Medical Response (AMR) Operations Manager Dawn Brooks was not at the meeting so the commissioners read her report.

The report showed the month to date ambulance reports from May 1 through May 11. There have been a total of 41 calls resulting in 21 transports. The average response time is 16 minutes 22 seconds. The calls by city were:

• Blue Mound, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Centerville, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Fulton, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Greeley, 0 calls, 0 transports

• La Cygne, 11 calls, 7 transports 

• Fontana, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Lane, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Linn Valley, 3 calls, 1 transport

• Rich Hill, 0 calls, 0 transports

• Mound City, 12 calls, 5 transports

• Parker, 6 calls, 2 transports

• Pleasanton 9 calls, 6 transports

• Prescott, 0 calls, 0 transports

Response numbers and times for this time period by commission districts are:

District 1 - 14 responses, 8 transports, 15 minutes 8 seconds average response time

District 2 – 11 responses, 6 transports, 13 minutes 27 seconds average response time

District 3 – 16 responses, 7 transports, 19 minutes 28 seconds average response time