Fire Department Achives Major Milestone

Since the early days when it was just a bunch of volunteers pulling a buggy full of equipment through the streets of town by hand, the Clayton Fire Department has looked to the day when it would be a full-time operation.

That day isn't here yet, but it's getting mighty close. In fact, the part-time/full-time hybrid, which went into effect here a few weeks ago, might just end up being a model that other small town fire departments take a look at if it works as well as Chief Lee Barbee expects.

"It's a big undertaking that we've been working on for a long time," the Chief said. "It took all of us pulling together to make it work. We feel response time is going to improve, and we have a better handle on accountability."

The new Fire Department structure does away with the last vestiges of the volunteer system, replacing it with a few full-time firemen and several dozen part-time. All have a regular, structured schedule that guarantees an adequate number of firemen at all times. A complicated computer system called "Fire Manager" keeps everything--and everyone--coordinated and organized.

"We can look at that computer screen and see all the people who will be responding," said Training/Safety Officer Jason Dean. "The quality of operations is increasing. There's much more structure in place now. It's been a great help."

The days of putting out a call, and then waiting for volunteers to drop what they're doing--if possible--to respond, are over. The result is a department that stands at the ready, with the guesswork removed.

"Our goal is to get out the door within two minutes of notification," Chief Barbee said. "We're confident we'll be successful. These guys are committed."

But the new structure isn't free. It's expected to cost the town an extra $69,000 this year. But, Town Manager Steve Biggs says that figure is "substantially less" than originally thought. He credited Chief Barbee and his staff with some deft management in keeping the cost down.

The Department also earned the praise of several more town officials, including Councilman Bob Satterfield.

"I commend you for doing a great job with this," he told the Chief. "Well done."

In addition to the new organization, all part-time firemen are now "Black Helmet" (NC Firefighter II) certified, another first for the Department.

"It's a big change, especially from how we operated 10 or 15 years ago," the Chief said. "But the program we have in Clayton is solid. We've had a lot of phases of change over the years, and we've built on every one of them."

While a full-time department is every fireman's dream, Chief Barbee said the hybrid structure now in place is actually better in some ways. For one, it's considerably less costly, and it offers much more flexibility. Plus, he said, a full-time staff would have limits, but the hybrid in place here can grow and expand with the town.