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Fire Service Committee July 15, 1999 Page 4 internationally recognized, our plan is entirely acceptable to Bucher, Willis, and Ratliff and would be acceptable to any authority that examined our plan. Burgin points out that fire service in Paris is similar to that in other cities. They operate in zones as we do. Deputy Chief Neece points out that the biggest difference between Paris and most other cities is our isolation - there is not adequate mutual aid with no fully paid professional full time fire service very close, other than Hugo and Greenville. There are other departments in the area, but they are volunteer departments. The volunteer departments are not municipal structural trained firefighters and they don't operate trucks similar to ours or hose or nozzles similar to ours. We are reluctant to put them into some of our situations. He states that we are not like Plano who has a lot of money and mutual aid next door. Cities like Plano have interlocal agreements. Other departments are just appalled that we don't have third out mutual aid with other departments close by to come and help us. Councilman Bell points out that we are still in the boonies. Deputy Chief Neece states that our first alarm is two engines dispatched from two stations. Our second alarm is one more engine and our third alarm is all call - that is, we call in off duty people to come help. Usually about twice a year we call for mutual aid. We often handle very large fires with as few as nine men on duty. Chairman Manning questions about the need for a third lane for Pine Mill Road near the Loop. Chief Burgin points out that the key consideration is the ability to move around inside city. He states that the diamonds on the map are arranged on major thoroughfares, north and south, throughout the city and that these routes quickly get the equipment into neighborhoods. He talks about the use of the secondary streets and neighborhood streets. He states that it is critical for fire and EMS to look to planning for thoroughfares of the future. Chief Burgin recommended the completion of the extension of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and states that Station 1 was planned to have access to MLK. Chief Burgin states that this is a critical need in order to move quickly into east and west sections of the city. He noted that another lane on Pine Mill would help and is needed already. Deputy Chief Neece pointed out that people don't realize that intersections are not as difficult for the fire department, if we control the light, as it is for private vehicles. City Engineer Earl Smith observed that roughly, from the proposed site on Pine Mill Road, there is about 2500 feet of road, currently thirty feet wide, overlaid a few years ago which is holding up well. He stated that to build a center turn lane, a left turn Fire Service Committee July 15, 1999 Page 4