12:37 PM Vehicle Fire In Madrid

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
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Date: Jun 13 2019 1:04 PM

MADRID:    12:37 PM    Houston County Sheriff 911 dispatched Madrid Volunteer Fire to a vehicle fire at 20 Milton Drive in Madrid. A excavator was on fire. Time of call was 12:03 PM.

Madrid Volunteer Fire along with Rehobeth Volunteer Fire responded. Rehobeth responded with an ambulance.

They have water on the fire and working towards extinguishing the fire.

IN 43 YEARS OF INVOLVEMENT, I DID NOT REALIZE UNTIL INVOLVED...  

My service time started in 1977. I was elected Houston County Coroner in 1982 and served four years.

Until I became involved with Dothan - Houston County Emergency Management and keeping tally of the volume of calls in the county, I never realized over 7,200 fire and EMS calls were answered a year in the county.

And these 7,200 calls are answered and handled for less than one million dollars. The volume handled in Houston County outside the city limits of Dothan, is 49% of the volume of calls answered by Dothan Fire Department. 

Dothan Fire Department operates with a full time staff of 175 people and a $ 14 million dollar budget. 

Houston County 17 volunteer fire and 5 volunteer EMS, even though some of the EMS are paid, operates with no administrative staff or support staff. Operate under management of volunteer administration ( said with great compliments and nothing critical - just a statement of fact ).

While I have been involved and listen to the radios more than most people, until I started keeping the numbers and took over as Captain of Cottonwood Ambulance and Rescue, there was a lot I never realized.

Just the EMS part of emergency service is a nightmare in funding. You bill a medical transport and Medicare and/or Medicaid only pays $ 60.00 to $ 100.00. While you are required to respond emergency but arrive on the scene and the transport is non emergency, a minimum of two hours is taken, and that is Houston County alone. 

Change that to Midland City, Headland, Abbeville, Echo, Haleburg type communities, all transports are to Dothan ( Midland City might go to Ozark but still the picture is the same ), at least 3 or more hours required for transport. 

And the service is paid $ 60 to $ 100.

A non transport, zero is paid.

So when you hear me mad as ever with some leaders and the decisions they make, I have 43 years of being involved. And I did not realize the situation and what goes on in order to save lives and property.

It takes a team, most especially during the day, to make things happen in the county. And those attempting to make the decisions are not involved in the team so they have no clue.

Because even in my 43 years until I became intimately involved in the team, I had no clue.

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