WASHOE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District (TMFPD) of Washoe County is asking for citizens to participate in a Blue Ribbon Committee which will review and analyze regional fire services.
“Over the years, communities in Washoe County have expanded significantly to a point where boundaries that were once easily identifiable have blended together into service territories that can lead to unnecessary wait times for emergency fire and emergency medical services,” said TMFPD Chief Charles A. Moore. “The Board of County Commissioners has directed staff to reach out to other jurisdictions in the region and facilitate an effort to research and identify best practices in an open, objective and comprehensive manner. The goal is to provide complete and unbiased information to the public to support informed decision-making on the appropriate balance between the cost to provide the resources and the duty to protect the public in an effective way.”
The committee will not be asked to develop recommendations but to provide comprehensive information and findings for review by policymakers throughout the region.
Moore also said the Blue Ribbon Committee will discuss these issues in a non-partisan and academic forum. The TMFPD and the Board of County Commissioners are seeking two or three representatives from each of Washoe County’s five commission districts to participate on the committee.
The committee will be asked to evaluate and research a number of issues to report their findings to the commission, including:
- Response times and service levels
- Best practices and high quality cost effective fire and emergency response models
- Any existing or potential labor issues with existing labor agreements and NRS 288
- Governance models and options
- The current or expanded role of services, including suppression, prevention, education, community relations, EMS and community health and technical rescue response.
For more details, interested citizens may apply for the committee at www.washoecounty.us/citizens/vacancies.html. Applications must be received by noon, Friday, March 15. Printed applications are available at the TMFPD and citizens may call Moore at (775) 326-6123 for more information.
The TMFPD provides fire and fire-based emergency services to residents in unincorporated Washoe County surrounding the cities of Reno and Sparks. More than 80,000 residents live within the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District jurisdiction.
