Oconee County Rescue Advisory Commission approves minutes, sets Feb. 27 meeting; reviews vehicle orders, training and response rates

At its January meeting, the Oconee County Rescue Advisory Commission approved the minutes from December and set its next regular meeting for Feb. 27 while members heard updates on vehicle orders, training changes and response data.

The action items were brief: a commission member moved to approve the December minutes, the motion carried by voice vote, and the commission voted to hold its February meeting on Feb. 27. Commissioners also voted to adjourn at the end of the agenda.

The meeting opened with introductions of newly seated members. Ken Justice, identified as a national director at EMT Advanced, was welcomed as the Region 1 representative; Tammy Wilbanks was seated for Region 2; Region 3 additions included Sawyer Gambrell and Ian Barr of the Westminster Rescue Squad; Phyllis Raver was introduced as the Region 4 representative from Kiwi Rescue; and Dean Jackman was noted as the at-large member selected by area chiefs. The commission emphasized that no committee chair or committee votes would be taken until a Region 5 seat (representing squads 7 and 8) is filled after a pending election.

On equipment and fleet matters, staff reported that the Rescue 3 replacement vehicle that was included in this year’s budget has been ordered and associated components are being procured. The Salem squad’s chassis and a bed/body quote from Lee Transport are under review; staff said Lee Transport is a state contract vendor and that lead times for some parts are short. Members raised routine maintenance items including a recent flat tire replacement and a reported lightning-related taillight failure on a Rescue 2 vehicle.

Training was a recurring topic. Training officer Honeycutt (identified in the meeting as the training officer) said an EMR (emergency medical responder) daytime class begins next week with 14 new attendees reported. The commission also discussed a curriculum change: the county will move from the Upstate EMS Council EMR program to the Health and Safety Institute (HSI) curriculum. Staff said HSI issues cards and the county will issue an Oconee County card to document local recognition.

Staff presented a response report showing year-to-date and annual totals for squad responses. The report cited a wide range of call volumes and success rates across squads: Salem reported about 530 responses; Westminster said its success rate has increased to above 60 percent year-to-date; Kiwi was described as approaching an 80 percent success rate; special rescue and dive teams reported success rates near the high 90s. Overall roster figures discussed included about 328 volunteers countywide and staff gave differing estimates of the incentive participation rate (statements ranged from about 50 percent of responders meeting incentive criteria to roughly 60–62 percent of total volunteers receiving incentives last year).

Committee updates included a radio committee status report that noted Anderson County owns the VTech 37 repeater at Bad Creek and that parts have been ordered to repair it. The SOG (standard operating guideline) committee said it is condensing a previously lengthy SOG document into a numbered set of SOGs tied to training sections. The awards committee tentatively scheduled an awards dinner for Feb. 28 at Wahama High School with a tentative 6 p.m. start time.

The commission discussed squad-level requests for vehicle allocations. One member asked about a vehicle allocated to Rescue 22; staff said the unit is due for replacement and that forthcoming replacements would aim to meet broader cross-squad needs rather than a single squad’s administrative-use vehicle. Staff said they will meet with local chiefs to identify suitable replacement options.

No formal policy changes, ordinances or legal authorities were cited during the meeting. Members set next steps for follow-up: staff will continue procurement and maintenance tracking, coordinate training schedules on the county calendar, and report back when the Region 5 seat is filled and when committee appointments can proceed.

Minor items, including routine operational maintenance and scheduling for refresher classes, concluded the agenda before the approved motion to adjourn.