Estill County volunteer fire and rescue seek court approval to use turned-in radios, report training and call-volume trends

Volunteer fire and rescue representatives told the Estill County Fiscal Court that a 31-year-old tanker with about 496,000 miles and a 3,000-gallon capacity was recently repaired and returned to service, and they thanked the court for support while outlining continuing equipment and communications needs.

"It's still a still a 31 year old truck with, 496,000 miles on it," an on-duty representative said, noting the apparatus carries roughly "3,000 gallons of water" and that crews found large rocks jammed in a pump during recent maintenance. The representative said frequent repairs over the past six months have strained resources but that the tanker is back in service.

The same speaker presented a packet showing insurance coverage, run numbers and training activity. The department reported approximately 55 runs in the most recently summarized period and said the department logged about 1,500 hours of training this year using state-provided hours and local facilities.

A separate rescue representative said grant-recommended projects require approval by the Kentucky Emergency Management director before funds can be released.

Dispatch staff provided monthly call-volume figures to the court. For October they reported about 2,482 total calls (911 calls approximately 898; administrative calls received about 949; dispatch-outs about 635). November totals were reported at about 2,318 calls (911: ~836; admin received: ~940; admin outs: ~543). The dispatch representative said a year-end report for 2024 will be presented in January provided the reporting system operates normally.

On communications, the fire/rescue representative asked the court to authorize the use of surplus radios that had been turned in when the county upgraded units. "I talked to Ronnie, and Ronnie said that if he can get if we can get the okay from the court, he would be willing to get us some of the used radios that were turned in when the new ones were bought," the representative said, explaining that volunteers cannot afford new radios (a new vendor quote cited in the discussion was described as $56,000). The request was framed as a court-level authorization so volunteers can be put on shared channels rather than relying on group texts to alert crews.

Court members did not debate technical radio specifications in detail at this meeting; the representative offered to provide the insurance and training packet for the court's review. The request to use surplus radios was presented for court consideration and will require formal direction or an approving motion in a later agenda if the court opts to proceed.

Ending: The court received the reports and the request, and representatives said they will keep the court informed; no formal procurement or allocation was adopted during this segment.