At 3:33 PM today the LMRFD ambulance was paged for a single vehicle rollover at Mile Post 14 on US93. There was no response to the page
The LMRFD ambulance R415 was gone on it's way to Kingman on a call.
At 3:44 the chief told R415 to expedite their turn around that he was responding alone. At that time they were advised by dispatch that it was non-injury accident.
What if there had been injuries? R415 cleared their call at 3:55 and it's an hour from KRMC to MP14 on US93.
I want you to imagine you or your family member in an accident like this one... Without volunteers they could lay there waiting, and waiting... for an hour and a half for the ambulance to arrive....
While R415 was coming back from Kingman they received another call on Tom White Dr in Dolan Spring. They advised dispatch they were responding from So-Hi.
The patient must have had a scanner, they knew it would be a long wait then the 40 minute ride to KRMC Emergency Department.
So they called back and told dispatch they were going to take the patient by car. This is poor patient care and another $2500 the LMRFD looses...
The purpose of this blog is to educate people in Dolan Springs, Meadview, White Hills about how to reduce response times for emergency medical services that can range from minutes to hours
Monday, April 29, 2019
Friday, April 26, 2019
Special Meeting Board Opening LMRFD
Well I put in my application for the second time to be appointed to the LMRFD Board of Directors.
The last time one board member made sure someone else was picked for the opening, so lets see what happens this time.
The LMRFD Special Meeting Wednesday may 1st in Meadview.
If you live in the LMRFD please attend...
The last time one board member made sure someone else was picked for the opening, so lets see what happens this time.
The LMRFD Special Meeting Wednesday may 1st in Meadview.
If you live in the LMRFD please attend...
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Brush Fire April 24th
Engine 411 and Rescue 415 responded to a brush fire at 10th and Eldorado today. Needing additional water the firefighter advised dispatch he needed Water Tender 418 and mutual aid from Golden Valley.
Dispatch advised Golden Valley didn't have any units available.
Water Tender 418. Water Tender 418 responded but turning the wrong way on 9th street it took a while to get there.
I assume Water Tender 418 got there and I missed it on the radio... Chief 401 who drives Station 41's Brush Truck was on a power line down call in Dolan and was on the radio.
Dispatch advised Golden Valley didn't have any units available.
Water Tender 418. Water Tender 418 responded but turning the wrong way on 9th street it took a while to get there.
I assume Water Tender 418 got there and I missed it on the radio... Chief 401 who drives Station 41's Brush Truck was on a power line down call in Dolan and was on the radio.
Monday, April 22, 2019
What WE the People of the LMRFD Need in a New Fire Chief
The LMRFD is going to get a new fire chief and we need to make it clear what we need in a new chief. We need someone who is proactive rather than reactive to problems inside the LMRFD.
We need a chief who will do one of two things...
Train local volunteers as Emergency Medical Responders so they can drive and assist on the ambulance, run the ambulance as a business, and train anyone even us older guys as external firefighters so we can assist firefighters.
OR
Reduce the area covered by the LMRFD ambulance from the current 2200 square miles to the 144 square mile Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District.
The tax payers of the 144 square mile fire district CAN NOT continue to support fire and EMS services in an additional 2056 square miles for free..
I get tired of people who live outside the fire district, yet get the same services as those of us who pay hundreds a year in property tax telling us how we should run the fire district.
At one time the Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District had six Advanced life Support ambulances and lots of volunteers to cover the 2200 square miles required by the ambulance's Certificate of Need, not anymore...
Today the LMRFD has just ONE AMBULANCE and the two firefighters, three on a good day. These 2-3 firefighters are responsible for fire protection in the 144 square mile fire district, and the 2200 square miles the ambulance covers. This leaves the taxpayers of the fire district unprotected much of the time.
The people who live outside the LMRFD need to join the fire district or start a fire district and ambulance service of their own.
Call ANY fire chief and ask him to send his only firefighters to no mans land 40 miles outside their fire district to put out your house that's on fire... Let me know what they say....
We need to fix this people need to pay their fair share.
We need a chief who will do one of two things...
Train local volunteers as Emergency Medical Responders so they can drive and assist on the ambulance, run the ambulance as a business, and train anyone even us older guys as external firefighters so we can assist firefighters.
OR
Reduce the area covered by the LMRFD ambulance from the current 2200 square miles to the 144 square mile Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District.
The tax payers of the 144 square mile fire district CAN NOT continue to support fire and EMS services in an additional 2056 square miles for free..
I get tired of people who live outside the fire district, yet get the same services as those of us who pay hundreds a year in property tax telling us how we should run the fire district.
At one time the Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District had six Advanced life Support ambulances and lots of volunteers to cover the 2200 square miles required by the ambulance's Certificate of Need, not anymore...
Today the LMRFD has just ONE AMBULANCE and the two firefighters, three on a good day. These 2-3 firefighters are responsible for fire protection in the 144 square mile fire district, and the 2200 square miles the ambulance covers. This leaves the taxpayers of the fire district unprotected much of the time.
The people who live outside the LMRFD need to join the fire district or start a fire district and ambulance service of their own.
Call ANY fire chief and ask him to send his only firefighters to no mans land 40 miles outside their fire district to put out your house that's on fire... Let me know what they say....
We need to fix this people need to pay their fair share.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Not Happy After Consolidating Fire Districts? Learn What's Going On In Valle Vista
This is my first What's Going On In Valle Vista post..
The Lake Mohave
Ranchos Fire District (LMRFD) consolidated with Meadview's Grapevine Mesa Fire
District some years back. Like Valle Vista the Grapevine Mesa Fire
District was riddled with islands (parcels not contiguous with the dist) that
are illegal according to Arizona law.
Because of the history
of local fire district consolidation and problems those consolidations created
I'm going to post about Valle Vista's progress as they work to solve problems
and seek better fire protection and EMS in their area.
What's Going On In Valle Vista
In July 2017, members
of the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District #1 (NACFD1), along
with their attorney brought up the 2007 merger of the former Hualapi Valley
Fire District and Valle Vista Fire District. The merger was characterized as
illegal during a public meeting, along with the subsequent consolidation
between the merged fire district and the Truxton and Chloride Fire Districts.
These comments, lead a group of Valle Vista residents to pursue taking back
their old fire district. After months of research and town hall meetings, these
residents have made initial contact with the NACFD1 Board of Directors to
pursue a boundary change, or removal from NACFD1 of the Valle Vista area.
After discussion with
the Mohave County Assessor's office, along with review of the applicable
Arizona Revised Statute sections which pertain to boundary changes, it
was determined that if Valle Vista wanted
to leave, they would need to take those portions of Hackberry and Truxton
currently protected by NACFD with them . The statutes prevent islands of
service from being formed and require continuity in boundaries. Several
town hall meetings were held leading up to the March 21, 2019 Board meeting
where resident Ray Ricciardi advised the NACFD1 board that a group was
interested in pulling out of NACFD1.
According to the
Revised Statutes, any adult person may request a boundary change, in this
instance a group of over one hundred Valle Vista property owners and residents
have signed a petition requesting the boundary change. There are several steps
to make the boundary change, all of which are currently in process, including
determining property owners and parcels, preparing a map and legal description,
and preparing an impact statement. A licensed Civil Engineer and Accountant
from Valle Vista have both agreed to assist in the preparation of the impact
statement.
Driving factors for
the boundary change include displeasure by district residents in a proposed
management agreement between NACFD1 and the City of Kingman. Several area
residents have spoken at Kingman City Council and NACFD1 meetings against the
apparent takeover by the city. Previous dispatch concerns with Kingman Fire
dispatch, who dispatches for NACFD1, have been noted where fire vehicles
were not dispatched to medical and other emergencies in Valle Vista. Proponents
of the boundary change also cite reduced service in Valle Vista and Truxton
with three of four area fire stations closed and no plan by NACFD1 to reopen
them. This group believes that local control is the key to improved service and
estimates an overall budget of approximate budget of $600,000 the first year.
This would allow for a mix of full time, part time and volunteer personnel to
staff the various fire stations. The move would also allow the new district to
pursue grant monies for the purchase of new fire equipment to replace an aging
fleet which has not been updated since 2007. Some vehicles are over 25 years
old and have passed their expected life cycle.
While there are
several hoops to jump through, the boundary change proponents believe they have
a viable plan to pull out of NACFD1 and form a new district which is more
concerned with the rural communities of Valle Vista, Hackberry and Truxton. The
boundary change committee believes there would be NO increase in property taxes
as the existing NACFD1 tax is close to the cap set by the State of Arizona. The
new district would be able to assess at current levels with no increase.
The proposed boundary
change has nothing to do with the Valle Vista Property Owners Association. No
additional fees will be levied against the VVPOA, nor will additional fees be
levied against properties owned by the association as a result of the boundary
change.
We will be monitoring
the progress of this boundary change and providing updates as they become
available. For additional information, one can email involved parties at savevvfd@gmail.com .
ARS Boundary Change
information - 48-262
ARS Fire District
information - 48-853
Arizona Federal Judge Entered Judgment For Terminated Employee: High Levels In Positive Drug Test Insufficient To Show Impairment From Marijuana
It's About Time..... and now it's your turn...
An Arizona federal district court judge entered judgment against Walmart Inc. for terminating the employment of a woman who had been prescribed medical marijuana because it had not established through expert evidence that the employee was impaired by marijuana at work despite high levels of marijuana in the results of her drug test. Therefore, the court held plaintiff's termination was contrary to the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, A.R.S. § 36-2813(B) ("AMMA").
READ MORE on the Ruling........
If you feel that you have been denied employment or other position because of medical marijuana use please file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General and the US Dept of Justice
If nothing else the complaints will draw attention to the problem and cost agencies who discriminate against employees a lot of money to defend.
Where to file complaints.....
Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office
The Division’s major duty is to enforce state statutes that prohibit discrimination in employment, voting, public accommodations, disability and housing by investigating and litigating civil rights complaints. In addition, the Division provides conflict resolution services and mediation programs statewide, including many court and agency programs.
https://www.azag.gov/civil-rights
US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
https://www.justice.gov/crt/how-file-complaint
An Arizona federal district court judge entered judgment against Walmart Inc. for terminating the employment of a woman who had been prescribed medical marijuana because it had not established through expert evidence that the employee was impaired by marijuana at work despite high levels of marijuana in the results of her drug test. Therefore, the court held plaintiff's termination was contrary to the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, A.R.S. § 36-2813(B) ("AMMA").
READ MORE on the Ruling........
If you feel that you have been denied employment or other position because of medical marijuana use please file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General and the US Dept of Justice
If nothing else the complaints will draw attention to the problem and cost agencies who discriminate against employees a lot of money to defend.
Where to file complaints.....
Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office
The Division’s major duty is to enforce state statutes that prohibit discrimination in employment, voting, public accommodations, disability and housing by investigating and litigating civil rights complaints. In addition, the Division provides conflict resolution services and mediation programs statewide, including many court and agency programs.
https://www.azag.gov/civil-rights
US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
https://www.justice.gov/crt/how-file-complaint