FIRE CHIEF LOOKING AHEAD TO BUSY YEAR

When Robert L. Ridgeway was hired by the city of Cape Girardeau to run its fire department, change was already sweeping throughout the department.

When he assumed the position of Fire Chief in March, things began to fall into place.

In May, the fire department dualized its responsibilities, by responding to medical emergencies in addition to its regular fire and service calls.

That added responsibility drove the year end total number of calls up nearly two-fold over the prior year.

"The total number of calls has been going up every year -- that is to be expected," said Ridgeway. "But the medical calls tacked on about 700 calls in the last few months."

In 1992, firefighters responded to a total of 911 incidents; in 1993, the number reached 1,695 -- an 86 percent increase.

"We expect to be well over 2,000 (calls) next year," Ridgeway said.

The fire chief said that about 50 percent of the department's calls are now medical emergencies. The rest are structure fires, leaf or trash fires or residential lockouts.

Medical emergency calls were a natural step for the department, he said. With four stations strategically located throughout the city, and much of the staff already medically certified, the city incurred little expense compared to the services its now receiving, said Ridgeway.

The city allotted about $9,000 for the conversion, which included the purchase of medical supplies and equipment.

In addition to the city funding, area service clubs and organizations donated money for medical equipment or purchased medical equipment for the department to utilize.

To prepare its staff for the medical calls, the department held first responder class during work hours for all uncertified personnel and police dispatchers. Other firefighters who held first responder certificates also went through the course as a refresher.

In addition to the first responders, the department staffs four paramedics, 19 emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

Lt. Brad Golden, chief medical officer of the department, instructs monthly continuing-education classes for the EMTs, which reviews and updates such techniques as airway management, trauma management, automatic defibrilation and childbirth.

At the end of the this summer, the department hopes to be able to provide in-house EMT classes to upgrade the certificates of first responders.

Also in the coming year, the department plans to have "paramedic engines" on every shift. Such a move would require a licensed paramedic to be assigned to an engine around the clock, which would be equipped to perform all advanced life support functions.

Medical calls aside, the fundamental function the department is to extinguish fires in the city. It is for that reason that Ridgeway hopes to provide training to increase the level of certification of all the department's personnel to the Firefighter 2 level, according to National Fire Protection Association guidelines.

The changes are not only affecting firefighters. Fire trucks, many of which are very old, are being run like never before.

"A lot of the trucks are old and need to be replaced, but we have a good maintenance program to keep them running," said Ridgeway. "We have budgeted to begin replacing some of the older trucks in the next couple of years; until then, we'll work with what we've got."

One of the biggest problems with having an aged fleet of fire trucks -- some of which are 20-30 years old -- is finding parts to fix them, Ridgeway said.

But considering the price of new fire trucks -- from $150,000 for a new engine to $500,000 for a ladder truck -- the department will have to make to for now, he said.

A couple of the newer trucks have been shuffled around to stations where they can serve the greatest need.

Monies for new trucks are not the only big-budget item in the upcoming years. Within the next five years, the department has plans to design and build a new Fire Station No. 3 on the North Sprigg extension.

When Ridgeway first came to the city, he vowed to get the firefighters more involved in the planning and programming of the department.

Since then, several firefighters have been placed on committees -- from a hiring committee which through an testing and interview process generated a two-year list of about 30 applicants, a uniform committee which selected new shirts for the department, to a committee which designed a new patch to wear on their new uniforms.

"I believe that the key to managing a de-centralized operation is to have committees and to get everyone involved," said Ridgeway. "We are not all working at the same building at the same time. We have four stations and three shifts.

"One of our continuing goals is to be one fire department; to be thinking and resolving issues the same way on every shift, at every station," he said.

Another part of firefighting which is very important to the chief is training -- something of which the firefighters look to be doing a lot of in the coming year.

"We're going to generate an annual training schedule, which will allow the firefighters to know in January what they will be expected to accomplish by December," said Ridgeway. "We also hope to have quite a few of the men enrolled in classes at the National Fire Academy, as well as in regional and state training programs."

To better keep track of the constant changes within the department, a new computer system is scheduled to go on line this month.

"We're going to be able to keep track of everything," said Ridgeway. "Any information we might need on an incident or the way we handled a certain situation will be right there."

One of the things the department wants to keep track of is the five-year master plan it hopes to establish this coming year.

"We need to have a master plan ready, which would include a needs list of equipment, facilities, administration and public education," said Ridgeway. "We plan to have that ready by April."

As the police department shied away from unlocking cars in which motorists have left their keys, the fire department continues to unlock homes of those people who have done the same.

"A lot of times, those kinds of calls involve aggravating factors, like a small child being locked inside, food is left cooking on the stove or there is inclement water outside," said Ridgeway. "Our goal is to provide more services, not less. That's a goal we intend to keep.

"We're going to have a busy year."