GREENVILLE, S.C. —
One Upstate fire department has been raising concerns over the city of Greenville considering annexing the Cherrydale area into the city limits, saying the move could lead to slower response times.
City of Greenville announced the proposed annexation earlier in January. Officials say it could lower property taxes, lower water rates, and give faster emergency response times.
However, leaders with Parker Fire District believe they are best suited to cover the area and is hoping for a solution.
Chief Greg Farley said their new traffic mitigation controls are running smoothly.
"It's faster, you know, faster response time. What is just important is the safety side of it," Farley said.
The technology allows firefighters to change traffic lights to help fire crews get to a scene faster and prevent crashes at intersections.
While there are no numbers to show how many seconds have been shaved off, Farley said their average response time is about five to six minutes, and this technology keeps them in that life-saving range.
A case he has been making in light of the city of Greenville's possible annexation of the Cherrydale area.
"Our fire station is physically closer to the Cherrydale area. Their station, which would be on Rutherford Road, is a mile farther," Farley said.
Looking at the numbers, if the annexation were to go through, the closest city fire station to, for example, the Chick-fil-A in that area, is 1.7 miles away. The closest Parker Fire Station is .6 miles away.
"Seconds are critical in an emergency situation, whether it's a medical emergency or if it's a fire or a motor vehicle collision or whatever. Seconds matter," Farley said.
However, what about mutual aid?
"That doesn't help in response time. They have traveled that amount of time and had to go to a longer distance and they realized they need assistance. That's mutual aid," Farley said.
Another option is auto-aid, which would mean Parker Fire would respond at the same time the city does.
When asked if the city had been in discussions about a possible auto agreement, officials did confirm there had been.
In the meantime, people will need to wait and see.
"They are the ones going to be affected ultimately. They are the one going to be calling for help and may have to wait longer periods of time when they need help just," Farley said.
Below is the full statement from the city in regard to the possible annexation:
"The Greenville City Fire Department's (GCFD) Station 7 is located on Rutherford Road and meets/exceeds all National Fire Protection Association and ISO standards for first arrival response times to all Cherrydale/Pleasantburg Drive/Rutherford Rd addresses.
GCFD consistently measures all stations for reliability, availability for calls, and the ability to get a complete Effective Response Force (ERF) to the scene. (ERF= How long it takes to have sufficient apparatus and personnel on scene to properly mitigate an emergency scene.)
GCFD is the only fire department in Greenville County to hold both international accreditation and ISO Class 1 rating, and is one of only 118 fire departments in the world to have received both. There is no need for concern related to emergency response."
A public hearing for the annexation consideration is scheduled for Feb. 12.
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