Emergency management has new direction for 2009

East Fork District Fire Chief Tod Carlini has a basic philosophy when it comes to emergency management.

"In a true emergency, everyone has a role to play," Carlini said.

One of his priorities in 2009 is to implement a Local Emergency Planning Committee of a dozen community members to provide oversight and guidance.

Along with his executive team and County Manager T. Michael Brown, Carlini is facilitating the transfer of Emergency Management Services to the East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts.

The plan is in response to the 2008 Douglas County grand jury report, the departure of former emergency management services Director Richard Mirgon, and because it makes sense to Carlini and the county.

"We're doing it anyway," Carlini said. "With the changes there was a void and we offered to county commissioners to create a separate department. The expertise of our staff allows us to do this."

Becoming emergency management director represents a homecoming of sorts for Carlini.

He and Deputy Chief Steve Tognoli learned emergency management from the late State Fire Marshal Marvin Carr whom Carlini said is recognized as one of "the founding fathers" of emergency management in Nevada.

During the devastating floods of 1997, Carlini was incident commander and emergency operations command manager in Lyon County while Tognoli was operations section chief in Lyon County.

Carlini cited the expertise of the rest of his executive staff including deputy fire chiefs Steve Eisele and Dave Fogerson.

With three deputy chiefs, each can operate as a deputy director of emergency management, giving the district 24-7 coverage.

"Emergency management does not just exist to manage emergencies," Carlini said in a letter to Brown. "There are certainly several administrative and clerical responsibilities as well. Once again, our executive staff is well-versed, due to prior work experiences in the necessary administrative duties of the emergency management function."

The county is the recipient of a federal grant that requires designated employees to complete four online training classes. The federal government audits the county to make sure it's in compliance.

"The most important obligation at this time is to maintain that level of compliance," Carlini said. "Updating emergency response plans, providing the required training, receiving and disseminating information, grant application and management and managing the Local Emergency Planning Committee are perhaps the five most important administrative functions."

Carlini acknowledged that the added responsibilities will impact the district's workload.

"Initially, yes," he said. "But I'm confident with the staff in play we can do this. It's a team effort. We've broken it down into various components and we're nibbling away at it. We aren't having to reinvent anything. We've come up with a fairly good balance so no one person becomes overly taxed."

Under a contract between the county and the East Fork Fire & Paramedic districts, emergency services will be provided to the county at no cost for the first year. That may be revised if East Fork discovers that providing emergency management services has reduced the ability to provide required fire and paramedic services.

Douglas County also is offering a lease purchase agreement to East Fork to move to their own district headquarters in the vacant 4,800-square-foot Department of Motor Vehicles building on County Road across from Station 14.

The purchase price is $725,922.

East Fork would vacate their offices on the first floor of the Minden Inn.

"It's going to be a positive move," Carlini said. "We have people working out of closets in the Minden Inn. It's in a recognizable location, customers can come in and pay their ambulance bills. It's across the street from the main station."

Accomplishments in the past year include opening the $2.8 million Station No. 12 in Sunridge.

The 10,385-square-foot station includes a meeting room and library kiosk.

"We've always had a philosophy about community facilities," Carlini said.

The new station enables the district to combine assets with Carson City that creates a shared response district from Plymouth in northern Douglas County, across the line to Clearview in Carson City.

Carlini estimates the regional response will save Douglas County and Carson City $1 million a year.

In February, Carlini hopes to fill six openings.

"We our so fortunate, so fortunate, our board (county commissioners) supported that need," Carlini said.