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Media Coverage of Related County Issues

Fire departments put the heat on Supervisors

Is the county ready for emergency? Officials say no (1/30/08)

By FRANCES HUBBARD
TIDEWATER REVIEW STAFF WRITER 

Ask any firefighter and rescue worker what they fear the most and they will tell you it's not the fire or the blood - it's the possibility of not being able to save someone's life.

Is that a possibility in King William? Officials say it could be if something isn't done soon.

Monday night Emergency Services Coordinator Steve Puckett presented a plan to the Board of Supervisors he says has to be implemented before tragedy strikes.

"We are so far behind it's pathetic," Supervisor Danny Wright said after Puckett's presentation. "I'd hate to think we lost a citizen because we were not ready."

In 2007, King William County's fire and rescue departments received 2017 emergency calls, Puckett said. Of those, 432 were fire related and 1719 were medical requests.

Puckett told the board the departments were unable to respond to 133 requests, which were covered by mutual aid departments.

"As the population of King William County continues to increase and the mean age of the population decreases, the demands for service will continue to increase," Puckett said. "It is difficult for the volunteer departments to answer the request for service at the current level and this will only become a greater problem in the future."

Emergency calls in the county are currently covered by three volunteer fire departments: West Point, King William and Mangohick; two EMS departments at King William and West Point; and two mutual aid agencies at Mattaponi and Walkerton. All departments, according to officials, continue to have difficulty recruiting volunteers.

The shortage of volunteers has contributed to a longer response time, especially during daytime hours. Puckett explained that based on the "2006 Trends in Emergency Medicine and Trauma," the average on scene arrival time from dispatch is eight minutes in Virginia, and King William "greatly exceeds the average."

Besides day-to-day fire and medical services, emergency officials are concerned about caring for the public in the case of a large disaster. In some areas, like Richmond, officials have begun handing out three-day survival kits to residents as a part of their emergency plans.

"I don't think our citizens would know what to do if we had a situation," Wright said. "Everyone thinks it's not going to happen to us. We're not just talking emergency management, we're talking all departments. You never know when this is going to strike."

Puckett suggested several actions the county could take to better improve current services.

First, he said the Board of Supervisors should establish an Emergency Services Advisory Board consisting of fire and rescue personnel, citizens, business leaders, and government officials. The board agreed to start by appointing three members from each district to look at all hazard plans from fires to flooding and tornadoes.

Second, Puckett said the county must establish reasonable response times so agencies understand its expectations. "A time that is feasible for Richmond is not feasible for King William County," Puckett explained.

The county must then designate specific job descriptions and define a chain of authority within the Emergency Services Department "so everyone knows who to go to and who to report to," Puckett said.

He also recommended clarifying the relationship between the Director of Emergency Services and the agencies. "We need to once and for all make this clear," he said.

Puckett recommended the county refocus the financial assistance given to the agencies from operation to capitol improvements, and to make planning for growth a priority. Earlier this month, West Point Volunteer Fire Department began supplementing its volunteers with a paid staff during the daytime hours and officials believe that may be worth reviewing for the other agencies in the county.

"I think this board ought to address the need for good coverage during the daylight hours. I believe we're going to have to do something similar to what West Point did if not more," Wright said.

Puckett said the agencies also have to look at accountability - physically, financially, and operationally.

"As a board and as a county we put a lot of money out each year for fire and EMS. We need some type of accountability for this money. Where's it going? We need to look at budgeting," he told the board.

The agencies also have to stay on top of their training requirements. All departments should be to be certified by the National Instant Management System. This allows them to not only be well-trained but leaved them open to different funding opportunities such as grants.

"I commend Mr. Puckett for putting together a plan to help us. It's a shame it's taken this long," said Lisa Woody, president of Mangohick Volunteer Fire Department. "There are programs we need but can't get because of funds, but when your house burns down and you call 911 you are hoping we are going to be there."

"We need your money because we can't get it. We need money for training so we can help you when you do need us. It's not just a favor, it's a plea," Woody told the boardroom audience.

The Supervisors are now looking for community members who would like to serve on the emergency advisory board. Members should be appointed at the board's March meeting. Those interested are asked to contact their district representative.

"We must take a proactive approach to this problem and not wait until a tragedy makes a reactive approach necessary," Puckett reminded the board." Photo by Gene Campbell, courtesy of the Tidewater Review.

Protecting the starry night sky

Localities seek to restrict some outdoor lighting (1/28/08)

 By JAMIE C. RUFF
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Laura Graham enjoys the stars of the night sky and wants to make sure that others can, too.So she spent the past two years pushing for changes to Powhatan County's zoning ordinance that add restrictions for new outdoor lighting. Basically, they require all new outdoor lights to have shields that reflect the rays down instead of out and up. The goal: to protect the county's dark skies and increase public safety by reducing the bright shine of outdoor lights and limiting glare that can blind nighttime drivers. Powhatan's is the latest in a series of ordinances popping up across the state for what officials say are various reasons: King and Queen County, for instance, approved its version to brace for development. Ashland passed its ordinance more out of social awareness of light pollution. Chesterfield County adopted its change in part because newcomers pushed for quality development. Graham said such regulations can save energy by reducing wattage used; increase security by focusing lighting where it is needed; and protect nocturnal wildlife such as migrating birds from being sent off course. Powhatan's law, passed unanimously Dec. 10, is not retroactive but does apply to any changes in current outdoor lighting. Enforcement is triggered by a complaint. The night it passed, the ordinance drew comments from two speakers concerned about its effect on their safety. Graham has countered: "We're not taking people's security lights away. . . . They [lights] just have to be shielded." Exempted from Powhatan's new ordinance is lighting of state or U.S. flags and other noncommercial flags expressing constitutionally protected speech, plus circus, fair, carnival, construction and emergency lighting. Powhatan Administrator Carolyn Cios says the ordinance was passed because residents are concerned about light pollution: "There is the supposition that adding more light would take away the rural character quicker." Powhatan's population grew nearly 24 percent from about 22,377 in 2000 to an estimated 27,649 in 2006, U.S. Census figures show. Graham's efforts were supported by the Richmond Astronomical Society, which regularly uses the western part of the county for stargazing. Graham also volunteers with the International Dark-Sky Association, which advocates curtailing light pollution around the world. Dark-Sky is committed to being a good neighbor, Graham said, and she makes it a point not to be confrontational. But "I do not want to downplay the seriousness of educating people and getting the message across. "There is no excuse for unshielded lights in this day and time," she said. "It's inexpensive. It's patriotic. What could be more patriotic than saving energy?" University of Virginia astronomer Phil Ianna, one-time board member of the Dark-Sky Association, says the issue is complicated. Urban sprawl means more lighting and, even in localities with stringent regulations, the problem doesn't go away, Ianna said. Even some supporters of Dark-Sky are "not that willing to do a lot for it," and there is enough bad lighting that people assume that nothing can be done, he said. Regulations must be enforced, and the public needs to be educated about the subject, Ianna said. "It's absolutely a never-ending issue." John Goss, chairman of the Mid-East Region of the Astronomical League and a former president of the Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society, said the sky-glow problem from stray light comes in two forms: intense urban glow and a general widespread suburban pall. "People expect downtowns to be well-lit but contained within a relatively small area," he said. "With sprawl affecting many parts of the state and country, the lighting issue has grown worse over a large region. Downtown areas of cities occupy relatively little space, but sprawl is huge: strip mall here, convenience mart there -- and all well-lit." Goss said other areas of the state that have some form of outdoor lighting ordinance or are considering one include Roanoke and nearby Botetourt County, as well as Augusta County in the Shenandoah Valley. Stargazing is best done in the darkest areas and away from population centers, Goss said. In general, he said, the western and southwestern parts of the state are reasonably dark. Goss, who lives near Fincastle, north of Roanoke, said most people might consider the midwinter sky best for stargazing because it contains the most bright stars. But for him, the summer sky contains many bright regions of the Milky Way and the weather is better for being outside at night. "Personally, a very clear summer night is hard to beat," he said.

King William County: Does not have dark-sky regulations but is considering developing them in zoning ordinance update. "We're aware of the problem," says Planning Director Scott Lucchesi.

Ashland: Requires developers to submit lighting plans to show that lighting is of a sharp cutoff design to prevent unnecessary upcasting of light, and that spillover lighting does not exceed one-half foot-candle at all property lines.

Chesterfield County: Requires an outdoor light to be shielded from direct view from adjoining residential and agricultural districts and the public rights of way. Spillover from business lighting must not exceed one-half foot-candle along any property line adjoining residential and agricultural districts.

Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Amelia County: Do not have dark-sky regulations, and light pollution is not an issue for them, officials say.

Cumberland County: Does not have a light-control ordinance but addresses the issue in conditional-use permits when light could be an issue on adjoining properties or highways.

Dinwiddie County: Requires lights to shine downward and inward.

Goochland County: Does not have an ordinance but imposes conditions on shielding and intensity of lighting for developments through conditional-use permits, says Planning Director Bob Hammond.

Hanover County: Has "elements" in a county ordinance to reduce light pollution or sky-glow from site and sign lighting, says John Bender, a deputy director of planning. The light source must be shielded from view from public rights of way and from noncommercial and nonindustrial districts, and "light fixtures shall be installed and aimed so as to minimize glare, sky glow and light trespass."

Henrico County: Does not have any zoning regulations on outdoor lights but asks for lighting plans with new developments.

King and Queen County: Requires all light fixtures not exempted (which includes single-family residences, lights for agriculture use and structures such as barns and construction and emergency lighting) be fully shielded so that all the light emitted is projected down. The light source should be shielded from adjoining property.

Louisa County: Does not have a dark-sky ordinance, but most conditional-use permits require dark-sky lighting, says Darren K. Coffey, community development director.

New Kent, Prince George and Caroline counties and Petersburg: Require exterior fixtures to project light downward.

Richmond: Requires lighting at night in shopping areas and requires that the light be concentrated in the parking area and that the glare not extend onto adjoining properties or streets. A long-running dispute among Fan District residents exists over a proposal for new streetlights in the neighborhood. Supporters say more lighting will help keep crime down, but opponents complain of efforts to flood the Fan with anti-crime yellow sodium or metal halide lighting. A consultant is being brought in.

Sussex: Does not have a light pollution ordinance but does require information on outdoor lighting as part of the site plan reviewed by the zoning administrator. Light pollution has not been considered a problem in the County.