Fire Department Implements Organizational Restructure To Ensure Improved Emergency Service To City Of Alexandria

Press release from the City of Alexandria:

May 28, 2021 at 11:22 AM

Fire Department Implements
Organizational Restructure to Ensure Improved Emergency Service to City of
Alexandria

For
Immediate Release: May 28, 2021

The Alexandria Fire Department (AFD) will implement an organizational restructure, effective Saturday, June 12. The goals of the changes are to improve service efficiency and response times across the city; reduce cost; increase safety on the roadways; and improve response preparedness for specialty teams such as the
Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials, and Inland Water Rescue teams.

The organizational restructure will consist of Advanced Life Support (ALS) unit upgrades, the addition of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) lieutenants, specialty team relocations, and creating Battalion Management Teams (BMT).

“The Alexandria Fire Department has a dedicated workforce, strong partnerships and an engaged community that have provided us with the foundation to make these quality improvements, and we’re just getting started,” said Fire/EMS Chief Corey Smedley. “We are taking a hard look at ourselves, using data-driven
decision making, including our frontline workforce the decision-making process, and using industry best practices to ensure we maintain a safer Alexandria.”

An ALS ladder truck and several ALS fire engines will be staffed with at least one paramedic on each unit. These resources will be strategically located throughout the city, and the Fire Department will also enhance ALS capabilities by adding EMS Lieutenants on various units to ensure continued high-quality care during
emergency incidents and enhanced training opportunities for paramedic interns.

The Fire Department’s specialty teams will be realigned to improve response preparedness and resource integration. In anticipation of continued population growth in Alexandria and to balance rescue squad coverage:

• Technical Rescue Team will move to Station 209 (2800 Mainline Blvd.).
• Inland Water Rescue will also relocate to Station 209 for more efficient response to possible flooding.
• The Hazardous Materials Team will move to Station 210 (5255 Eisenhower Ave.) for more efficient response to the industrial park, Norfolk Southern Ethanol Transloading Facility and easy access to the interstate where nationally most hazardous material emergencies occur.
• The Marine Operations Team will relocate to Station 204 (900 Second St.).
• A ladder truck will be located at Station 203 (2801 Cameron Mills Rd.). Locating a ladder truck at Station 203 will allow for 5-minute special service coverage across the entire city, which is aligned with National Fire Protection Association (1710) industry best practices.

The Fire Department will also create Battalion Management Teams (BMTs) comprised of a battalion chief and an EMS captain or a fire captain for all three shifts for the East and West ends of the city. BMTs work together as one functioning unit to improve our all-hazards approach and increase safety while responding on the
roadways. With a focus on high-performance, the organizational restructure will ensure there is a captain assigned to each station for every shift. This will improve day-to-day operations by leveraging the experience of more tenured staff to improve daily station management, proactively address personnel and facility
issues, and provide professional development opportunities for newly promoted frontline supervisors.

AFD will host the following virtual community engagement opportunities to discuss the organizational restructure:

• Saturday, June 5, 2021, at 10 a.m.
• Monday, June 7, 2021, at 2 p.m.
• Thursday, June 10, 2021, at 7 p.m.

Visit the 2021 AFD Restructure Page for additional information about
AFD’s organizational restructure. To arrange for a representative from the
Alexandria Fire Department to present the upcoming improvements to your community
organization, email
AFD.PIO@alexandriava.gov .

For media inquiries only, contact Andrea Blackford, Senior Communications Officer, at
andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact

amanda.jackson@alexandriava.gov
or call 703.746.5239, Virginia Relay 711.

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This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/122589.

This press release was produced by the City of Alexandria.The views expressed here are the author’s own.