On October 23, the City of Reno and the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority announced the approval of an interlocal agreement.
The agreement combines the city and airport fire departments in order to meet the needs of a growing community and airport.
You may recall when the Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue and the Reno Fire Department came to an agreement to automatic aid, allowing the closest units from either department to respond regardless of jurisdiction.
The interlocal agreement was approved by the RTTA Board of Trustees last month and at the Reno City Council earlier today.
The Reno Fire Department Fire Chief, Dave Cochran, says “The Reno Fire Department is absorbing the Airport Fire Department and what that does is, if you look at the region as being the airport and the city, this gives us the ability to provide the best service, the maximum service to that region and it can really serve as an example of what a regional approach to fire service can be.”
The combination of both fire departments creates a depth of resources and a seamless dispatching process.
This agreement will also allow for a combined equipment use as well.
Chief Cochran says “The Reno Fire Department has ladder trucks, which the airport does not have, giving that apparatus and that resource we have that’s a benefit to the airport because we can respond whether it’s evacuating a plane and accessing some of the taller structures around there.”
Chris Jensen, the Chief Operations and Public Safety Officer for the Airport Authority adds “We’ve always had really strong Airport Rescue Firefighting, firefighters and the fire department. What we’ve never really had before is an all fire response for high rise hotels and large industrial complexes, so partnering with the City of Reno gives us the ability to respond to all of those types of facilities that we’ve really never been able to before.”
Having the combination of both fire departments will diminish delay and confusion when responding to a call, in turn making emergency response more efficient and effective.
Chief Cochran explains “The growth in and around the city and the growth in particular at airport properties, a lot of it is commercial or industrial, creates a greater impact on the region and it is a regional impact because the airport is in the middle of city limits... so that growth wherever it occurs is going to impact public safety.”
Jensen also says “It gives a fire department at the airport, we have millions of people flying out every year, the same level of service that they would expect here in downtown Reno.”
The Airport Authority firefighters will now be City of Reno employees and well be able to keep their positions.
Jensen adds “It’s a very complicated process when you’re trying to merge the two organizations... so there were a lot of details that had to be worked through.”
Chief Cochran mentions this merge could be a model for future regional opportunities for in regards to growth for emergency services.
