The Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously at its January organizational meeting to approve Farmville Fire Department (FFD) Chief Dean Farmer’s request for an update to the county’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Response Plan so that it will now include FFD.

Assistant County Administrator Sarah Puckett said, “Last month, the board approved the operational status of the Farmville Fire Department as a first responder, so this resolution that’s before you this evening is an amendment to the county’s EMS Response Plan that was last updated in 2015. And what it does is adds the Farmville Volunteer Fire Department as an emergency medical responder with a primary response area coterminous with the corporate limits of the Town of Farmville, which reflects the action the board took last month on their operational status. So Chief Farmer has made this request so that he can finalize the permitting process with the Office of EMS with the state and get operational.”

Buffalo District Supervisor C.R. “Bob” Timmons Jr. asked, “Does it change the restriction that we put on them?”

“No, sir,” Puckett replied. “This reflects the action that the board took and the geography.”

At its Nov. 8 meeting, the board voted 7-0 that the Farmville Fire Department will be able to provide basic life support services to an individual or individuals at the scene of an incident, but it does not have clearance to provide these services while transporting them somewhere.

Timmons was not present at the meeting.

County Administrator Wade Bartlett confirmed that the request from the FFD for an update of the county’s EMS Response Plan and the board’s approval of that request in no way changes the board’s previous decision that granted the department a pathway to be an EMS provider but without transport.