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Fire and Rescue Department continued from previous page
<br />This past year the Department applied for and received a
<br />license from the Office of Emergency Medical Services to
<br />operate an intercept vehicle for ALS operations. This approval
<br />will come in handy during special events such as the Town's
<br />Patriots Day celebrations and the 4th of July festivities.
<br />The percentage of personnel trained to either the paramedic
<br />or intermediate level has risen to over 50% of the
<br />Department. The Department has affiliated with Mount
<br />Auburn Hospital to provide medical control, along with
<br />enhanced supervision and training of our advanced emer-
<br />gency medical corps.
<br />A Carbon Hemoglobin Detector is now in service, which
<br />enables the paramedics to more readily detect the presence
<br />of carbon monoxide poisoning in patients without the need
<br />for an invasive procedure. Further, the updating of our EMS
<br />reporting procedures, which include electronic reports and a
<br />main storage hub, brings us into compliance with new State
<br />and Federal reporting requirements.
<br />Emergency Management
<br />In November the Town implemented its first reverse 911 sys-
<br />tem. The system is physically housed within the Public Safety
<br />Dispatch room at Police Headquarters. This will enable com-
<br />munications from various agencies to residents to alert them
<br />of potential emergencies or other incidents of significance.
<br />Town departments, working in a consortium of neighboring
<br />communities, have established the Battleroad Regional
<br />Emergency Planning Committee. This committee, a require-
<br />ment of the Federal SARA Title III acts, has received start -up
<br />certification and is actively pursuing full certification. The
<br />communities of Lexington, Bedford, Arlington, Belmont,
<br />Burlington, Watertown and Brookline make up the consor-
<br />tium at this time.
<br />Planning is also underway to ensure the continuous opera-
<br />tion of Town services in the event of a flu pandemic. This
<br />planning is multi- faceted and will be ongoing during 2008.
<br />Biosafety Committee
<br />ROLE: To oversee all uses of recombinant DNA (rDNA)
<br />within the Town of Lexington; to advise the Board of
<br />Health, which permits facilities using rDNA; to review all
<br />applications for permits for the use of rDNA for compli-
<br />ance with local, state, and federal guidelines.
<br />APPOINTED by the Town Manager: Chair, Janice Pero,
<br />PhD; Wendy Heiger - Bernays, PhD; Chief William
<br />Middlemiss (as of December, 2007). Staff: Health
<br />Director resigned in July, 2007.
<br />Personnel
<br />Two longtime members of the department retired during the
<br />year, Captain Robert Walton and Lieutenant Kenneth
<br />Donnelly, Assistant to the Chief. Kerry Evans resigned her
<br />position to accept a position with the Massachusetts
<br />Emergency Management Agency. Firefighter Stephen Schick
<br />also resigned his position.
<br />There were several promotions. Lieutenant John Wilson was
<br />promoted to Captain, while firefighters Donald Chisholm,
<br />Scott Monsignore and Timothy Flaherty were promoted to
<br />lieutenant.
<br />Several new firefighters were appointed to fill vacancies.
<br />They were: Adam Hubbard, Shawn Ormiston, Jason Morey,
<br />Adam McClellan, and Michael O'Connor.
<br />Lori Manning, the new Assistant to the Chief, came to the
<br />Fire Department from the Town Clerk's office. In addition,
<br />Debra Curtin was named Department Clerk.
<br />Finally, firefighters Guy Monaco and Adam Hubbard com-
<br />pleted their twelve -week training at the Massachusetts
<br />Firefighting Academy
<br />Commendations
<br />Off -duty firefighters Richard Prescott, David Walton,
<br />Christopher Pouliot, and Peter Ricci were commended for
<br />their actions at the scene of a motor vehicle accident on
<br />Route 2 on January 26, 2007. Prior to the arrival of fire
<br />companies these four individuals triaged, stabilized and ini-
<br />tiated care at a dangerous scene.
<br />Firefighters John Ritchie and Alex Feldman were commend-
<br />ed for their actions on November 20, 2007, at a motor vehi-
<br />cle accident on Route 128 in Waltham.
<br />The following firefighters from B Group were commended
<br />for their actions at a motor vehicle accident on November 21,
<br />2007, at 124 Woburn Street: Captain Duddy; Lieutenants
<br />Ken Tremblay and Derek Sencabaugh; and firefighters John
<br />Daly, Mark Bellino, Peter Ricci, Rick White, Anne McGrath,
<br />Bryan Webb, Mark Simonds, and Mark Schofield.
<br />HIGHLIGHTS:
<br />• Biosafety consultant reviewed existing Lexington
<br />rDNA regulations and revised them to reflect the newly
<br />promulgated Massachusetts and Boston rDNA regula-
<br />tions. The Board of Health accepted the revisions as
<br />proposed.
<br />• Biosafety consultant inspected six permitted facilities in
<br />Lexington and presented the results and written inspec-
<br />tion reports to the Board of Health.
<br />Page 28 2006 Annual Report, Town of Lexington
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