August is the Busiest Month for Asheboro Firefighters

ASHEBORO — The Asheboro Fire Department answers more calls in August than any other month. The busiest day is Friday with 4 p.m. the most active hour.

Fire Chief Willie Summers gave those statistics as part of his annual report to the Asheboro City Council on Aug. 4.

Summers was proud to proclaim his department is now, officially, Asheboro Fire & Rescue. Certification was received this year for the designation, as well as a new rescue truck. And it’s seen plenty of action in the past few months.

Summers said the department is working on a couple more certifications, including trench rescue and enclosed rescue. He said they want to be prepared rather than waiting until after an accident.

Asheboro Fire & Rescue has two stations, one of South Church Street and the other on North Fayetteville Street. There are 54 firefighters with 18 per shift and eight personnel in administration. There are three fire engines, one aerial engine and one rescue vehicle.

During the past year, Summers said, his department saved 78 lives by use of CPR. The average response time to emergencies is 4 minutes, 37 seconds.

“Our goal is to build Fire Station No. 3,” he said. “We’re looking for land.” The North Carolina budget has appropriated $1.9 million for a new fire station.

In other business, the council:

•Approved a contract with Field Turf for the installation of the turf fields on Fields 5, 6, 7 and 8 at the Zoo City Sportsplex. The contract with Field Turf amounts to $3,897,216.41. 

According to Finance Officer Deborah Reaves, the current appropriation from the General Fund was $1,715,427. She recommended the additional appropriation from Fund Balance of $2,181,790 to equal the contract amount. That was approved.

•Authorized the engagement with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council for grant services related to the construction of the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden.

•Authorized the engagement with the Piedmont Trial Regional Council to provide stategic management assistance for a potential water line extension project to Chatham County.

•Approved a request for the delegation of authority to the city manager to award a contract on the qualification-based selection process under way for the procurement of the environmental site assessment services needed for the project to acquire the former Acme-McCrary Hosiery Mill on North Street.

•Received a report on the qualification-based selection selection process authorized by the city manager for a safety and traffic study to review the merge of Sunset Avenue and Salisbury Street.

•Approved the annexation request for seven acres at 923 Meadowbrook Road.

•Approved the annexation request for 20 acres at the Timber Ridge Subdivision on East Allred Street.

•Agreed to a request from William Clayton Burrow to connect water lines to property outside and not contiguous to city limits on Patton Avenue. Burrow will pay the cost of the line from a meter on NC 42 to the property, where it was reported that the current water is not safe to drink.

•Were notified that Brooke Schmidly is stepping down from her position on the ABC Board. Mayor David Smith said there is no replacement for her but there would be at the September meeting.

•Heard an update on the North Carolina 4 Military Employment (NC4ME) seminar. It’s believed that veterans should be recruited for positions in the Police Department.

•Were introduced to Brad Dalke, recently hired safety director.

•Received a report from IMPACT Now, a two-week workshop for teenagers on entrepreneurship. 

•Were told that work on the Land Developent Plan is ongoing with adoption anticipated later this year.

•Heard public comments from William Dula and Ward Russell. Dula would like to see the city provide access for the public with a place to make things. Russell asked that the city provide real-time budget figures on projects and put them on the city’s website.