Emergency Services Archives | Randolph News Now

Jan42024 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

North Carolina Zoo Set to Temporarily Close for Staff Training and Safety Drills

NC Zoo

Emergency Services Vehicles near Junction Plaza at the NC Zoo. (Scott Pelkey / Acme News Archive) ASHEBORO N.C. – The North Carolina Zoo along will all its public walking trails will be closed to the public from Monday January 8th through January 12th for staff training, including required safety drills and maintenance. As an accredited Zoo through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the North Carolina Zoo is required to conduct various safety drills involving its staff. These drills cover a wide range of scenarios, from protocols for handling animal escapes to responding to diving incidents, to fires, animal bites, and more. “Employees need to drill and practice their responses so that they are prepared in the event of an actual situation,” said Diane Villa, the Zoo’s Di...

Jan62023 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

9-1-1 Answers 128,580 Calls in 2022 | Breakdown

Investigative

A 9-1-1 Telecomunicator sits at a station at the Randolph County Emergency Services Headquarters. (Stock Photo / Scott Pelkey / Acme News) ASHEBORO N.C. - Last year Randolph County Emergency Services’ 9-1-1 operators answered 128,580 calls. We reviewed records to find out the where and why. Of those thousands of calls, the most recorded call type at 11% (14,089) were 9-1-1 hang-up, misdials, or open lines (aka butt-dials), followed by 11,186 calls (8.7%) which were marked as duplicate calls where several people called in to report the same incident. Theft was responsible for the largest number of 9-1-1 calls reporting crime in 2022 (when larceny and burglaries are combined) with a total of 4,145 or 3.2% of all calls. Retail stores are usually among the places that keep local po...

Apr182022 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Asheboro Fire Department Announces Upcoming Fire Explorer Program

Government

Acme News Archive (2019) (SP) ASHEBORO N.C. - Are you between the ages of 14 and 20 and interested in a career in firefighting or emergency services? Then you will want to check out the Asheboro Fire Department's upcoming Fire Explorer Program. The program will be from 6-7, starting on Wednesday April 20th, 2022 and meet every other week. "We’ll break during summer and pick back up when school resumes in the fall." said Samantha East, Public Information Officer with the Asheboro Fire Department. According to East the program will focus on teaching students from ages 14-20 years old the fundamentals of firefighting and emergency services as well as leadership skills and will consist of both hands on training and lectures. Registration fee of $45 is required and anyone interest...

Oct202021 by Scott PelkeyNo Comments

Overwhelmed – 911 Faces Increasing Calls And Staffing Shortage

Investigative

ASHEBORO NC – Recently the Randolph Hub highlighted how the state wide paramedic shortage, increased call volume, and trouble hiring and retaining staff is overwhelming Randolph County EMS. It’s an article that is worth reading. The headline read “Time for EMS to call 911?”, but perhaps the next headline should read “911: Don’t call us, we’re busy too.” The Randolph County 9-1-1 center is also overwhelmed as they take on an ever increasing number of calls. That increase is not just COVID-19 calls says Director of Randolph County Emergency Services Donovan Davis in an email, “we’ve seen an increase in fire service, law enforcement, EMS, and rescue calls. These include burglary, suspicious persons/vehicles, larceny, assault, chest pain, strokes, seizure, motor vehicle accidents, overdoses...