Body armor for EMS and firefighters
Emergency management director proposed 174% budget increase
NEW CANAAN — Six months since being hired as the town’s first full-time emergency management director, Russell Kimes is preparing for worst-case scenarios.
Kimes requested a 174 percent increase in his operating budget and a capital budget that is more than three times greater than 2022-23. In addition to preparing for natural disasters, Kimes wants to ensure first responders are protected from violence.
Kimes wants to purchase $14,500 worth of body armor for EMS workers and firefighters that would include ballistic plates to protect against high-velocity rifle rounds and ballistic helmets.
According to Kimes, these items would be needed to extract people from a warm zone — an area between the direct threat and ambulances waiting in the staging area. He said these items are needed because “we want our first responders to feel safe to be aggressive to save lives.”
“It is our belief that we as a town can provide them at least some modicum of safety,” he said.
In his presentation last week to the Board of Selectmen, Kimes said his department needs $214,344 for the 2023-24 operating budget and $594,216 for a capital budget to protect residents during emergencies.
“Unfortunately, acts of violence are sadly a reality as we see across our country,” Kimes said.
However, much of his recommended operating budget increase will go toward his $130,415 salary.
The big ticket items in the capital budget include a new incident command unit for $380,000 and a Motorola radio system contract for $136,216.
The town’s incident command unit was acquired in 2007 and Kimes wants a new unit to serve as an on-site command post during emergencies, disasters and large events. It could serve as an alternate command center if the police department is inaccessible due to terrorism or natural disaster, Kimes said in his presentation.
The Motorola hardware and software contract provides the town with 24hour support if the radio system goes down. It also provides a five-year contract, upgrades to the software and protection from hacking.
The capital budget includes $31,500 for a fuel tanker to keep the 15 generators associated with town buildings operating during an extended power outage. Generators are located at Town Hall, police department, Department of Public Works, Lapham Center, Mead Park Lodge, New Canaan High School, the water treatment plant and other locations.
The capital budget request includes $5,000 for stop-the-bleed kits at 28 places where AEDs are located around town. Similar to encouraging the public to learn how to perform CPR or stop someone from choking, “now we are pushing heavily that everyone should learn how to stop traumatic bleeding or hemorrhaging,” Kimes said. “It’s the No. 1 cause of death in traumas.”
Each kit costs $150 and includes a tourniquet, gloves and a how-to card for those who may not have medical training or need a quick refresher.
The last item in the capital budget is Motorola triband radios for $27,000, so responders can also communicate with other agencies when mutual aid is needed.
“I think time has shown in any of these major incidents, no individual town can handle these things themselves,” Kimes said.
The operating budget calls for $7,000 for emergency items like food rations to replace ones that have expired that can be used if local restaurants and stores are closed for days after a storm.
An operating expense of $19,075, for service contracts includes Everbridge, which is an emergency notification system that allows the town to call and email residents for emergency notifications.
Service contracts also cover three GIS licenses, including a mapping tool that allows emergency management to track where roads are blocked and power lines are down. It will also help interface with Eversource and offer publicly shared maps to show where evacuation areas are located.
“Hopefully, these items never get used,” Kimes said.