Kenneth R. Buie, 911 Communication Center Supervisor
kbuie1@bellsouth.net

Ken Buie has been the Brownsville-Haywood County Central Dispatch Supervisor since 2000. He holds a bachelors in business degree from Union University and an MBA from Strayer University.

Central dispatch was established in 1991 as one of Tennessee’s few consolidated dispatch centers. This center is a joint venture between Haywood County, the city of Brownsville and the 911 emergency communication district. As a consolidated center, we dispatch police, sheriff deputies, fire and ambulance for the entire county, as well as, monitor the 911 phones for all calls for service. The mission statement for the dispatch center is as follows:

To provide prompt, efficient all-inclusive Emergency Services to the best of our ability; to serve the public with fairness and professional conduct.

Board Members
Central dispatch is governed by a nine-member board. (See Boards and Commissions.) These members are made up of the head of the departments we dispatch for as well as one private citizen appointed by the city mayor and one private citizen appointed by the county mayor.

Requirements
The State of Tennessee, under Tennessee Code Annotated 7-86-201, has established strict guidelines that all dispatchers must meet before being employed. This law states that all such persons shall: (1) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age; (2) Be a citizen of the United States; (3) Be a high school graduate or possess equivalency; (4) Not have been convicted or pleaded guilty to or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any felony charge or to any violation of any federal or state laws or city ordinances relating to force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling, liquor or controlled substances; (5) Not have been released or discharged under any other than honorable or medical discharge from any of the armed forces of the United States; (6) Have such person’s fingerprints on file with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; (7) Have passed a physical examination by a licensed physician; and (8) Have good moral character as determined by a through investigation conducted by the employing agency. Our county went a step further and raised the minimum required age for dispatchers to [21] years of age.

Each dispatcher must also attend a 40 hour course in TIES (Tennessee Information Enforcement System) techniques given in Nashville at the TBI building, before being allowed to dispatch without a trainer.

Operations
Central Dispatch is a 24/7 operation, divided into three shifts of dedicated dispatchers. There are always two operators available, on each shift every day, to protect the general public. With a grant from the State of Tennessee, our dispatch center is now fully automated. All operators have been trained on our CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system. All calls that are received by our 911 center, whether landline or wireless, are mapped on our state-of-the-art mapping system, that allows us to virtually see where all 911 calls are originating from and allows for faster response times to all incidents.

Grants
Central dispatch receives over $40,000.00 in grants yearly from the State of Tennessee, Department of Commerce and Insurance, Emergency Communication Division. These grants, that must be renewed each year, help to supplement the dispatcher’s salaries and keep the mapping system updated.

Staff

The following personnel man and operate the Brownsville-Haywood County 911 center: First Shift (0000-0800 hrs) Siwaver “Dell” Leigh Katrina Gilliland Caryvetta Maclin Second Shift (0800-1600 hrs) Peggy Glenn Jean Kelly Shayla Young Third Shift (1600-2400 hrs) Starla Singleton Cindy Covington Sandra Duncan

Robert Parks, EMA Director
111 N. Washington Ave.
Brownsville, TN 38012
731-772-1597

The Haywood County Emergency Management Agency was formed under the direction of Mayor Joe Taylor in the late 1970s.

The responsibilities and duties of the agency and its director are:

• Develop overall emergency preparedness training objectives to meet national standards and provide guidance and assistance to other local agencies, municipal governments and citizens.
• Provide guidance and assistance to affected local governments in disaster response.
• Coordinate disaster response and recovery actions of local agencies.
• Provide overall coordination of quasi-public and private disaster assistance.
• Maintain liaison with state and federal agencies.
• Inform individuals, local officials, and businesses of authorized disaster assistance and procedures for obtaining such assistance.
• Manage logistics operations during emergency operations.
• Manage the use of volunteers during emergencies/disasters.
• Provide guidance and assistance to the Brownsville-Haywood County Rescue Squad.
• “On call” for response to any type of disaster or major emergency, natural, man-made or technological.
• Provide and maintain outdoor warning system – sirens.

Jimmy Studdard, Director
1601 Welch Street
Brownsville, TN 38012
731-772-4979 or 772-9846
Emergency number: 911 or 731-772-4141
hcemsmjs@newwavecomm.net

The Brownsville-Haywood County Ambulance Authority has 20 full-time employees, eight part-time employees, four ambulances and Hospital Wings in the same complex at 1601 Welch Street in Brownsville, with the Ambulance Authority under the direction of Jimmy Studdard, who has been with the authority for 33 years. It is classified as an A service by the State of Tennessee.

Donnie King, with 28 years of service, serves as assistant director, and Cindy Pruitt has been the office manager for seven years. Staff members, with 76 years of combined service, include: Paramedics – Bill Freeman, Steven Turner, David Smith, Chris Milton, Benjamin Bates, Mike Sellers, Max Green and David Binford. EMTs with 55 years of combined service, are: Jennifer Jones, Brandon McGowan, Dale Ledford, Jennifer Smoot, Steve Laster, James Waldrop, Bill Sullivan, Jeff Russell, and Aaron Carl.

With three shifts, the Ambulance Authority operates four ambulances, one basic life support and three advanced life support units. The advanced units run emergency calls and are stocked with advanced monitoring equipment. The basic EMT training is currently one year and can be advanced by three months to include starting Ivs in addition to airway skills and other live-saving techniques. Paramedic training is currently an additional year of intense training with more invasive life-saving techniques which can make the difference between life and death. The call volume now runs in excess of 250 calls per month. The Authority also uses the services of about 60 trained First Responders in the community.

In addition to emergency medical care, the authority also offers several community services: First Responder classes, CPR classes, Health Fairs and lectures, blood pressure checks, assistance on falls, and helping load and unload patients from vehicles.

History

The Brownsville-Haywood County Ambulance Authority had its beginnings over 20 years ago when the state regulated the EMS system. The Ambulance Authority had two Cadillac hearse-style ambulances originally used by the Brownsville Funeral Home when it ran the service. During the early EMS days, calls were load and go to the hospital as quickly as possible. In 1973, people were trained for three months in advanced first aid. In 1973, the authority placed into service two new 1973 Ford Type I ambulances, one purchased by the county, the other by a private citizen. With stocked ambulances and three shifts of trained personnel, the call volume increased to about 20 calls per month.

In 1976, Haywood County sent its first two EMTs to Shelby State Community College in Memphis to paramedic school which trained them to administer certain drugs, interpret heart rhythms and start IVs.

Hospital Wing

"The Wing" is a non-profit airmedical transport consortium of The Elvis Presley Trauma Center, Baptist Health Systems and Methodist-Lebonheur Health Care. Hospital Wing provides inter-hospital transfers as well as emergency scene calls within a 150 mile radius of Memphis. This area includes West Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama and Kentucky. Hospital Wing was formed in July 1986 and has completed 25,000 accident free missions since then.

Hospital Wing is ready! Hospital Wing is staffed with two critical care RN's 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hospital Wing can be airborne in 2-5 minutes from the time the flight is dispatched. Once a mission is completed, the crew quickly readies the aircraft for the next call. "The Wing" averages 6 flights a day, or 2100 flights a year, and is the busiest program in Tennessee.

One of their stations is located in Brownsville, Tennessee, behind the Brownsville-Haywood County Ambulance Authority.

The Rescue Squad was formed in 1974 under the guidance of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Department until the Emergency Management Agency was formed under Mayor Joe Taylor with the help of Ray Ellington in the late 1970s. Today it remains under the umbrella of the EMA.

The Rescue Squad started with the following equipment: Command Post, five support vehicles, three four wheelers, one six wheeler and four boats, in addition to other emergency equipment such as chain saws, generators, etc., and it has increased and upgraded its equipment over the years. Members of the Rescue Squad serve on a volunteer basis, and there are about 43 members now, all from the Brownsville-Haywood County area. Leading the group is Captain William Burse. They meet every Tuesday night to perform maintenance duties on their equipment.

The squad is the search and rescue team for all of Haywood County and surrounding areas, and it also responds to mutual aide calls from neighboring areas and communities. These volunteers are some of the first to respond when there is severe weather that causes flooding and other natural disasters. They work with city and county officials and both law enforcement agencies in the community. They are the first to respond to calls from these agencies when roads need clearing. Some members are certified First Responders and EMTs.

The squad also volunteers to help with a number of community events, and for about 20 years, its members organize and coordinate the annual Christmas parade the first Saturday in December.

Current members are: J. R. Baker, Clyde Bond, Daniel Brown, June Burse, William Burse, Derrick Byrum, Bridgett Campbell, Henry Lee Campbell, Aaron Carl, Justin Chavers, Susie Crawford, Jerry Curtis, Frank Fawcett, Vicky Fawcett, Rob Fawcett, Sarah S. Gilmore, Darlene Hasler, James Herko, Paul Herko, Tammy Herko, Hunter Joyncer, Justin Lease, William Long, Harold Murphy, John Posey, Pat Posey, Aaron Rankin, Steven Reagan, Bill Reeder, Chris Reeder, Cyndi Reeder, Justin Reeder, Connie Self, Donn Self, Rosemary Southard, Tiffany Sullivan, Wade Stanley, Dwayne Sweat, Jerry Taylor, Tom Taylor, Daniel Thornton, Michael Walker and Jerry Wilson.