1 Public Safety
2 Ensuring a Safe Community
3
4 Goal
5 Promote a safe community by providing the highest quality of public safety services available
6 with first-class equipment and well-trained personnel who are prepared for a wide variety of
7 emergencies, and who serve the community in a personal and effective manner.
8
9 Background
10 One of the primary concerns of a town government is the safety of its citizens. The threat of
11 crime and fire, as well as other individual or community disasters, calls for the placement of
12 considerable emphasis on the facilities and services that provide protection for citizens and their
13 property. The Town of Blacksburg has established mutual aid agreements with Virginia Tech,
14 Montgomery County and surrounding jurisdictions to provide a wide range of assistance from
15 large scale natural disasters to responding to an individual health emergency 911 call.
16
17 Blacksburg Police Department
18 The Blacksburg Police Department protects the life, individual liberty, and property of all people
19 within the town. The department maintains a positive relationship with the community, and it
20 fosters a positive working environment for police employees. The Blacksburg Police
21 Department is a nationally accredited, full-service law enforcement agency that serves all areas
22 of the town. The department is charged with a wide range of law enforcement functions,
23 including crime prevention, Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), protection of life and
24 property, location of missing persons, recovery of stolen property, traffic and parking
25 enforcement, and the apprehension of law offenders.
26
27 Blacksburg Fire Department
28 The Blacksburg Fire Department protects the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, and the area
29 of Montgomery County surrounding the town. The department provides services such as public
30 fire education, inspections, fire prevention, fire suppression, and hazardous materials
31 containment. The fire department operates as a volunteer organization. Blacksburg operates two
32 fire stations. Station One is located on Progress Street, and is a shared fire and rescue facility.
33 Station Two, constructed in 1985, is located across from Hethwood Shopping Center and also
34 serves as the department’s administrative headquarters.
35
36 Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad
37 The mission of the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad is to provide professional and
38 responsive emergency medical services that enable residents and visitors to enjoy a high quality
39 of life. The Rescue Squad has been providing emergency medical and rescue services to the
40 Town of Blacksburg and large portion of Montgomery County since 1950. The Rescue Squad
41 separated in 1984 from the Fire Department due to increased training demands. The Blacksburg
42 Volunteer Rescue Squad is a Virginia non-profit organization separate from the Town, yet
43 services and coordination with the Town of Blacksburg appear seamless. Not only does the
44 Squad respond to 911 calls, but makes educational demonstrations at local schools and provides
45 support at local sporting events, including Virginia Tech football games.
46
47 Please refer to the Blacksburg 2046 Administrative Manual for additional information regarding mutual aid
48 agreements, emergency management and additional background information regarding the Blacksburg Police
49 Department, Volunteer Fire Department and Volunteer Rescue Squad.
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50 Community Factors
51 General Public Safety
52 Blacksburg’s emergency services maintain good response times that exceed their targets.
53 The town participates with the Local Emergency Planning Council.
54 Existing Mutual Aid Agreements provide services regardless of jurisdictional boundaries and
55 town departments.
56 The town needs Hazardous Materials and Confined Space Rescue support services.
57 The Neighborhood Traffic Control Program is nationally recognized.
58 In the future, types of services requested by citizens will change. Public safety personnel
59 must seek out opportunities to obtain a wide variety of training in order to maintain high
60 levels of service. Maintaining or improving response times will become more difficult as the
61 community grows without proper facility and equipment improvements. Part of the small
62 town experience is befriending and feeling comfortable with the men and women who
63 maintain public safety in the community; therefore, the town should pursue new
64 opportunities for citizen interaction with public safety personnel.
65 Poor lines-of-sight at intersections due to overgrown shrubbery, incorrectly placed stop bars,
66 power poles, other structures, or incorrect design are significant hazards.
67 Speeding is a common neighborhood complaint and is a major safety concern for citizens.
68 Safe crosswalks that are attractive, visible, and lighted where appropriate, are needed
69 throughout town, especially at high-traffic intersections. Accidents between vehicles and
70 pedestrians are a leading cause of injuries.
71 The high cost of housing in Town is an impediment to Police, Fire and Rescue personnel
72 living close to Town public safety facilities.
73
74 Fire and Rescue
75 The town maintains state-of-the-art rescue equipment including Advanced Life Support
76 ambulances, First Response vehicles, heavy duty rescue trucks, a boat with dive rescue
77 equipment, a wilderness search and rescue trailer and a Bike Team with trailer.
78 Station One, on Progress Street, is overcrowded with personnel and equipment, and its
79 accessibility is difficult due to narrow roads, traffic congestion, and parking for vehicles.
80 In 2000, the rescue squad answered a total of 2,119 calls, logged 57,219 miles and used
81 12,275 volunteer hours (not including training hours).
82 The Rescue Squad encourages certification of its members in advance training.
83 The Rescue Squad has established a Heavy Tactical Rescue team to specialize in high angle,
84 confined space, vertical, trench, emergency police operations and heavy extrication.
85 The Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad must respond to routine calls during the
86 day when many volunteers are at work.
87 The fire department and rescue squad have a core group of community members with years
88 of experience providing a continuity of service that balances the higher turnover rate of
89 student volunteers who generally leave after 2 - 3 years experience.
90 Nonconforming cul-de-sacs that exceed the town’s 900-foot length requirement, non-
91 contiguous streets, or the county’s 35 residential housing unit maximum that can be located
92 on cul-de-sacs are all public safety hazards that can delay response times to residents.
93 Older buildings not properly maintained or have not been renovated to current building codes
94 could pose as fire hazards and are often not ADA compliant.
95
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96 Police
97 The Police Department is nationally accredited.
98 Blacksburg provides the community with a school resource officer, drug abuse resistance
99 education, a crime prevention specialist, criminal justice certified law enforcement
100 instructors, Neighborhood Services support, the Citizen’s Police Academy, Neighborhood
101 Watch, and many other public safety education programs.
102 The police department has officers on bicycles patrolling the downtown area, as well as the
103 Huckleberry Trail.
104 Blacksburg has a local division of the Montgomery County General District Court.
105 Mutual aid agreements are in place between town public safety services and Virginia Tech,
106 Montgomery County, and the police departments of Christiansburg and Radford.
107 The town participates with the New River Drug Task Force.
108 The existing Town firing range will be replaced by a new firing range located in
109 Montgomery County that will serve the Town of Blacksburg, the Town of Christiansburg,
110 Montgomery County and the New River Police Academy.
111 Emergency phones are needed on remote trails such as along portions of the Huckleberry
112 Trail.
113 Requests have increased for stand-by or service calls for community events, and coordination
114 is needed for planned community events to improve traffic circulation.
115 Recruitment of qualified public safety volunteers has become increasingly difficult to due
116 training requirements and regulations.
117
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118 Objectives and Action Strategies
119 A. Provide citizens with the highest quality public safety services and facilities to meet
120 community needs.
121 1. Expand opportunities for community contact with public safety personnel.
122 2. Conduct public education classes for emergency preparedness, CPR, First Aid and others
123 as necessary.
124 3. Continue hosting the Blacksburg Citizen’s Institute, the Citizen’s Police Academy and
125 develop a Citizen’s Fire and Rescue Academy.
126 4. Pursue grants for additional public safety and education programs.
127 5. Maintain a high level of training for, and expand training opportunities for, Police, Fire,
128 and Rescue personnel.
129 6. Maintain positive, proactive communication with citizens.
130 7. Include public safety when evaluating the impact of future land uses on Town services
131 and costs.
132 8. Study and establish an alternate Town emergency operations center in case existing
133 facilities are not available.
134 9. Coordinate with the Regional HAZMAT Teams and assist where appropriate with the
135 New River Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan, December, 2004.
136 Please refer to the Transportation Chapter for Objectives and Action Strategies regarding
137 pedestrian safety and traffic calming measures.
138 B. Expand emergency response capabilities to ensure safety of personnel and citizens
139 10. Install Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in all town owned buildings.
140 11. Install emergency phone boxes on remote trails.
141 12. Install emergency call boxes in the downtown area.
142 13. Review the location of all streetlights and install new lights in a manner to increase safety
143 yet function within the Town’s Dark Sky policies.
144 14. Acquire/construct a training center for Fire, Rescue, and Police personnel that would
145 include class rooms with audio/video equipment, a driving range, a firearms range, a rope
146 tower, a fitness building, etc.
147 15. Continually monitor emergency response times to ensure quality service delivery.
148 Develop and implement strategies to increase personal and community safety, with
149 special emphasis directed towards the downtown business district by working directly
150 with bar owners and managers (e.g., pedestrian-friendly crosswalks throughout the
151 downtown area).
152 16. Conduct citizen satisfaction surveys to measure the quality of emergency services and to
153 identify areas of weakness in order to better address them.
154 17. Study the need for additional emergency personnel as calls for service increase.
155 18. Improve communications and regional cooperation between the Blacksburg Police, Fire
156 and Rescue Squads, their respective Virginia Tech departments and regional colleagues.
157 19. Study the impact of increasing population on police services and hire additional officers
158 as needed to maintain accreditation ratios.
159 20. Research the need and timing of a fire station at the North End of town.
160 21. Construct a new rescue squad building.
161 22. Continue to utilize Virginia Tech Students as volunteers for both the Fire and Rescue
162 Squads, but address future volunteer recruitment needs of both Squads with the needs of
163 potential volunteers who are permanent Blacksburg residents.
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164 23. Increase efforts to recruit volunteers from those who are long-term Blacksburg residents.
165 24. Finalize a merger with the Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group, a certified
166 wilderness search and rescue group with the Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad to
167 provide better services to residences, a potential new funding source and new volunteer
168 basis.
169 25. Establish a program to help emergency personnel acquire housing within the Town
170 limits.
171 26. Coordinate with the Virginia Tech siren alert system.
172 C. Provide resources for high quality law enforcement
173 27. Maintain the Police Department's National Accreditation Status.
174 28. Research National Accreditation standards for volunteer fire and rescue departments.
175 29. Expand the police department's bicycle and motorcycle patrols and increase the use of
176 mobile speed display units to deter traffic violations.
177 30. Evaluate the need for additional police vehicle parking.
178 31. For all public safety vehicles, provide in-car cameras, and in-car computers to reduce
179 radio air time, expedite access to national and state criminal information databases, and to
180 professionalize report and record management.
181 32. Construct a new fire and rescue station acres on land acquired from the Virginia Tech
182 Montgomery Executive Airport.
183 33. Continue installing OptiCom, or the best available technology, at all major signalized
184 intersections to help emergency personnel improve response times, and to ensure the
185 safety of units traveling through these busy intersections.
186 34. Considered the need for mountain bike police as the greenway system develops and
187 expand patrols accordingly in conjunction with Montgomery County & Christiansburg.
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