Ben Carter promoted to chief
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — After 14 years working for Bradford County, Allen Parrish will retire at the end the week.
Parrish has worked for more than 25 years in public safety. In addition to leading emergency medical services in Bradford, Parrish oversaw the union of EMS and the county’s fledgling fire department, establishing Bradford County Fire Rescue as a joint operation. He has been an advocate for the men and women who work for him as well as the families in this community who rely on all they do.
Commissioners took turns praising Parrish for his service. Commissioner Danny Riddick told him that fire rescue was working “flawlessly” thanks to his contributions.
“I can’t thank you enough for that,” Riddick said. “You’re a true man of integrity. When you tell us something, I believe you.”
“Mr. Parrish, words can’t express what you have done for the people of Bradford County, and how much we appreciate everything that you’ve done — for being the man of integrity and a man of courage to stand up to things that you faced with dignity,” Commissioner Diane Andrews said.
“I was impressed the first time that I heard you and (Rachel Rhoden, former county manager) lay out your plan for the department. Because everything was so well done and so set up for success,” she said.
Rhoden told the board there is no one she would entrust her life with more than Parrish.
“Allen, you’ve done this county a great service, and you’re going to be truly missed. Thank you for everything you’ve done,” she said.
On Parrish’s recommendation, the commission promoted Deputy Director Ben Carter to lead Bradford County Fire Rescue, now under the title of chief instead of director. Parrish said he’s been looking within the agency for his replacement since entering the DROP program.
“I will tell you that there is no one in Bradford County that’s more qualified than he is to lead this organization. There’s no one in this county that the men and women that work there will follow more than they’ll him follow him. There’s nobody within this county that has his credentials, that’s more invested in Bradford County than he is,” Parrish said.
To maintain continuity and stability, Parrish said the board should act as soon as possible, and it did. After some discussion of whether it should be an interim appointment, commissioners hired Carter as chief.
Carter said he was honored by the decision.
A former volunteer firefighter, Carter began working for the county in 2007.
“Quite honestly, I never wanted to leave this this department, this community. I’ve had opportunities to go other places. But I love this this community,” he said.
Another reason he never left was the leadership displayed by Parrish and the late Dr. Peter Gianas.
“It’s been an honor to be mentored and trained by those two,” he said. “I look forward to continuing the legacy.”
A need for ambulances
Parrish’s final report to the board included information on the state of the ambulance fleet, which includes two that could soon be taken off the road for significant repairs.
The county was able to purchase its most recent ambulance with CARES pandemic relief funding. Because of budget constraints, fire rescue hasn’t been able to follow the capital improvement plan to purchase or remount an ambulance each year.
Currently there are four in the fleet and two that can used as backup if one of those four are pulled for maintenance. Of those four, Parrish said three were pushing 200,000 miles and the newest had run nearly 100,000 miles. This past month, he said, there were two ambulance breakdowns with patients on board.
The department has already pulled one ambulance off the road to cut the budget. Parrish said there was no money the department’s budget to purchase a new unit.
Further complicating matters is the 18- to 24-month wait time to get a unit.
Parrish recommended two remounts at $160,000 each versus a new unit for $275,000.
The purchase could be made from American Recovery Plan Act funds, but finance will look for other areas in the budget to pull that funding. Discussion will be brought back to the board.
