By Louie Graves
News-Leader staff
During work on the 2026 City of Nashville budget, aldermen will consider adding five paid firefighters in order to provide the city with 24/7 medical and fire coverage.
Fire Marshal Justin Thornton and Mayor Larry Dunaway addressed the issue at Monday’s city council meeting for August. “It’s worth investigating,” the mayor commented on the expanded service for residents.
Both men commented on the difficulty of Pafford Medical Services providing 24-hour quick response to medical emergencies in the city. Both men were also quick to say that it is not a Pafford problem, but a national one.
Thornton said that he was already a qualified EMT and was a parttime employee of Pafford. He said that several members of the Nashville Fire Department were interested in gaining EMT qualification.
Both men said they had heard complaints on Pafford’s response time to medical emergencies, and said that the fire department was faster to respond to local medical emergencies. EMT-qualified firemen are already on duty each day until 10 p.m.
Thornton said that Pafford had volunteered to help equip a city fire vehicle with needed medical supplies and equipment.
The fire marshal also spoke about the addition of a drone which could be used in search or law enforcement efforts. The city has already used a drone belonging to the drug task force for fighting wildfires, Thornton said.
The county will purchase a drone which can be used with Nashville to give complete coverage for Howard County in addition to Nashville’s own needs.
Other items before the council:
A resolution for a ‘tax back’ program for the new owners of the former Husqvarna warehouse was passed unanimously. The resolution will provided for breaks on purchases of materials to ready the site by Cantex LLC. The agreement lasts for four years.
A resolution to ‘quitclaim’ 0.16 ac. of property adjacent to the city park died for lack of a motion. The council learned that a fence was misplaced on the property line at the corner of the old Perry Rice property. The fence placement is actually ‘inside’ the city property.
Police Chief Amy Marion introduced the city’s newest police officers, Osbaldo Martinez and Rebecca Castleman to the council. The city’s force now totals 17, Chief Marion said in answer to a question.
Council members present for the meeting included Lynn Dyer, Kathy Combs, Herbert Turley, Charlie Pinkston, Kay Gathright, William Turley, Phil Jones, Brent Thompson, Donna Harwell, Joe Hoen and Freddie Horne.
