Two presentations concerning Beaufort County first responders prompted a switch of venues for the Board of Commissioners’ next meeting.

The Feb. 1 meeting of the Board will be held in the Superior Courtroom of the Beaufort County Courthouse in Washington. The meeting will start at its regular time of 5:30 p.m. Capt. Ray Harris of Bunyan Fire Department will repeat the presentation he made to the joint Beaufort County Fireman’s Association and Rescue & EMS Association meeting. The presentation is an in-depth look at the services provided by the county’s first responders, according to County Manager Brian Alligood.

A second presentation by Don Cahoon with Lookout Communications will address improving radio communications in the county, according to EMS Director John Flemming. Over the past several years, first responders across the county have had issues with signals being dropped in some areas, resulting in personnel not receiving communications during emergencies. Flemming said the county operates with a single repeater rebroadcasting dispatched radio calls; Cahoon’s recommendation is to put up multiple repeaters to expand coverage.

Alligood said the radio communications issue is an important one, but the reason for the meeting’s move to the Courthouse is Harris’ presentation.

“After attending the Beaufort County Fire and EMS associations combined meeting on Monday night, I was informed that in excess of 100 emergency service personnel from throughout the county were planning to attend the Board meeting to listen to these presentations. Based on this information and the obvious limited seating capacity of the current Board room, I spoke with the Chairman (Jerry Langley) about moving the meeting to a larger venue to allow all attendees the opportunity to see and hear the presentations,” Alligood wrote in an email.

“I think it’ll be good,” Alligood said. “The presentation (Harris) made really opens your eyes. Even if you’re an avid supporter of emergency services, it will make you go, ‘Wow, I didn’t know y’all did all that.’”

The expected crowd is likely a response to a heated debate during January’s regular Board meeting regarding the surplus of two Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office vehicles to two county EMS squads. During discussion, Commissioner Hood Richardson questioned giving the vehicles to the departments and referred to county first responders as “Bubbas.” Richardson later defended the use of the name on beaufortobserver.net, explaining the word is a common nickname for “brother” and used to identify the eldest male sibling in a family. However, many Beaufort County first responders objected to its use, which resulted in the creation of the Facebook group “BOCO VFD Bubbas Unite.” The group currently has nearly 2,000 members, many of who are local fire and EMS volunteers.

The Beaufort County Courthouse is located at 112 W. Second St., Washington. The Superior Courtroom, Room 218, is located on the second floor.