Wilkes County Commissioners agreed this week to change the Wilkes County Rescue protocol as the Wilkes Rescue Squad is no longer in contract to the county. Nine local fire departments in the county are emergency rescue certified and are working in conjunction with Wilkes EMS to provide emergency rescue and medical services to people in Wilkes. The county manager, fire marshal, and EMS director are coordinating a study to determine new protocols and to approve other local fire departments for emergency rescue and medical services. Commission Chair Shirley Randleman asked if all emergency rescue calls were fully covered at this time. The EMS Director, County Manager, and Fire Marshal assured the Commissioners that all calls are being covered.