Why were there two fire engines and an ambulance at my neighbor’s house the other night?

While we can’t get into specifics about your neighbor’s medical condition, we can tell you how the 9-1-1 emergency medical response works in Spokane. First, there are two different designations for Spokane’s fire engines and ladder trucks. BLS and ALS. BLS means Basic Life Support. These are staffed with EMTs. ALS means Advanced Life Support. These have at least one paramedic on board along with EMTs. A paramedic can do just about anything an ER doctor can do in an emergency setting - in the home or on the street - start IVs, read EKGs, intubate, deliver very many medications, and defibrillate.

If your neighbor was having a BLS problem (something like a broken arm or leg, feeling sick, burn injuries, minor motor vehicle accident with injuries) the closest BLS engine or ladder truck would respond. There may even be an ambulance responding too. If your neighbor was having a life-threatening emergency (heart attack, unable to breathe, seizure, diabetic issues, etc.) an ALS fire engine would respond. If there is a closer BLS engine, it’s going to respond too. If the closer BLS engine is dispatched, when they get there, they will start patient care and hand over that care to the paramedic crew when they arrive. Also an ambulance will respond. Our fire stations are geographically determined to enable firefighters to respond very quickly to the emergency in their neighborhood - fire or EMS. Many times, when the ambulance arrives, fire crews have already established life-saving measures and are able to move the patient immediately to the ambulance for transport because, most of the time, the fire crews are first on scene.

Why do you have to take such big trucks on medical calls?

Many times every month, a major fire occurs in Spokane. Fire crews may be returning from a medical call when a fire occurs right on their return path. If fire crews had to return to the station to get the fire engine or ladder truck, valuable time is lost and the chances of a successful rescue of trapped occupants or a quick knockdown of the fire diminishes. Also, if a fire call comes in, transfer of patient care to the on-scene ambulance crew can be given and that fire crew is freed up to join other firefighters immediately in battling the blaze. This availability to respond also extends to water rescues, automobile entrapments and other circumstances where equipment aboard a fire truck is needed.

I pulled over for a speeding fire engine with its lights and siren on and then it turned off the lights, siren and proceeded at a regular speed. What’s going on?

First, thank you for pulling over. Sometimes when the first fire crews arrive on scene they determine that the emergency does not warrant any more fire engines or ladder trucks to respond. It could be a false alarm or that the emergency is not as life threatening as believed. They then can cancel the other vehicles over the radio. Sometimes the on-scene crew asks incoming crews  to continue into the emergency, but to do so in a nonemergency fashion for motorist safety concerns. So, the lights and siren go off.

I already pay a lot of taxes, don’t I? Why should I have to pay more?

Hopefully, we do a good job with your tax dollars. Statistics show we do compared to other cities. Spokane’s firefighters do more with less compared to other fire departments around the state. The good news is that you won’t have to pay more. This is a continuation of a levy that has been approved every six years since 1980.

Is there any way I can turn my ballot in without having to use a stamp?

Yes there is. You can drop your ballot off at a ballot drop box. Here’s a list of locations.

It seems unfair that if 59.9 percent of the people want the EMS Levy to continue, 41.1 percent of the people with their NO vote can stop them. What happened to majority rule democracy?

That is a good question, but that’s the way it is. That’s why we really need your vote to continue. Your YES vote will have 2/3 the power of their NO vote. So your vote is crucial.