By Kira Millage
The Bellingham Herald (Washington)
Copyright 2006 The Bellingham Herald
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
Firefighters in Whatcom County rarely respond to fires.
About 70 percent of calls are medical: health problems, broken bones, wounds. The rest tend to be fire-related, with very few actual fires.
“I think we’ve gone from a fire department that responds to medical calls to an emergency medical care system that responds to occasional fires,” said Tom Fields, chief of North Whatcom Fire Rescue Services, which is made up of District Nos. 3 and 13 around Blaine, Birch Bay and Lynden.
When people call 911, it’s not always for major emergencies.
Several fire chiefs said people call for medical assistance for cuts, basic broken arms and minor burns.
“Everyone calls for everything under the sun today,” said Gary Russell, chief of District No. 7 in Ferndale. “Growing up, we did a lot of things ourselves ... that’s not the case today. ... In some cases we’re less reliant on ourselves.”
For major calls, Medic One, the county medic service, is dispatched. Medic One, run by the Bellingham Fire Department, transports people with serious injuries to the hospital.
A countywide levy passed in 2005 pays for paramedic service for serious or life-threatening situations. But as part of that levy, county fire departments are now responsible for handling minor medical calls.
“For us on volunteer departments, it really straps resources, and it’s expensive,” said Dave Ralston, chief of District No. 2. “I really want to use volunteer time for emergencies.”
Robert Wilson, Bellingham firefighter and president of the Bellingham firefighters union, said the dominance of medical calls also is because of better fire codes.
“We’re getting dividends on years of code enforcement and building codes. ... I think we’re seeing real benefits there and reductions in the large fires seen in years past,” he said. “But it’s been more than filled up by our EMS service.”
The numbers of medical calls will grow, as more and more people retire in Whatcom County and the population ages, Russell predicts.
“We’re real unique in Whatcom County because we’re becoming a retirement community,” he said. “The age of the community, the demographics of an area drive that EMS (load).”