By Anthony Kuipers
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
MOSCOW, Idaho — When it comes to volunteer-run fire departments, agencies need all the help they can get.
“You never have too many volunteers,” said Miranda Caessens, an EMT for the Colfax Fire Department and EMS supervisor for Whitman County Fire District 12.
In the past month, seven new members have joined the Colfax Fire Department, which is run by three full-time employees and about 30 volunteers, and Colfax and Whitman County officials are leading courses this fall in order to prepare more residents to answer the call.
“We’re always looking for people that can fill those holes and empty spaces,” Caessens said.
One of those spaces is reserved for EMTs, and Whitman County is hoping yearly courses will boost the number of trained EMTs in the area.
This month, the Whitman County EMS Council started Saturday EMT courses that will run through the end of February in Oakesdale. A total of 18 people, including four students who are affiliated with Colfax Fire Department and District 11, are taking the courses.
Senior EMT instructor Jamie Keller called the level of interest in the EMT courses “fantastic,” because many agencies are consistently looking for help.
“That’s huge for us,” she said.
Once trainees wrap up the course, they have six months to complete the national EMT certification test and a practical skills evaluation in which they demonstrate how to respond to medical and trauma calls.
Furthermore, the classes will train another person to become an EMT instructor, bringing the number of state-recognized instructors in the county up to four. That means the county will have enough instructors to hold EMT courses each year as opposed to every other year like it has in the past.
Keller said she is pleased with the increase in instructors because until two years ago she was the only state-recognized trainer in Whitman County, a position she’s held for more than a decade.
Whitman County District 11 and the Colfax Fire Department are hoping to bolster the number of firefighters as well by organizing fire training courses through June. The courses, which started last month, cover multiple aspects of fire fighting, including search and rescue, fire behavior and forcible entry.
Colfax began organizing fire training courses last month. The yearly courses, which will run through June, are for new volunteers as well as seasoned firefighters who want to brush up on their knowledge, Caessens said.
Most of the training is done in Colfax due to its central location in Whitman County, Caessens said, but some of it takes place in other cities, including Pullman. It is meant to get people in touch with trainers and inspire them to learn what they need to serve a city like Colfax, Palouse or Oakesdale, she said.
“It definitely gives people that are new an opportunity to learn the skills and figure out what questions they have and what weaknesses they have,” Caessens said.
Copyright 2014 Moscow-Pullman Daily News