Parking One Paramedic Truck Saves $375,000 South Hill Will Lose Emergency Unit If Council Approves Proposed Cuts

Dropping one emergency rig from the Spokane Fire Department’s 1996 spending plan sounds simple.

Just shut down the truck and put away the keys.

But that one red paramedic truck has a squad of eight people assigned to it - four lieutenants and four paramedics.

That one truck with its two-person crew costs taxpayers nearly $375,000 a year to operate, which is why it won’t be running next year.

Nearly every department is facing spending cuts.

If the City Council approves the fire department’s proposed budget cuts, the South Hill won’t have its own fire squad - a two-person paramedic unit.

Instead, two other fire stations will share paramedic service to southwest Spokane residents served by Station 9.

“We had to decide which area would have the least service impact if we put a squad out of service,” said Chief Bobby Williams. “It was Squad 9, at 18th and Bernard.”

Because Station 9’s fire squad responded to far fewer calls than any of the city’s other three paramedic units, it was the natural choice for closure, Williams said.

Squad 9 most often responds to calls to the downtown area, with its high crime rate and dense population, he said.

Shutting down the squad causes a ripple effect through the department, but there won’t be any layoffs, Williams said.

Retirement and the city’s voluntary severance plan will decrease staffing. The squad’s paramedics will move to other stations.

Of the 14 positions lost to 1996 budget cuts, eight of those come from the closed fire squad. That’s because each time that paramedic truck leaves the station, there are two people on board - one lieutenant and one firefighter/paramedic.

Citywide, four fire platoons man the department’s four shifts. A firefighter works one 24-hour shift and takes the next 72 hours off. So, for a fire squad, two times four equals eight people.

Mayor Jack Geraghty recently raised his eyebrows at the practice of pairing one lieutenant with a paramedic every time the truck leaves the station.

“On the face of it, it raises some concerns,” Geraghty said.

Williams reasoned that every time one of the department’s 22 emergency rigs responds to a call, someone must be in charge.

If a paramedic unit is the first crew at a scene, there’s an officer who can jump in and direct care.

In Tacoma, it’s the same way.

“Someone has to be in charge,” said Assistant Chief Eileen Lewis.

In Bellingham, it’s different.

“We don’t have an officer on a paramedic unit,” said Bellingham Assistant Fire Chief Mike Leigh. “The idea has merit, though.”

Budget cuts will cost the Spokane Fire Department more than just a fire squad.

This year, 70 firefighters - including captains and lieutenants - are on duty each hour of the day.

Next year, that number drops to 67.

One relief captain’s position will be lost. So will a fire marshal spot.

Meanwhile, Williams said, Spokane’s population keeps growing. “We keep doing more with less every year,” he said.

, DataTimes