Bobby Williams, Fire Chief , No Phone Number Available
Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 2:06 p.m.
The Spokane Fire Department is using federal grant dollars to improve protection of citizens and firefighters. The City is expanding fire coverage in southwest Spokane and rolling out enhancements to medical response.
A federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant is covering the cost of hiring and training a dozen new firefighters. Six of those positions will be used to staff a new two-person unit with firefighting capability in southwest Spokane. Another two firefighters will also be part of the unit, being paid for through the existing fire department budget. The staffing means there will be full-time, seven-day fire service coverage in the southwest part of the city.
The other six firefighters funded by the SAFER grant will be dedicated to the Alternative Response Units (ARUs), which are smaller vehicles staffed by one member (either an EMT or paramedic). ARUs respond to non-life threatening emergency calls and free up other fire personnel and vehicles for more severe incidents. The ARU pilot program has been used during peak times for non-life threatening medical calls. The six new positions expand that program to seven days a week.
SFD is constantly evolving to meet our community's changing needs – to continue providing better service in Spokane. Being awarded the SAFER grant is an honor for the fire department. It shows that what we're doing here is getting noticed.
