By Teresa Herriman, The Courier-Herald
East Pierce Fire & Rescue
Mission Statement:
Exceptional people providing compassionate service and rapid response to our community's diverse needs.
"We are one of those organizations who actually uses our mission statement," said Dan Packer, fire chief at the East Pierce Fire & Rescue.
In fact, he keeps a laminated copy of the statement - which espouses the principles of rapid response and effective service - on at his desk.
East Pierce Fire & Rescue was created as the result of a merger in 2000 that combined the efforts of the Pierce County Fire District 22, 24 and Bonney Lake. The goal was to provide a seamless response to emergency situations in the Bonney Lake and Lake Tapps area. After the merger, Packer reports they saw a spike in the level of care and a dramatic improvement in 911 response times.
Roger Coleman, vice-chair of the East Pierce Fire & Rescue commissioner's board, agrees. "If you look out there today, you will find…more services available from our department than ever before," he said. He also points out that the department has the ability to grow and increase services.
"As an organization, our strength is customer service," Packer said. There are numerous stories of emergency personnel going the extra mile - from dropping-off the groceries of an accident victim who was taken to the hospital to cooking breakfast for an elderly gentleman who had fallen in the early morning hours.
The current staff of 41 full-time employees includes paramedics on shift 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The department recently hired an additional four firefighters, who will begin following graduation in mid-November and five more firefighters will be hired in January. Packer points out all fire fighters are cross-trained and are either paramedics or emergency medical technicians. Moreover, there are 35 volunteers supporting emergency operations at the five East Pierce stations. Career personnel staff three of the stations and volunteers staff two. The unit also maintains a boathouse near Lake Tapps.
Of the approximately 3,000 911 calls East Pierce will receives anualy, 75 percent of those are medical in nature. About 50 of those calls will be for actual fires. Funding for fire and rescue services is provided through a tax of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Medical services are funded by a tax of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
The department's annual budget for 2002 was $4.8 million. Packer is asking for a substantial increase for 2004 to $5.7 million. The reason for the spike, he said, is the creation of a medical transportation service to start next year.
Like everyone else, the chief is keeping an eye on population increases. A proposed facility is already in the works for the area south of Bonney Lake, where the Cascadia development is planning to build a number of new homes. East Pierce has already contracted with the developers for a station and equipment, but no plans will be finalized until a total of 430 new homes have been built.
The tri-district agreement
Part of the East Pierce story is the combination of what had been three separate agencies - an arrangement known as the tri-district agreement. "The reason we came together is to find ways to more rapidly respond," Packer said.
Previously, dispatchers would consider district boundaries when sending emergency teams out on calls. Under the new agreement, whichever medic or fire truck is nearest will get the call - "regardless of the color of the truck or patch on the uniform," Packer said. The difference could mean as much as six seconds, or in human terms, someone's life.
"We are fortunate that our elected officials really 'get it,'" Packer explains. "Effectiveness and efficiency are the major underpinnings of the tri-district agreement."
The idea is to reduce duplication by erasing boundaries.
One way to increase efficiency is to maintain a technological edge. Packer describes the computer-aided regional dispatch agency, called FireComm, which takes incoming 911 calls and dispatches emergency teams. Computers help identify the specific pieces of equipment needed for a specific area. With the recent decision by neighboring Fire District 12 to join FireComm, all three members of the tri-district coalition are using the same dispatch agency.
The tri-district group recently received a Capital Fire Act grant. It was awarded based on a regional application that included the tri-district agencies. Part of the criteria for the grant included maximum regional impact.
The group is using a portion of the grant to purchase thermal imaging cameras. The cameras aid firefighters in seeing through smoke and dark by reading thermal heat patterns. Around the country, the cameras have been credited with several dramatic saves. When the new cameras arrive, all staffed stations in the tri-district area will have a camera at their disposal.
Advanced training equipment and curricula help prepare firefighters and other emergency response teams be better prepared for what they may encounter on a call. East Pierce Fire & Rescue has ordered several highly-evolved rescue mannequins that are used to train paramedics and EMTs. They present all kinds of symptoms, including throwing up, if properly loaded. Purchase of the mannequins was made possible through the same federal grant. An EMT class was also funded via the grant and hosted at the Bonney Lake station.
Public education
plays a key role
Packer likes to target the youth for prevention messages. "They are an at-risk population that is at an age where they will still listen," Packer said. East Pierce teams present an annual curriculum geared toward kindergarten to junior high kids in the Sumner and Deiringer school districts. The curriculum includes fire prevention, injury prevention and home safety. Children can stop by the station to purchase bike helmets for $5.
In addition, they have taken the "Stay on Top of the Water" education program to communities - including Orting and Buckley - that often make use of Lake Tapps. The program was started as the result of a drowning several years ago. East Pierce also has a life jacket loaner program, where residents or visitors to the area can stop by the station to borrow life jackets for the day. They also sell reduced-rate jackets during the summer. Packer said there is an average of one fatality a year on Lake Tapps. More often than not, it is a swimmer who has underestimated the distance to shore. "It's farther than it looks," Packer said. "And the water is an average of 53 degrees."
Children aren't the only benefactors. East Pierce coordinates with the Bonney Lake Senior Center to provide free wellness education and injury prevention classes that include bringing guest speakers to address a variety of topics. The Senior Center provides transportation to the classes.
For information about any of these programs, call the East Pierce Fire & Rescue at 253-863-1800.
Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@courierherald.com
