At midnight Wednesday, Clark-Cowlitz Fireplace Rescue deployed Medic 21, a brand new ambulance primarily based at Station 21 in Ridgefield.
By the point Fireplace Chief John Nohr hosted a press convention the following day, the ambulance had already responded to eight requires transport to native hospitals. It’s the primary ambulance to be stationed at Clark-Cowlitz Fireplace Rescue headquarters.
The ambulance will scale back response instances for high-priority calls in La Heart, Ridgefield, Woodland, the Cowlitz Indian Reservation and unincorporated components of north Clark County, Nohr mentioned.
That features requires cardiac arrest, acute respiratory misery and critical traumatic accidents, Nohr mentioned. American Medical Response will proceed to reply lower-priority calls throughout the service space, which covers about 150 sq. miles and serves 52,000 residents.
“The highest priority calls will be served much quicker, generally,” Clark-Cowlitz Fireplace Rescue Assistant Chief Mike Jackson mentioned.
American Medical Response is contractually obligated to answer 90 p.c of calls north of 179th Avenue in lower than 20 minutes. South of 179th Avenue, the response time is 10 minutes, Nohr mentioned.
Nohr mentioned that he expects Medic 21 to finish about 1,500 transports per yr, primarily to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Heart, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Heart and PeaceHealth St. John Medical Heart in Longview. That’s 4 to 5 transports per day, Nohr mentioned.
He mentioned Medic 21 marks one of many largest adjustments in Clark County emergency response since 1992, when Clark County’s inhabitants was 252,000 residents. As of 2023, the county’s inhabitants had risen to 521,000.
American Medical Response additionally supplies ambulance service to Vancouver, Battle Floor, Salmon Creek; the Camas-Washougal Fireplace Division supplies providers for these cities and North Nation EMS supplies providers to Amboy and Yacolt.
The ambulance was not paid for with taxes however was a present from the Cowlitz Tribal Basis, Nohr mentioned. The full value for the automobile and gear (not together with employees) was about $500,000, Jackson mentioned.
One other ambulance funded by the muse might be out there by 2026 to make use of as backup, Jackson mentioned. It received’t be stationed at Clark-Cowlitz Fireplace Rescue headquarters however will function out of one other, still-to-be-determined station. The full value for each autos and gear might be round $900,000, Jackson mentioned.
The ambulance is along with the $446,000 contract the Cowlitz Indian Tribe has with Clark-Cowlitz Fireplace Rescue to offer emergency transport providers for Cowlitz Indian Tribe land, together with ilani on line casino, Nohr mentioned. The quantity of the contract has been raised over the past a number of years for the reason that resort’s development, Nohr mentioned, growing each time a brand new construction is added.
Medic 21 comes with state-of-the-art gear, together with a $70,000 hydraulic gurney carry that may hoist as much as 700 kilos, firefighter-paramedic Bryan Carroll mentioned throughout an indication of the ambulance’s capabilities on the press convention.
That might be “huge for preventing back injuries,” Jackson mentioned.
The ambulance additionally has a Lifepak electrocardiogram monitor and defibrillator. The automobile capabilities as a cell intensive care unit or “transport capable life support,” offering essential, lifesaving interventions en path to the hospital, Carroll mentioned.
Nohr mentioned the transport charges won’t improve for these in Clark-Cowlitz Fireplace Rescue’s service space. Charges vary from $1,500 to $1,900 per ambulance transport, relying on the severity and wishes of the affected person. The fee for sufferers with out insurance coverage might be written off, Nohr mentioned.
“The fire department is incredibly happy to be able to provide this level of service,” Nohr mentioned. “When people need the definitive care of getting to the hospital, we need to be able to get them there.”