Spokane to try using solo medical units

Associated Press

SPOKANE - A call to the Spokane Fire Department for medical help may soon be answered by a single medic in an SUV instead of a crew in a fire truck.

City administrators and the Spokane Firefighters Union announced an agreement Monday to try the one-person units for calls that are likely to be non-life-threatening.

The solo responses will be tested for six-months starting in September under the existing $45 million budget, using already trained paramedics and driving three SUVs the department already owns, the Spokesman-Review reported.

"We really think that, given six months to evaluate and work together, that we can come up with a program that works for everybody," said Don Waller, fire union president.

The deal resulted from negotiations to resolve an unfair labor practice complaint that Local 29 of the International Association of Fire Fighters filed with the state Public Employment Relations Commission. The union had challenged the city's decision to send three-person fire engine companies to medical calls in SUVs or ambulances instead of trucks.