Palouse looking for more EMTs, firefighters

Feb. 03--The Palouse Fire Department and Emergency Services are hoping to bring on more volunteers to increase low staffing numbers during the day.

"Palouse is facing what most rural communities are facing right now, in that we have so few people that actually work in town in the day time that we are finding ourselves to be pretty short-handed at times," Palouse Fire Chief Mike Baggott said.

Many people leave Palouse for their day jobs, making it hard to have adequate volunteers in the middle of the day, he said.

Baggott said EMS staffing is at least at the minimum number required during the day, but it would be nice to have a few extras around just in case.

He said he hopes they can bring in another three or four volunteers.

The volunteer EMS positions require at least 160 hours of training before someone can begin working.

"It's a substantial commitment for anyone to get on," he said. "It's something they can't take lightly."

According to Palouse City Council meeting minutes, EMS crews responded to 83 calls in 2014.

"It was small town stuff. It just varies though," Baggott said. "They had a very busy year last year, but this year could just as easily be a very slow year."

He said it's better to be over prepared than be shorthanded if something big happens.

"With the EMS service, it definitely seems to have been kind of a trend upward during the past five to 10 years," he said.

The fire department responded to 38 fire calls in 2014, according to City Council minutes.

Baggott said the fire department would also like to bring on more volunteers, especially during the day.

"The group that we have is a very dedicated bunch," he said. "People are just busy. It's a lot to ask for somebody to stay in town all the time."

The fire department currently has 15 active volunteers and hopes to add another two or three, he said.

Baggott said the department works closely with Pullman and Fire District 12, so there is always back-up when needed.

"Their ambulance responds on an automatic basis anytime we get an EMS call out here," he said. "Regardless of what we have, we know we will have a staffed, almost always paramedic level, response from Pullman."

The departments also share automatic aid agreements, so there will be a response from Pullman with fire calls south of Palouse and north of Pullman, he said.

During the large Palouse Tavern fire in April, Baggott said crews from Pullman, Fire District 12 and Colfax responded to assist with their ladder trucks.

He said it makes no sense for a community the size of Palouse to have its own large apparatus like that.

Baggot said it's nice to have a sort of "big brother" in the area.

Training for the new volunteers will primarily take place in Palouse, but Pullman and Fire District 12 will also help with speciality training and with equipment Palouse may not have.

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