Yakima Fire Department No Longer Sending Trucks Out on EMS Calls

The Yakima Fire Department says it will no longer send fire trucks on every call for emergency medical services and Woody Woodcock says that is good news for Yakima. Woodcock is the President of Advance Life Systems Ambulance in Yakima who says allowing dispatchers to determine if a call can be handled by an ambulance is good news for everyone. Woodcock says “when a dispatcher determines an ambulance can handle the call then it leaves firefighters available for more critical calls that they were available for before the new policy.”

Woodcock says years ago dispatch centers did not have the ability to categorize or sort calls like they do today.