City of DuPont announcement.
The DuPont Fire Department will be ushering in a new era of service delivery it provides to the citizens, visitors, and businesses it serves.
Historically, the Fire Department has only offered a Basic Life Support (BLS) level of service when it comes to treating patients. The firefighters provide an exceptional service, but they are limited on the ability to provide critical treatments to patients. A paramedic will be able to provide a wide scope of treatments and interventions that will dramatically improve the outcomes for patients who suffer from life threatening illnesses and injuries, such as heart attacks, strokes, respiratory conditions, diabetic issues, or patients who may have suffered broken bones or other injuries that cause great pain.
The paramedic service has, prior to now, only been provided by either private ambulance services or our partners from Joint Base Lewis McChord Fire Department.
“Since I was hired in June 2021, I have been astonished to watch our EMT’s transport patients to area hospitals without critical medical interventions that paramedics can provide. This is a significant accomplishment for our community and department,” said Brad Martin, Fire Chief. Chief Martin has been able to implement this program and make it sustainable.
“We are exceptionally proud of the fact that we now have paramedic services for our community. This is being done within our current budget and without raising taxes. The first paramedic reported for duty on May 2nd and the next one will be on June 1st. Two more will follow later this year. I appreciate the tireless efforts of Chief Martin to make this vision a reality,” said Mayor Ronald Frederick.
Chief Martin stated that over the next couple of months, paramedic service delivery will not be available on every shift. It is expected that by the end of summer, the fire department will be able to provide paramedic services at least 75% of the time and by the end of this year, we’ll have paramedic services available 100% of the time.
“I am honored to be able to bring paramedic services to the DuPont Fire Department. I could not have been successful if it weren’t for the support and partnerships with Mayor Frederick, City Administrator Takata, the department heads and their staff, and the Firefighters Union,” said Chief Martin.
When asked how he was able to accomplish bringing the paramedics on staff, Martin stated, “through a Cost and Needs Analysis, we were able to show the critical need for the paramedics, make adjustments to our budget, the fee schedule, our EMS Billing structure, and most importantly, the personnel are being brought on through attrition, so we are not having to add any Full Time Employee (FTE) positions.
If you’d like more information about the services the City of DuPont provides, you are invited to visit the website at www.dupontwa.gov, or contact Chief Martin at bmartin@dupontwa.gov.
