Clark County Fire District 3 (CCFD3) staff responded to multiple calls at once and 10 over the entire day last week during a busy day in Battle Ground.
On Wednesday, July 24, staff responded to a total of nine medical calls, and two vehicle collisions in Battle Ground city limits by 7 p.m. On Thursday, July 25, staff answered six calls in Battle Ground city limits by 7 p.m., according to the Pulsepoint app’s map.
Despite the call load and two-person units, CCFD3 Fire Chief Scott Sorenson said he believed the day went pretty well for the fire district. From fire personnel responding to American Medical Response transporting, no hiccups occurred.
“There was one point where we had four out of five units on calls,” Sorenson said. “And so that means we had one left for the remainder of the district. … Those were all medicals and those typically, on average, [last] about half an hour per incident. And so if you get any in there that take more, like a structure fire can take several hours or a significant motor vehicle accident can take longer, that’s when you start to rely on mutual aid at that point.”
With two units responding from nearby CCFD3 stations, the call volume on July 24 demonstrated why the department hopes residents approve a levy lid lift to fund three-person crews across the district.
“So we had several going at once, and basically we covered most of those with city rigs, [of] which we have two,” Sorenson said. “But we did bring in [station] 33, and we used [station] 31 for one of those also.”
He added that the district was fortunate to have not received a call that required additional resources.
“The thing here is that in the city we have two crews, and this is part of what we’re trying to deal with, too,” Sorenson said, adding if each unit had three personnel each, the district could do more work. “So, this is a case in point where we have multiple calls going on at one time, and if the single units add additional staff, they’re more likely able to handle whatever the problem is with that unit only. Any incident that requires a lot of treatment or tactics, then the fewer people you have, the longer it takes to get it done. So, that’s where we depend on other units to come in and [provide] back up when you’re on two-person crews.”
Sorenson added that it’s not uncommon for an agency to get busy all at once. When that happens, however, proper management becomes critical.
“So when we send mutual aid, we’re going to also try to cover our area, too, so that we don’t send everything out,” Sorenson said. “Of course, the most important incident is the one that’s happening at the moment. But, the problem is you get too spread out and it takes a long time to get to scenes. … Resource management is critical when it gets busy like that, and that’s what battalion chiefs do.”
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