Andy Day welcomed Fire Marshall Ron Richard from the Bellingham Fire Department to provide an overview of all the services they provide to our community.
The Bellingham Fire Department has been active since 1904 when the four local townships consolidated to make the City of Bellingham. In 1974 the department assumed ambulance service as well, replacing a service that was once largely provided by funeral parlors nationwide, (Crown Ambulance locally). The BFD has 190 employees with a budget in excess of $27 million. The positions include 142 paid responders, 12 dispatch (911) workers, 7 non-uniform support staff, and the rest are volunteers.
The BFD incorporated Fire District 8 last July which includes Marietta and the Lummi reservation. Paramedic response is county wide which also includes a satellite station on Smith Rd which serves Mt. Baker and the east county.
Last year the department took over 17,000 calls with 12,600 in city limits. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) make up 2/3’s of the calls and public services the remainder. Public services come in several categories including non-injury calls, homeless needs, fire response, false alarms, etc.
Fire Marshall Richard went on to explain that the science of fire fighting has improved tremendously in recent years with the use of evidence-based tactics rather than anecdotal methods which were much too common in the past. For example, in the past fire fighters assumed that first responders shouldn’t immediately blast a fire with water for fear that it would spread quicker. This was found to be untrue because the cooling effect of the immediate water is actually much more beneficial.
Our community is in good shape if a fire response is needed. A BFD response to a fire call is very robust including three engines, one truck, and a medic unit. A team of 19 will respond to every call ready to put their lives on the line for our fellow citizens.
Sad but true, most fires are caused by human carelessness. Residential fires make up 83% of deaths by fire. Cooking, heating, electrical and smoking products are the main culprits. Please be careful with all of these, and be sure to replace fire alarm batteries at every daylight savings change.
While no one wants an emergency response at their doorstep, you can be sure that if it does happen you will be in good hands.
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