Carey Quick Response and fire department need volunteers

Keeping emergency services under local control was deemed a priority by the Carey City Council last Tuesday night.

Attendance at the regular council meeting was larger than usual.

One hot topic brought forth was the preparedness of the Carey Quick Response Unit.

Idaho has strict policies concerning the make-up of emergency services. According to state laws, there are three levels of preparedness for emergency response units. They are basic, intermediate and paramedic.

Carey was at the intermediate level through affiliation with Wood River Fire and Rescue, but has slipped to basic.

A basic license requires 110 hours of training completed followed by 30 more in continuing training over two years. After completion the trainees must demonstrate that they can perform emergency procedures in the field.

At the intermediate level the caregivers are known as Emergency Medical Technicians, and their responsibilities and skills allow them to administer more care in the field. EMTs can start intravenous drips and other procedures if necessary. At this level the emergency response unit has a base of operations and is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The intermediate level of service requires a work force large enough to rotate shifts and a location set aside for training exercises.

Paramedics, the top level, can administer drugs in the field and work under the license of a doctor. They communicate directly with the medical professional and offer the highest level of immediate care available. Currently, there is no paramedic service in Blaine County, cost being the most prohibitive factor.

Carey has neither the manpower nor a base of operations for the top two levels.

"We need more volunteers," says Richard Olsen of the Carey Quick Response Unit. "Funding is not a problem, but lack of help is."

The city council is investigating the possibility of creating a full-time paid emergency response unit. Recently a private contractor inquired as to whether the city would be interested in a paramedic-level service.

The general consensus among locals present at the meeting and council members was that keeping the QRU a local enterprise and pursuing a higher license is the right thing to do.

A town meeting will be announced shortly to determine how much community support exists for this kind of move. Until then, residents in the south county cannot expect the same level of immediate care that those to the north receive.

The Carey Fire Department has the same problem as the Quick Response Unit, Fire Chief John Adamson told the council.

The department needs more volunteers, but it is also under funded.

A bill before the Legislature is needed to allow Carey to override the 3 percent cap on expenditures and raise the budget up to $32,000 a year from the $18,000 a year under which it currently operates. The revenue increases would be garnered from the Gannet, Picabo and Carey areas.

Discussion also ventured into the realm of possibly building a fire station in Picabo and modernizing some of the equipment. The newest pumper truck is a 1959 model that functions well, according to John Adamson, but "parts are getting difficult to find." The cost for a new fire-fighting vehicle is nearly $180,000.

The council then turned to the May 9 to 16 Cleanup days.

The Carey transfer station will accept batteries, tires and cars for free and several tow trucks will be available. The tow truck drivers will not pay for the scrap cars, but won’t charge to haul them, either. Cars should be tagged for easy identification.

If there is interest outside the city, the cleanup could be extended to Picabo as well. A brochure detailing what, where and when of the project will be posted.