Sean C. Morgan
Call volumes remain on pace to set records for both the police and fire departments this year.
Both departments started the year busy, and it hasn’t let up. Sweet Home Police Department is a month ahead of last year. It took until Sept. 27 last year to reach the same call volume as it had on Aug. 26 of this year.
Ambulance calls to date as of Aug. 26 were up from 1,133 to 1,286. That puts the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District on pace to reach more than 1,900 ambulance calls by the end of this year, an increase from a total of 1,689 last year.
Fire calls were about the same, increasing from 199 to 200 calls as of Aug. 26.
“Call volume continues to run much higher than any previous year,” Police Chief Bob Burford said. Police had handled 5,862 calls as of Aug. 26. Ten years ago, it was mid-October before police reached that call load.
As of Aug. 26, 2003, the department had 5,211 calls. On Aug. 26, 1994, it had 5,000 calls.
Total charges to date were at 1,110. Last year, on Aug. 26, Sweet Home police had 1,028 charges. In 1994, they had only 768 charges.
During the budget process, police were projecting 9,300 calls this year.
Sweet Home population is relatively steady, Chief Burford said. Until police analyze the types of calls they had at the end of the year, he will remain unsure why the number of calls for service has gone up. Last year was also a record year for call volume.
With the increase last year and this year, Chief Burford would have asked for a new police officer position if revenue shortfalls had not materialized.
“I felt it was necessary because of the call load,” Chief Burford said. “That’s become impossible because of the budget situation.”
The Police Department is short two officers from its budgeted force of 14 officers. One position is being filled, but Chief Burford told the budget committee he would operate as long as he could without the final position filled.
“I believe we’re reaching that point where it is absolutely necessary,” Chief Burford said. “I’m hoping to see some updated budget numbers before going back to council and asking for authority to fill that position.”
Technically, the department has the budgetary authority to fill the position.
“I feel personally obligated to seek the council’s approval before I do that,” Chief Burford said. If he can he would like to hire two officers out of the current pool of candidates.
Right now, when he pulls up the “computer-aided dispatch” screen, he finds there is nearly always a backlog of calls, Chief Burford said. Filling the two positions will help reduce that and improve customer service.
Averaging 5.4 medical calls per day, the fire department recently added a new full-time paramedic-firefighter, and it is helping the department handle the call load, Fire Chief Mike Beaver said. The call load has remained consistent throughout the year, and he does not think the pace will drop off at the end of the summer.
“Sweet Home is an older community,” Chief Beaver said. “We have a lot of folks that move here just because of the tranquillity of the area.”
Also, Chief Beaver believes that with no medical facilities open after 5 p.m., persons may be more likely to use ambulance service. In other communities, they might choose to provide their own transportation to the emergency room.
But the growing call volumes are not just Sweet Home’s concern. Call volumes are going in other communities too, Chief Beaver said.
Spring and summer weather brings people out to the lakes, and more people travel east over Highway 20, Chief Beaver said. That means an increase in trauma calls, and paramedics have responded to a number of accidents and incidents east of Sweet Home.
The new paramedic “makes a huge difference,” Chief Beaver said. On a fully staffed shift, the department can get an engine out the door right away on a fire call. It also allows the department to continue doing other things in the community, like fire prevention and addressing rural homes.
Chief Beaver hopes to get firefighters into schools more often this year with prevention messages.
The department continues to deal with multiple medical calls frequently, with two to three ambulances out; and it still calls out for a third or fourth ambulance crew fairly often.
Recently, the department has had to rely less on “quick response teams” and Lebanon than earlier this year. Quick response teams include a driver and basic EMTs or intermediate EMTs, who are still considered advanced life support.
Transporting patients takes an ambulance out of service for one and a half to two hours with transport time to the hospital and reports.
“This isn’t just us,” Chief Beaver said. “Lebanon and Albany are busier,” and Sweet Home often helps out over there and in some of the smaller communities in the area through mutual aid agreements.