Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home police and fire services both saw an uptick in call loads in 2017, with a spike in fire calls; but both remained lower than their recently set records.
The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District handled 2,761 calls in 2017, up from 2,601 calls in 2016, a 6-percent increase and just shy of the district’s record year, 2014, with 2,792 calls.
The majority of that increase was for fires. Firefighters responded to 412 fire calls in 2017, up from 308 in 2016, a 33.8 percent increase.
Paramedics responded to 2,349 medical calls, up from 2,293 in 2016, a 2.4-percent increase.
The fire department transported 1,349 patients by ambulance to hospitals, up from 1,225 patient trips in 2016, a 10-percent increase.
The district had 2,483 calls five years ago, in 2013, with 2,212 medical calls, 271 fire calls and 1,011 patient transports.
Fire Chief Dave Barringer noted that among fire calls are alarm activations, complaints and minor fires.
“Last year, it took a little dip, and this year, it popped up again,” Barringer said. The department responded to 303 fire calls – and 2,396 medical calls – in 2015.
While it doesn’t account for all of the bump, Barringer said, the Fire District has been responding as mutual aid to other departments, primarily Lebanon and Mohawk, “a little more frequently. There’s more agency interaction.”
If Lebanon has a second alarm, Sweet Home responds to it, he said.
Staffing levels recently increased through a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, used to pay for two firefighters, who add one daytime shift each day.
The district employs three paid paramedics, a total of nine including three battalion chiefs, on a three-day rotating schedule along with 10 part-time EMTs, who are typically students attending school and working on certification.
The SAFER grant covers 70 percent of the cost in the first year of the grant and 30 percent in the second two years of the grant.
“The crews are already talking about how it’s helping with staffing,” Barringer said. The Fire District is able to get apparatus out of the Fire Hall faster with them. Often, paramedics on the regular shifts are on a medical call when the district receives a fire report.
The district has lower volunteer response during the daytime while volunteers are at work, he said, and they’re making a difference.
On a fully staffed day shift, the Fire Hall has six certified paramedics in the building, he said. At one point in 2014, on a short-staffed day, the Fire Hall had as few as three in the building.
Converting the resident volunteer intern positions to part-time medic positions also helped with keeping up staffing levels, he said, but the district will have to keep an eye on that program as minimum wage increases.
Barringer is cautiously optimistic about the district’s budget going into the new year. Ambulance and conflagration revenues are helping bolster the budget, and the district may see more property tax revenue. A new law may also improve Medicare reimbursements.
The district is purchasing new equipment thanks to a $1.575-million bond approved by district voters in November 2016.
Last week, the district received shipment of new self-contained breathing apparatus units used while fighting fire, and a new tender, a new tank on a used chassis, is expected this week.
Coming up, the district will replace its oldest four-wheel drive ambulance, Barringer said, and in March a new rescue unit will replace the district’s smaller rescue unit, which has issues with brakes and power.
“We’ve had needs we couldn’t pay for, and now we’re filling those needs,” Barringer said. “There’s needs and wants, and these were needs.”
Sweet Home Police Department responded to 9,914 calls in 2017, a 3-percent increase from 2016, with 2,648 calls.
The department record is 10,161 calls in 2015. Five years ago, the department handled 8,416 calls.
“The majority of the calls we handle are not criminal in nature,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn, not in the classic sense anyway. “We are working on year end stats to put in our annual report.”
Detailing various crime reports, arrests and cases solved, the report should be available within the next couple of weeks, he said.
“There will be somewhat of a change in 2018,” he said. Likely within the first quarter of the year, code enforcement will move back to the Community Development Department from the Police Department.
The department is at full staffing levels right now, with 15 sworn police officers, Lynn said. That includes the chief, two sergeants and a detective. One officer will finish the police academy next month before taking on some additional local training.
In the coming year, as statistics are compiled, “we really need to start taking a look at what we do well, what we can improve on and figure out how to accomplish that,” Lynn said.
The New Era will report in further detail about those statistics when they’re complete.