Justin Grider of Sequim is the new Deputy Fire Chief for Clallam 2 Fire Rescue (Port Angeles area). The Deputy Chief position had been vacant since July 1 and after a regional search Grider was selected. His first official day was Nov. 4 with his swearing in ceremony on Nov. 19. Grider most recently was serving as the volunteer training/coordinator with Clallam County Fire District 3 (Sequim).
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 1:41:59 AM - SOURCE: Sequim Gazette - Metered Site

Easton is closing in on $1 million in overtime in 2019 for its fire department, increasing the likelihood that it will bring in part-time personnel in 2020. Despite adding three new full-timers earlier this year, the city has already eclipsed the $850,000 in overtime pay it expended in 2018, Finance Director Mark Lysynecky said during the city council meeting Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Call - Metered Site

The Portland City Council took what might look like a baby step last week toward more efficient handling of non-emergency 911 calls. In a break from current practice, in which uniformed, armed police officers in squad cars or a truckload of firefighters respond, commissioners approved a pilot project in which a new "third branch" of the first-responder system, staffed by a specially trained firefighter and a contracted crisis worker, would respond to some non-emergency situations.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Willamette Week

Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears to be empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie. Then she waits, hoping for information that she can share with Boston's community of opioid users.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBUR-FM 90.9

You rely on their rapid "first response" to an emergency medical call to 9-1-1. You rely on their training, knowledge, and experience in first aid and ability to stabilize a patient -- possibly a love one -- to rush them to a hospital for more precise care. But how much do paramedics make? Paramedics' salaries vary depending on their state, their training, employer, and a host of other factors.
- PUB DATE: 11/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Street Inc.