Instead of sending a big engine with several firefighters -- and possibly police officers and paramedics -- Squad 1 may take the call instead. None of the crew members are firefighters. Conradson is a community paramedic. The other crew members include a crisis intervention counselor and experts at helping people navigate the complex world of social services. Proactive steps, like this simple check-in, aim to prevent those non-emergency calls.  

This proactive approach, mixed with Squad 1's triaging of 911 calls as they come in, represents a major shift in culture and thought for the fire department.  

"We're very traditional," Chief Dale Lyman said with a laugh. "We like to send lots of people and big trucks to things."

The donation directly benefits students who are enrolled in the district’s fire science program by giving them hands-on experience working with an actual fire truck.  

After seeing how successful the school system’s fire science program was, the Bentonville Fire Department decided to support it by donating a fire truck that would otherwise be out of service.

“The fire truck will serve as a mobile lab for those students enrolled in our Fire Science Academy program,” said Superintendent Ross Renfrow. “We’re really, really excited about this inter-agency collaboration.”