VIDEO: As wildfires burn across Washington and Oregon, firefighters aren’t the only ones responding to the front lines. A specialized team of AMR Spokane paramedics and EMTs have deployed into active fire zones to provide frontline medical care for firefighters. AMR Spokane’s Wildland Medical Team is currently deployed to the Akawa Butte Fire near Sisters, Oregon, the Castle Fire in Oregon, and the Pearl Hill and Modrite Fires in Washington.

Working in remote locations where access to medical care may be limited, this team of specially trained paramedics and EMTs may treat conditions ranging from heat-related illness and smoke inhalation to trauma injuries sustained on the fire line. The goal is to keep the fire crews healthy and operational as they work to protect communities, AMR Spokane says.

Last year, the AMR Spokane Wildland Medical Team deployed throughout southern Washington and northern Oregon, including the Crown Creek, Lower Sugarloaf and Lynx Mountain Fires, and assisted with evacuations during Spokane’s Upriver Fire last month.

“Most people know us as the ambulance that shows up when you call 911,” said Jack Busch, operations manager for AMR Spokane. “But when firefighters are working long hours on the fire line, miles from the nearest hospital, they may need medical care, too. Our clinicians deploy directly alongside fire crews to take care of the people protecting our communities,” he added.

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Firefighters from Australia and New Zealand are helping battle wildfires across the Northwest as firefighting resources across the United States are stretched thin. The international crews are now working on fires burning in Oregon and Washington.

“We are here supporting the U.S. in time of crisis and when you’ve got significant fires, and you’re stretched thin on resources, so we’re only happy to help and step up,” said Sam Quigley, the International Liaison Officer representing the team of 74 Australians and New Zealanders.

Quigley said the countries have worked together for years during major wildfire events.

“Our fire training is very similar to the United States, and we’ve had a long arrangement of many years of transferring resources during times of crisis,” Quigley said.

As dozens of large wildfires continue burning across the Northwest, leadership positions and incident management teams remain in high demand. The international firefighters are helping fill those gaps.

“We made sure that we picked the right people to come to this deployment,” Quigley said. “We wanted to bring our best, so you’ve got many of the best right on the fire grounds now.”

The 74 firefighters were divided and deployed to more than a dozen incidents across the region.

“We have deep skills in forest firefighting,” Quigley said. “Crews are there; this will be their first day, and they will hit the ground running because our systems are so similar.”

Longstanding international mutual aid agreements allow countries to support one another during major disasters like this.

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