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.”

Rescue crews responded to the 5500 hundred block of Powers Center Point Sunday night on a report that two people might be overdosing in a vehicle. Firefighters noticed one of the people inside the car had a gun and they immediately backed their fire engine away from the vehicle.  

The driver put the vehicle in reverse and rammed the fire engine several times before leaving the scene. No one was injured and the fire truck received minor damage.