Proof in the pudding

The idiom “the proof is in the pudding” was used twice during Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, where the commissioners heard updates on the progress of consolidation efforts in both fire and ambulance services.

“I know it was a hard decision for the commissioners to make, but I think the proof is in the pudding that it’s working,” Fire Chief Scott Kitchner of Sweetwater County Fire District 1 said during the meeting. “I would say the service has improved if anything.”

Kitchner was speaking of the commissioner’s decision to close the county fire department. That decision was made in March, putting into progress a transition from fire services previously covered by the county department being covered by other local departments, including Green River Fire Department and Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1.

Kitchner was one of the fire chiefs present during the meeting to give the commissioners an update on how that transition has gone — an update that was largely positive.

Jim Zimmerman, who works in the Land Use Department as the Code Enforcement Specialist and is now the Sweetwater County Fire Warden, presented a spreadsheet to the commissioners showing the costs for seasonal workers in Fire District 1 and the charges for fire calls for Fire District 1, GRFD, and the Wamsutter Fire Department per month.

During the fire season with seasonal employees, the cost was around $48,000 to $55,000 a month. Zimmerman predicted the costs will now drop to around $18,000 to $25,000 a month since the seasonal workers are done and the fire season itself will likely end around the beginning of November.

The spreadsheet Zimmerman presented also showed the amount of calls for each fire department and the split between which calls were for fire and which were for accidents, typically along I-80.

“Out of the 94 total calls we’ve had in this represented time, 30 were fire and 64 were accidents,” Zimmerman explained.

Other fire chiefs present at the meeting included Chief Dusty Davis from Wamsutter, Assistant Chief Jesús Chavez from Wamsutter and Assistant Chiefs Bill Robinson and Larry Erdmann from Green River.

In answering some of the commissioner’s questions, the fire chiefs clarified that the Bureau of Land Management also responded to all wild land fires during the summer, confirmed that response time remains the same or has improved, and said that relationships between agencies have been strengthened.

“We were lucky that we had a pretty slow season so we were able to ease into it,” Chief Kitchner said, adding working with seasonal hires went well and included people coming over from the county fire department.

Kitchner added he couldn’t think of any issues or “hiccups” in the transition process and believes it has been working well and will continue to work well.

“We all wanted it to succeed and so far it has,” Kitchner said.

After the update on the changes in fire service, the commissioners heard an update from Castle Rock Director Bailie Dockter on the ongoing process of consolidating ambulance services in Green River and Rock Springs.

“We would like to start as soon as possible,” Dockter said, explaining the goal is for Castle Rock Ambulance Service to start serving in Rock Springs next month — as early as November 7 if possible, but for sure by November 21.

Dockter told commissioners the plan is to have one full-time ambulance in Green River and two full-time ambulances in Rock Springs, with back-up in both communities. Castle Rock has procured two new ambulances and a transport van that are ready to go, and the plan is for the full fleet to include seven or eight vehicles, according to Dockter. Castle Rock has also been working with Sweetwater Medics to lease the space Sweetwater Medics has been using as a short-term solution to having a location in Rock Springs.

“We, I’m happy to say, are now fully staffed,” Dockter added.

While Castle Rock would like to hire two or three more people eventually, they currently have the staff to get started. Castle Rock will also be giving raises and a signing bonus, as well as giving additional benefits to staff who transfer from Sweetwater Medics, Dockter explained. She also estimated 95% of the Sweetwater Medics staff is transferring.

Answering questions from the commissioners, Dockter reiterated that Castle Rock will continue to provide ALS (Advanced Life Support) services, and every call will have either a paramedic or an EMT Intermediate, which is the highest level you can have in the state.

“The proof’s in the pudding,” Commissioner Randy Wendling commented about the ambulance consolidation, saying he believes there will be cost savings and he hopes this will be a step towards eventually consolidating both fire and ambulance together. “Time will tell . . . but it’s a start.”