Sequim, it's time to talk about the elephant in the room - your health. 😱
What if recliners are like a gateway drug to 911 calls? 🧐
Given that the Fire Dept is responsible for emergency medical service, your health matters a lot to us and there's something you need to know. The biggest injury risk for older folks is falling, and you're far more likely to fall if you're not staying healthy as you age.
Who knew stumbles are more deadly than car crashes for older adults?!
Good news: One of the best, cheapest, easiest and most effective things you can do to stay healthy as you age is to get up and move. More time walking, less time sitting.
Chairs are the new cigarettes. Falls are preventable with some good decisions early on. Wise choices now, less embarrassing calls for help later.
No matter what happens, we will try to be there for you. But we have to address the life safety part of our mission, and that starts with realizing our community loses far more lives from poor health choices than from big events like fires.
Check out the links in the comment section below to get the facts and tips directly from the CDC.
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Support local firefighters by understanding how your department operates.
“Level 0” is what we call being out of units. It happens when there are more simultaneous 911 calls than there are personnel available to respond.
Level 0 is one of our most stressful and intense moments because it means we may not be able to quickly and effectively respond to an emergency. We typically only have 4 staffed response units. When 4 calls come in around the same time, everyone is booked.
Running out of units triggers a “General Alarm.” A notice goes out to all responders in the district to, for lack of better words, man your battle stations. Volunteers drop what they are doing and head to the nearest fire station to staff a reserve ambulance or fire engine. Off duty staff are able to come in off shift and receive overtime pay to fill in the gaps. But that’s only if people are available and have the energy for it. Many factors come into play, from holidays to nice sunny summer days, there may or may not be extra personnel available.
It’s a gamble that you, the public, didn’t know you were participating in if you have to call for help.
Mutual aid from neighboring departments is an option, but the response times are far greater than anyone would prefer. If all Fire District 3 units are on calls already, and a CPR call comes in, an ALS medic unit from District 2 in PA could be 20 minutes away, and that’s only if they’re available. Without high quality CPR, a cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival drops by 10% for every minute that passes. Hence, the stressful intense moment mentioned earlier. Structure fires double in size every minute. Stroke patients need advanced hospital care immediately or risk having more permanent brain damage. The list goes on and on when it comes to time being a critical factor in fire department response.
The goal of any firefighter, EMT, or paramedic is to be ready to protect life and property as quickly and effectively as possible, night or day, 365 days a year. We do not want to be limited or restricted in our responses. We want to be there for you!
Unfortunately Level 0 and General Alarm situations are on the rise. As the population grows and gets older, call volumes continue to increase - faster than the department has been able to scale up for. It’s a deadly serious situation.
What is the solution to this ongoing problem?
-Advocate for more staffing, more units, and more stations ASAP - the Department must scale up NOW to be effective and ready for tomorrow.
-Creative solutions to increasing department budgets
-A robust and well trained volunteer support team. Join up! (Acknowledging that this is a union page promoting volunteer support, a highly unusual sentiment that illustrates what a serious situation this is)
-Public education on when to call 911 and when to call a nurse
-EMS Prevention programs
-Staying healthy so you don’t need EMS. Walk. Eat well. Stretch. MOVE!!!
-Help firefighters stay mentally healthy and physically fit so they can best problem solve on the fly when seconds matter
-Advocate for annual firefighter health screenings and testing
-Spread the word, share this post!
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One of the best ways our community can support its firefighters is by understanding how today’s fire service operates—and the unique challenges responders face here in the Sequim region.
Many people assume that fires are the greatest danger firefighters face. While that may have been true decades ago, today actively fighting fires accounts for only about 7 out of every 100 line-of-duty deaths.
The real threats are chronic stress and overexertion causing occupational cancer, and sudden cardiac arrest—risks driven largely by the fact that most of our calls today are EMS related.
For years, firefighters in Fire District 3 have been exposed to avoidable, chronic stress due to an outdated station alerting system. Our current system is loud, jarring, and lacks modern features—such as the ability to alert only the unit being dispatched. Instead, the entire station is awakened for every call, regardless of assignment.
That means firefighters can be jolted awake 10 times overnight on their 48 hour shifts, even when only 4 calls were for their unit—each alert accompanied by loud clunks, static, and piercing beeps. This isn’t about comfort. It’s about health and safety.
Every alert triggers a fight-or-flight response. Heart rate spikes. Blood pressure rises. Stress hormones surge. When this happens repeatedly—especially night after night—the cardiovascular system never fully recovers. Over time, this significantly increases the risk of cardiac events and long-term health damage.
⏳ Progress!‼️
A modern station alerting system was approved in 2023. While implementation has taken longer than anyone would prefer, we are encouraged to share that funding for the system has now been allocated.
Why This Matters to the Public
Protecting firefighter health directly protects public safety.
Healthier firefighters:
• Think more clearly under pressure
• Make fewer errors
• Recover faster between calls
• Are better prepared when the community needs help
We appreciate the Chiefs and Commissioners for acknowledging this long-recognized health and safety issue and moving towards action.
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👀 Small town, big league numbers??? 🧐
Fire District 3 personnel experienced a record setting year of approximately 9,800 individual 911 calls. But more than one unit is often required to respond to emergencies. Many fire departments calculate this different number as responses or “runs” due to the collective physical response needed. A single emergency call may have several teams abruptly dropping what they are doing and running to their rigs.
For example, a cardiac arrest (CPR) call requires pit-crew style lifesaving work and equipment. When a CPR happens in Diamond Point, you could see the following units responding depending on who is available and not already on other calls:
Medic 37
Medic 34A
Batallion 3
Several volunteers and their personal vehicles, or their Aid35 Ambulance
Olympic Ambulance (If available and in town)
So just like that, a single 911 call/incident requires multiple units to to handle the job at hand. The same goes for certain motor vehicle collisions, structure fires, or just from units clearing previous calls and being closer than others to a new call when multiple calls are happening at the same time, which is now common for the district.
Currently, Fire District 3 does not formally calculate the total number of responses generated from calls. However, it is safe to hypothesize that the true workload—measured in responses rather than incidents—is significantly higher than the 9,800 call figure. That number would likely be eye-opening and it highlights the growing operational demands and impacts facing your responders today.
To learn more and get involved with FD3, visit ccfd3.org/board-meetings
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