HARRISON, IDAHO, Idaho — If you live on the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, the response time for a medical emergency just got a whole lot faster.
The community on the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene is rapidly growing, and the East Side Fire District's call volume has doubled over the last decade. That's why the fire district brought in its first ambulance and is building a new fire station.
East Side Fire District Chief Jerry Lynn said the district is racing to keep up with the growing population by adding resources to its fleet.
"When it comes to medical stuff and patients, time is everything," Lynn said. "There's wait times up to 30 minutes only because of distance."
When the East Side community relied on ambulances from the city of Coeur d'Alene, it would take approximately that amount of time before the patient was reached. The long commute cost patients an hour before even arriving to the hospital.
"If it's a heart attack type of event, time is critical," Lynn said. "And if it's a stroke, same thing. Time is very valuable."
With its own ambulance on site, that 30 minute response time drops to about ten minutes.
"It's significant when you're having a serious problem," said Susan Galloway, a longtime resident of the East Side community.
Two years ago, Galloway needed an ambulance when she began experiencing symptoms of a stroke.
"I had the numbness on the side of the face and tunnel vision with the prisms," she said. "It would have been probably 30 minutes for the ambulance to get here, and then 30 minutes back."
Now, she's relieved knowing help is only a few minutes away.
"Makes me feel better because they say once you had a [transient ischemic attack], your chances of having a stroke go up," Galloway said.
The fire district is also building a new $1 million fire station located next to the fire district's current facility on Highway 97.
"We should be, hopefully, living in here or operating in here by the end of the year into November," Lynn said.
The facility's three bays will house firefighting vehicles, offer more room for administrative staff and a larger space for training.
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