SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A lot's happening with the Spokane Valley Fire Department, from training new firefighters, to recently passing a levy.
Now, they're installing a new alert system across all ten of their stations.
Like many other firefighters in Spokane Valley, Sean Wagner's happy about the department's new alert system.
The Spokane Valley Fire Department's installing a new state of the art alerting system. The new system will be vital in improving the long-term health of firefighters.
"So that whole process of going from asleep to being aware and ready to recognize and make decisions, it's so much easier with that transition period, which that alerting system is allowing us to be able to do, which wasn't possible before," said Wagner.
Division chief Jeff Bordwell says in the past a loud speaker and bright lights woke up firefighters at night.
But the new alerting system uses softer lighting and reduced volume, which seems to be working for the crews.
Bordwell said, "I'm very pleased with how it's been going. I've been getting really good reports back from our line firefighters, as far as the effects that they are seeing on themselves, which definitely this early in the project, I think is going to make a difference."
The new system's been in the works for the last four years.
"They're up and down all night long. And this allows them to just hopefully in the long term, they'll retire and last longer with their bodies," said Bordwell.
Already Wagner's felt the change.
"You can definitely recognize that it's easier on the body," said Wagner. "And so I think, as a whole, within our department, we're becoming much more aware of a lot of difficulties that exist within this job."
The new system's also expected to reduce response times by almost a minute. A big difference in a job that needs every second possible to save lives.
The new alert system will be up and running at all stations by next month.