WEST RICHLAND, Wash. – Parts of West Richland are experiencing faster emergency services due to the reopening of Station 410. This change has significantly improved the average response time in the area.
Before Station 410 reopened, the average response time was around seven minutes. Now, it has dropped to just five minutes. In life-threatening emergencies, these time savings can lead to better survival outcomes.
Benton County Fire District 4 reopened the station earlier this year, which has contributed to reducing the average response time. According to Deputy Chief Daniel Drayton, the reopening has allowed multiple fires throughout the season to be caught early. “The fire stays smaller, less damage, less, demand on all the other resources in the area,” said Drayton.
Drayton emphasized the importance of focusing on controllable factors when it comes to saving lives. “We don’t have control over where somebody is going to have an emergency or how big it’s going to be or when it happens. But taking direct control over this variable, it’s very impactful for us because we will see, over a big enough data set. We will see improvements in cardiac arrest survival. We will see less long term impacts for stroke patients or heart attack patients,” he said.
The addition of Station 410 brings District 4’s total to three stations, reducing their reliance on neighboring stations. “Having that station staffed keeps this one and improves station reliability for station for 20, reduces or distributes the workload among a larger workforce,” said Drayton.
Drayton highlighted the teamwork required to keep all of the Tri-Cities safe, calling the reopening a win for the entire community.
