Toutle fire commissioners on Wednesday delayed taking action on signing a contract to reinstate Castle Rock ambulance service. At their regular monthly meeting, commissioners also heard from a few Toutle residents who suggested that the districts eventually merge.
Earlier this week, Castle Rock fire district commissioners agreed to a contract under which Castle Rock would provide ambulance service to Toutle for $250 per call. However, Toutle commissioner Dan Belding said he wanted to study the contract further before agreeing on it.
The proposed contract is the latest development in months of negotiations between the two adjacent districts. Castle Rock has three full-time paramedics and an ambulance that can transport patients to St. John Medical Center. Toutle has volunteer EMTs who respond in aid vehicles, but no ambulance that can transport. Until recently, Castle Rock’s ambulance responded to medical calls in the Toutle district. Castle Rock sent a bill to the patient – but not to the district.
A state audit of the Castle Rock district found that it’s an improper gift of public funds for Castle Rock to send its ambulance to Toutle because Toutle can’t reciprocate, as the two districts can do with fire engines.
Recently, the 911 dispatch center started sending AMR ambulances from Kelso to Toutle for life-threatening calls. AMR bills patients directly but does not bill the Toutle district.
“From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t take that much longer with AMR,” said Toutle’s acting chief Jeremiah Porter, noting that AMR ambulances appear to drive faster on emergency runs than do public ones.