During their Feb. 12 meeting, the Renton City Council approved an interlocal agreement to extend the FD CARES pilot program to the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority and into their response area.
FD CARES is an alternative response model operating under the Renton Regional Fire Authority under which units that contain a registered nurse, social worker, or other specialist work both proactively and reactively to address the individual needs of community members that are chronically homeless, experiencing a mental health crisis, or identified as having unique healthcare needs.
FD CARES is a relatively new alternative response unit that has been operating under a pilot program in recent years, with the goal of providing individualized care and resource referrals to community members — and reducing the response burden and backlog experienced by traditional first responders like the fire department and police.