YAKIMA, Wash.--Two months after the Yakima Fire Department restarted its tiered response program, the fire chief said it's proving to be successful.
Chief Dave Willson said tiered dispatch is a way to separate calls where fire trucks aren't needed. This saves time, money and resources, which could be used to go on calls that involve more serious health emergencies or a large scale fire.
"Keeping people in service for a structure fire so that we have all of our rigs available for a structure fire rather than an ear ache," said Chief Willson.
The chief said tiered dispatch also reduces how often a fire truck drives quickly to a scene, cutting back on possible traffic accidents.
The fire department said if dispatchers realize more help is needed, the closest fire truck will be sent to the scene.
