It's kind of stupid to replace anything with FJ cruisers, since this is their last model year, if I'm not mistaken.

Also, tell that Ty Kovatch I'm not made of lattes.

"Our stamp's on the whole thing, if Dan wants to have his little stamp on improving it with the amendments, that's fine,"

How fucking petty. He admits its improving the proposal, but still takes a dig. Government is supposed to work for its citizens, not the aggrandizement of politician's (and their lackey's) egos.

I hate that "it's just one latte" argument. Guess what Ty? After every department, the county, the state, the community college, the library, the schools, the cops, the parks, Metro and every other agency in the world takes their pound of flesh, it adds up to a lot of fucking lattes every month.

Since the economy tanked, I don't buy any coffee for myself any more, so why would I want to buy one for you?

Somebody please explain why the fire department shows up when the private ambulance company does to? I'm all for government services, but my god, one or the other please.

infoart, I believe it's because all firefighters are trained in emergency medical procedures, and might also be the closest responders available. So they can maybe keep someone alive until an ambulance shows up with better medical gear, and a means of transport to a hospital.

for once, I agree with Blabby. fuck fuck no! I deal with EMS on pretty much a daily basis, and while the usual response time hovers around 10-15 min, when they do show up, it's 3 firetrucks and 2 ambulances for a single person having a seizure.

Combine that with the routine 3 police cars to write a jay-walking ticket (not only seen, but on vid).

Do we need to improve fire and police response times, hell yeah. A good way to start is not having 6 officers and 10 FD respond to a simple non-emergency call. (the math is pretty basic, but I'd be happy to spell it out for slow learners in the crowd)

I agree with Blabby about damn near nothing, but we are united here. This is f*ing stoopid use of my money, and I am pissed.

"Somebody please explain why the fire department shows up when the private ambulance company does to?"

I may be completely wrong here but I remember fire trucks etc didn't have to show up years ago (I'm talking like 15 years). It seems like this was a state or federal mandate. If you call 911 for things certain departments have to show up. I'm pretty sure it's just medical stuff but if someone is having a heart attack the fire truck shows up with their paramedics and so does the private ambulance.

"Commissioner Fritz, who often finds herself the lone vote against proposals."

Not surprising in the least. She's sort of a weird hippie dingbat person that still operates like Portland is a small town instead of a fairly major city in the US. .

All I Wanted Was An Ambulance - Why Did Portland Fire & Rescue Respond?

http://www.portlandonline.com/fire/index.c…

You ask why a fire engine always responds with an ambulance.

It’s very simple! The brain dies with in 6 minutes from cardiac arrest or hypoxia.

Counties control the response time requirements and most require that a private ambulance provider be on scene within 6-10 minutes 90% of the time. Well that’s great if you aren’t the other 10% in need of medical assistance.

So it really comes down to reliability. The fire departments number one goal is public service where the ambulance companies are profits. The ambulance companies also meddle in non-emergent inter-hospital transports. This is key because these transports are guarantied profits where 911 calls are not. So it is not uncommon for these companies to roll the dice and take 911 ambulances out of service to make a buck.

Getting back to a fire engine versus and ambulance on scene. Fire Engines response reliability is much higher and they carry the same equipment and can stabilize a patient prior to the ambulance provider response.

If you really want to be upset do some research into your counties “level zero” statistics? The general public has no idea how often they have no ambulance service at all, and yes I’m talking about Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas!

Truly scary!