The Spokane Fire Department said Thursday that two people are alive thanks to a program called Automatic Aid.
On Wednesday afternoon, a mother and daughter were hit by a car in the North Spokane Costco parking lot. Officials said at one point, the mother was pinned under the car and crews had to lift the car to pull her out safely. Spokane Fire officials said the automatic aid program saved their lives.
The automatic aid program is an agreement between fire departments that the closest crew will respond to the incident no matter what jurisdiction it falls in. In the case at Costco, it was in Spokane City Fire jurisdiction but crews from Fire District 8 and 9 were closer, so the responded immediately saving precious time in a life threatening situation.