There was good news and bad news in South Snohomish Fire and Rescue’s 2017 annual report to the Edmonds City Council Tuesday night.
It started with an overview by Fire Chief Bruce Stedman profiling South Snohomish Fire’s work in the community, from providing community paramedic services to disaster preparedness training. Then came the statistics, delivered by Assistant Chief Doug Dahl, that in many cases reflected the contract that the City of Edmonds negotiated last year with South Snohomish Fire (formerly Fire District 1), which provides the city with fire and emergency medical services (EMS).
For example, according to 2017 numbers, the first paramedic arrived on the scene of Edmonds call faster that the previous year — with nearly 82 percent arriving within 8 minutes or less compared to 54 percent in 2016.