Since repositioning the district's four stations in 2002 and staffing these facilities, NKF&R crews have turned in district-wide average response times of about 6 minutes every year. 

Despite their emergency response workload, NKF&R crews still invest their time between emergencies in a wide variety of other activities:  training and education ... equipment, station and grounds maintenance ... pre-fire planning ... physical fitness ... records management ... public education and community involvement activities ... special projects and much more.

Nearly two-thirds of NKF&R's alarms are

Basic life support services are provided by personnel who have completed at least a 112-hour course, and have earned Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification.  EMTs are permitted to administer oxygen and certain other medications, utilize automated external defibrillators (AEDs), care for wounds and fractures, perform CPR.  Our EMTs are also skilled at determining the severity of a medical situation and, if necessary, calling for additional resources to ensure the best possible care.  Nearly all of the department's response personnel are EMTs, and every piece of department apparatus (including fire engines) is equipped with medical equipment.

In 2007, about 45% of the medical calls resulting in transport were serious enough to warrant the advanced life support skills of a paramedic.  These professionals log an average of 2000 in initial training.  They're authorized to establish intravenous lines for fluids and medications, administer certain life-saving and pain-killing drugs, intubate (protect the patient's airway by inserting a tube into the trachea/windpipe) and much more.  Every day there is at least one paramedic on duty to serve NKF&R's citizens. 

Most patients are transported by ambulance to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton or Silverdale.  When conditions permit, critically ill or injured patients are flown via Airlift Northwest helicopter to the region's trauma specialists at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Emergency medical response is made possible by a six-year, voter-approved property tax levy that permits the department to collect $0.50/$1,000 of assessed valuation.  The levy was last renewed in September 2007, and earned a 72.29% "yes" vote. 

Fire Suppression

Smoke or outdoor burning complaints are NKF&R's most common fire response, followed closely by false alarms such as unintentional fire alarm activations.  "Working fires" -- those in which crews must perform fire extinguishment or other similar activities -- generally comprise less than one-quarter of all fire-related calls. 

Brush fires are the most prevalent type of "working fire" every year. 

The district has apparatus and equipment to battle most types of blazes.  Property and business owners within NKF&R's service area enjoy a fire insurance rating of 5 with water tender credit.  Although fire hydrants are located throughout the district, NKF&R deploys these tanker trucks -- each carrying thousands of gallons of water -- to ensure adequate water for firefighting throughout our semi-rural communities.