The East County Paramedic Service (ECPS) is a regional ambulance transport service in Clark County, Washington, formed by the cooperative partnerships of the voters living within the Cities of Camas and Washougal, a portion of the City of Vancouver, and the Clark County communities of Fern Prairie, Mt. Livingston, Sunnyside, Mt, Norway, and Orchard Hills.  

The ECPS was established in 1979 when voters first approved a funding measure to support a regional paramedic service.  The Camas Fire Department (CFD) had established a decades-long history of providing Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance service to the area, and continues to perform this mission serving the Cities of Camas and Washougal, The East County Fire & Rescue service area, and portions of the City of Vancouver and Clark County Fire District #5 service area.

The East County Paramedic Service is funded by an EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Levy process that requires periodic renewal by the areas served.  EMS Levy renewal is required at least every six years to continue the funding required to provide this service.  When it appears on your ballot, it is important to realize that it is not a new tax, but a continuation of an existing voter-approved tax that is necessary to continue providing your paramedic ambulance service.

Currently, the EMS Levy for most of the ECPS area is 35¢ per $1,000 of a property's valuation, which is equal to just $105 per year if you own a $300,000 home.  Washougal voters approved a 60¢ per $1,000 measure, and the extra 25¢ is used by Washougal to support additional emergency service needs outside of the ECPS.

Clark County collects EMS Levy funds through annual property taxes, and then passes those resources to the Camas Fire Department as administrator of the ECPS.  The law requires that EMS Levy funds be accounted for independently of the Camas Fire Department's normal operating budget, and can only be used for expenses directly related to the ECPS. 

The Camas Fire Department uses the EMS Levy funds to hire and train firefighter/paramedics, to purchase and maintain a fleet of four ambulances, to provide EMS training to all firefighters and first responders serving in the other fire districts with the ECPS area, and to provide and replenish all EMS equipment and consumables for the other fire districts with the ECPS area.

From time to time, when the EMS Levy renewal is required, we hope you will remember the times that your firefighters, first responders, and paramedics promptly came to the aid of you, your family or your friends and loved ones, a service that would not be possible without the continued cooperative support of the East Clark County region's voters.