What if you called 911, and no ambulance came?

The Paramedic ambulance service from the Camas Fire Department to serve the residents of East County Fire & Rescue, supported by an EMS Levy, is at risk of being discontinued!

On ballots soon to be mailed and due back by August 19, 2008, voters who reside within the East County Fire & Rescue area will be asked to restore an EMS Levy to fund continued Paramedic ambulance service to the area.

The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Levy is not a new tax, it was approved by voters in Camas, Washougal, and the unincorporated areas of east Clark County back in 1979.  The EMS Levy funds all emergency medical services throughout the east county area, including local community-based Paramedic ambulance service provided by the Camas Fire Department.

The EMS Levy existed continuously through regular renewals via a cooperative partnership of all East County residents for 27 years, until 2006.  In that year, Camas and Washougal voters again renewed the EMS Levy, while voters in the East County Fire & Rescue area did not.

Since 2006, the Camas Fire Department has nonetheless provided unfunded Paramedic ambulance service to the East County Fire & Rescue service area, even though voters in that area no longer contribute to the regional EMS partnership.  But that is about to change.

American Medical Response (AMR) is the only other Paramedic ambulance service adjacent to the East County Fire & Rescue service area that is authorized to work in Clark County.  If the EMS Levy is not renewed and AMR takes over:

This means that without the EMS Levy there is potentially no ambulance coming to an emergency in East County!

Imagine holding the hand of a gravely injured or dying loved one in your family, helpless and waiting perhaps an hour or more for an ambulance while hoping it does not get called away to another emergency.