Helping first responders help you.
That's one message South County Fire got out to the community Saturday during their annual open house in Downtown Edmonds.
The event at Fire Station 17 marks the beginning of Emergency Medical Services week.
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Fire officials say they want kids to have fun, but hope their parents take away information that can help them in an emergency.
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“With terrorism and active shooters, we can’t have just a few people prepared but we need entire communities to be prepared,” said Shaughn Maxwell, South County Fire Emergency Medical Services chief.
Fire officials highlight a new approach to first aid training, one that now takes less than hour.
They said knowing what to do in three key situations: opiate overdose, cardiac arrest, and bleeding control can be crucial in the first few minutes before first responders arrive.
Medical emergencies now account for up to 85 percent of calls for South County Fire which cover unincorporated South Snohomish County, Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.
With summer just around the corner, another concern for firefighters is wildfire season, which can take resources away from local communities.
“It’s hitting early and we are having a lot more fires on the west side of the mountains which I have never experienced in my career before,” said Maxwell.