By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- As Spokane, Washington, builds its own 911 dispatch system after ending its county dispatch contract, IAFF Local 29 President Michael Walker says the city may drop EMT certification requirements for new fire and medical dispatchers.
- Walker argues that county dispatchers have misjudged call urgency since Spokane outsourced fire dispatch in 2022, citing a Sunday incident in which paramedics and police were not initially sent to a stabbing victim reported as someone who had “fallen.”
- The dispute centers on which union — Local 29, representing firefighters, or Local 270, representing the city’s largest employee group — will represent newly hired dispatchers, a question before the state Public Employment Relations Commission this week.
- Mayor Lisa Brown and Deputy City Administrator Maggie Yates say dispatcher qualifications, including CPR training and emergency medical dispatch certification, will be set through the city’s civil service process regardless of which union prevails.
- Walker maintains that EMT certification represents a materially higher training standard than the emergency medical dispatch certification the city has described.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane’s firefighters union says the city’s plan for a new, self-run 911 dispatch system could drop EMT certification requirements previously required of city fire dispatchers, a change union leaders argue could compromise public safety.
IAFF Local 29 President Michael Walker said the quality of dispatch service declined after Spokane outsourced its fire dispatch operations to the county’s 911 system in late 2022. He cited a Sunday call in which his four-person crew was dispatched for a report of someone who had “fallen” behind a business, only to find the person had been stabbed; paramedics and police were not initially sent because that detail wasn’t relayed, according to Walker. He said the county’s dispatchers have, in his view, misjudged call urgency often enough to raise safety concerns, at times prompting firefighters to use lights and sirens unnecessarily or downplaying genuine emergencies.
Under the city’s previous in-house dispatch system, fire and medical dispatchers were uniformed firefighter union members required to maintain CPR and EMT certifications — training Walker said allowed them to adapt to evolving emergencies and ask the same questions firefighters would. As Spokane transitions away from the county system, Walker said firefighters had expected a return to that model, with new dispatchers represented by Local 29.
Instead, the city believes newly hired fire and emergency dispatchers should be represented by Local 270, the union already representing the city’s in-house police dispatchers and its largest employee group. Mayor Lisa Brown described the matter as a “jurisdictional question” between the two unions, to be resolved by the state Public Employment Relations Commission, which is holding hearings this week; a timeline for a decision has not been set.
“The qualifications of our dispatchers will be top-notch,” Brown said. “The plan is to have them be highly trained and qualified and have appropriate certifications.” City spokeswoman Erin Hut said all new emergency call takers, regardless of union representation, will receive CPR training and emergency medical dispatch certification, adding that hiring qualifications will be determined through the city’s civil service process and are unrelated to which union represents the position.
Walker disputed that the two issues are separable, saying in a text message that Local 29 would require EMT certification for new hires because it “produces better quality dispatch and is best for quality of care.” He said EMT certification represents a significantly higher training standard than the emergency medical dispatch certification the city has described. Asked why the city appeared to be moving away from the EMT requirement, Brown pointed back to this week’s hearings, saying, “We’re not going to have a back and forth with the union president on this issue.”
