The Heron Rural Fire District Board met last week to continue discussions regarding a potential quick response unit (QRU) within the department.

More than 40 residents attended the meeting, but there were few comments regarding the QRU. Almost 50 residents had attended the March board meeting and shared comments for and against forming a QRU. After the March meeting, the board came up with a list of more than 30 stipulations that would need to be met before they would consider moving forward with a QRU. Board president Paul Overman said the list will be given to fire chief Dan Bledsoe to review and the matter will then be brought up at the May board meeting.

At the April meeting last week, resident Lou Springer called the QRU “totally redundant” and asked why they couldn’t work through the Noxon Community Ambulance Service. “I’m not against first responders,” she added.

A flyer distributed to residents and on social media details the proposal to add a medical QRU to the Heron Rural Fire District. “Currently, HRFD is not dispatched to emergency medical illness calls or trauma calls other than vehicle accidents,” The flyer states. “This QRU proposal directly impacts how long you may have to wait for qualified medical help to arrive when you dial 911.” The flyer goes on to say that donations from Heron community members have been received and would cover the first two years of QRU operation.

Resident Peter Lopushok handed out a letter at the April board meeting. “There is no healthcare facility in heron or Noxon,” Lopushok wrote. “The solution is to train local people to respond to an emergency and go to the scene in their private vehicle. … There are a lot of people in the local area who would volunteer to be first responders, but we need the cooperation of the ambulance service and the fire department’s EMS capability as it is proposed now.”

In other business, Overman stated at the meeting that the railroad has been cleaning up along tracks in Heron and that the fire district is working with the Sanders County Commissioners to secure property for a planned expansion to the fire department building. The board also voted to move forward with an application for grant funding for new equipment. The department earlier received a grant from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for wildland firefighting gear.

The next board meeting for the fire district will be May 10.