“We can’t do it without you guys,” said Dan Brattain, owner of the ground and air ambulance service. “We wanted to get you here and thank you.”

Brattain said that through his work with statewide associations, he realizes that the “harmony” the ambulance service has with the fire departments is unusual.

“Just this Saturday, we had call after call after call, and we had you guys there helping us all day long,” he said. “Our crews and your volunteers were pulling together; that’s what makes this thing work.”

Brattain added that through the comment sheets answered by their clients, he knows that the community appreciates the quality of care that results.

“They are 99.9 percent positive,” Brattain said of the call sheets. “On a lot of these calls, you guys are there too.”

The donations from Cal-Ore Life Flight included $500 each to the Winchuck, Cedar Valley, Pistol River, Agness and Cape Ferrelo fire departments, and $1,000 each to the Gold Beach, Harbor and Brookings fire departments.

The donations come on top of training and equipment that Cal-Ore already provides for the fire departments.

For example, Cal-Ore leases a former ambulance to the Brookings Fire Department for $1 a year, and has provided a “first responder” class to fire department volunteers.

“It’s been a very good marriage,” said Brookings Fire Chief Bill Sharp.

“We’ve made good strides this year with training for first responders,” said Joe Gregorio, general manager of Cal-Ore. “It’s a huge benefit for Curry County.

“If you have special needs for equipment or training, let us know,” he added. “It’s a group effort. Just to see what our area has going, it’s pretty neat, pretty impressive.”

The fire chiefs responded that with fewer fire calls in recent years, helping with emergency medical calls has kept volunteers busy and interested.

“For some of us,” said Tom Taylor of the Winchuck fire department, “about all we can do is put out a cone so you can see where to turn in the dark. But they’re our neighbors, and we want to help.”

Brattain said the future for handling ambulance calls has lots of challenges ahead, including Medicare reimbursements, and funding for law enforcement services such as dispatch and road deputies.

“If we have no law enforcement, who knows what we’re going to do,” Brattain said. “There are going to be calls where we don’t want to respond without law enforcement on hand.”

On the positive side, Brattain said he is pleased that Cal-Ore has been able to arrange trucks with supplies for response to mass casualties in both Gold Beach and Brookings, as well as training with the fire departments. “If we have that big mass casualty incident, we all understand what we can and can’t do. Hopefully it won’t happen, but it’s good preparation.”