Benton County Fire District 4

We wanted to report back to our community about 2020 emergency call volumes for Benton County Fire District No. 4. In 2020, personnel responded to 1,686 calls, almost 5% higher than 2019. Emergency medical service (EMS) accounted for 67% of all calls. Benton 4 serves 20,000 people over 52 square miles, including the city of West Richland and its immediate unincorporated areas. We are independent of the city and county, and receive funding from a fire levy and an EMS levy paid through property taxes. In 2020, voters approved a fire levy lid lift to hire three full-time firefighters to respond to higher call volumes. These positions have been filled, and we’re seeing faster response times as a result. Voters also approved a bond in 2018 to build and equip a new fire station. That project is near completion, and we look forward to welcoming our community to the facility when it’s safe to do so. We appreciate the support of our community, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you and

February 8, 2021 marks the official retirement of Fire Chief Bill Whealan from Benton County Fire District 4. Chief Whealan’s fire service career spans almost four decades, the last nine years of which he served as Fire Chief for the agency that serves 20,000 people in the city of West Richland and its immediate unincorporated areas. Chief Whealan moved to Benton County in 2011 from Hemet, Calif. where he served as its Interim Fire Chief. In total, Chief Whealan has 25 years of his career in chief officer level positions in Nev., Calif., and Wash. He says that one of his greatest accomplishments during this time is not having any firefighter deaths or serious injuries under his watch. “That’s what this is about. Saving lives and property and bringing your people through each call safely,” said Chief Whealan. “There’s no greater accomplishment than that.” While at Benton 4, Chief Whealan increased the standards of medical evaluations for emergency personnel that were credited with s