Rescue 72: Making an impact

A Rescue is an ambulance or truck-style vehicle, smaller than a traditional fire engine, staffed by a Fire Lieutenant and an EMT/Paramedic carrying equipment for medical calls (its primary response) and firefighting gear. In Gresham, a Rescue is not licensed to transport patients, but its smaller and lighter profile sometimes allows it to reach challenging places than engine units more easily. Rescue 72 began operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in July 2025, and permanently moved to a remodeled Station 72 in February 2026. The unit is staffed by levy-funded firefighter/paramedics. The vehicle itself was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, and is the second Rescue unit in Gresham Fire's fleet.

Fall 2026 update

• Since entering service at Station 72 in February 2026, through August 30,2026, Rescue 72 has independently resolved 630 of the 883 calls in which it has responded. The largest share of those responses were medical emergencies.
• On 503 of those calls during this span, the two-person Rescue 72 was the only dispatched unit.
• This represents a substantial relief for Engine 72, (three-person crew), which has been dispatched on 1,442 calls during the same timeframe, increasing its availability for the most critical calls. Without R72, this number would be 1,945, or roughly 10 calls per day.
• This increases efficiency, providing a rig better-scaled to each response.
• This also puts less wear and tear on our busy Station 72 crew members, allowing them to quickly assess which vehicle crew should respond if only a single apparatus is needed. Over the long haul, the addition of this unit evens out the call workload, gives firefighters important rest and meal breaks between calls and creates a safer and more sustainable work environment that translates to better service to our residents.