Behavioral Health Unit Expansion

Justin de Ruyter, Spokane Fire PIO, [email protected]

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 2:25 p.m.

Frontier Behavioral Health and the Spokane Fire Department are pleased to announce the expansion of their joint Behavioral Response Unit (BRU) program. The BRU pairs a Spokane Fire paramedic with a Frontier Behavioral Health mental health professional to respond to behavioral health crises, de-escalate situations, provide immediate support, and connect individuals to appropriate services.

In 2025, the BRU responded to 979 calls for service. Behavioral health crises, psychiatric emergencies, and overdose-related incidents made up a significant portion of these calls, highlighting the strong link between mental health and substance use emergencies.

The expansion includes longer service hours and the addition of two paramedics and one mental health professional. The BRU now operates Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The unit is dispatched only through the 9-1-1 system and is not available for direct calls.

"Co-response is about ensuring the right professional is part of the response at the right time. By pairing behavioral health clinicians with Spokane Fire paramedics, we're improving access to care, reducing unnecessary emergency system utilization, and helping individuals receive the support they need during some of their most vulnerable moments. We're proud to continue growing this partnership for the benefit of our community." Kelli Miller, CEO, FBH.

"Expanding Spokane Fire's Behavioral Response Unit is an investment in safer, more effective community care," said Fire Chief Tom Williams. "This program helps connect people experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises with the resources they need while ensuring emergency responders remain available for critical incidents. We're proud to continue growing a service that improves outcomes for individuals and our community."

The expansion is funded by Spokane County's mental health sales tax and administered by Spokane County Behavioral Health Services. The two paramedics hired for the expanded program are the first in Spokane Fire Department history to serve solely as paramedics and will not be cross-trained as firefighters. This staffing model expands behavioral health response capacity and reduces personnel costs compared to the previous cross-trained model.

For additional information contact:

• Justin de Ruyter, Spokane Fire Department, 503-505-2718
• Rachell Stenson, Frontier Behavioral Health, 509-570-8788

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