One mission, one team.

What is EMS?

Emergency medical services are provided to you through the inter-workings of several different agencies and entities, all working together for a common goal: quality patient care. Agencies including the EMS office (training/certification), Medical Program Director (protocols), SUNCOMM (City of Yakima 911 call-center/dispatch), Yakima County Fire District #5 Dispatch, local fire departments/districts and Advanced Life Systems, American Medical Response and White Swan ambulance services, and our four local emergency departments. Associations who impact the EMS system with their work and recommendations include the Yakima County EMS & Trauma Care Council, the Yakima County Fire Commissioners Association, the Yakima County EMS Admin Board, the Yakima County Fire Chief’s Association, The 911 Admin and Operations Boards, the protocol committee, the quality improvement committee and the Yakima Board of County Commissioners. The EMS community is working hard to ensure that Yakima Valley residents have access 24/7 to high quality, efficient and effective prehospital responses and prehospital patient care.

Medical background

Here to Serve and Educate

EMS Office

The Yakima County Department of Emergency Medical Services or “EMS Office” offers initial training, ongoing training, and EMR, EMT, AEMT & Paramedic certification services to aspiring and experienced EMS providers, who are affiliated with a prehospital EMS agency.

The EMS office works in conjunction with a local Medical Program Director to provide prehospital patient care protocols, guidelines, operating procedures, and quality assurance to the community.

One mission, one team.

Funding

The Yakima County Department of Emergency Medical Services and your local fire departments fund emergency medical services through a countywide EMS levy. Yakima County has had a countywide EMS levy since 1991 when it was first voted on and approved by Yakima’s voters. Since that time four renewals of the levy have been passed, in 1996, 2002, 2013, and 2023. The current levy is due to expire on December 31, 2029.

By law (RCW 84.52.069), EMS levy funds can only be used to provide emergency medical care or emergency medical services. In Yakima County, 88.5% of the EMS levy is distributed among 21 fire departments to provide a revenue source for items such as apparatus, rescue units, medical and trauma supplies, rescue gear and tools, volunteer and full-time staffing, facilities and more. The other 11.5% is received by the Yakima County Department of EMS (EMS Office) which provides the annual training, required by all EMS providers, certification and recertification assistance, Medical Program Director, Quality Assurance & Improvement and administrative oversight.

In order to provide a fair and equitable distribution of funds to the varying fire departments throughout Yakima County a distribution formula was established. The formula consists of three parts; Assessed Value, Population, and EMS runs (aid calls).

County Wide EMS Levy Information | PowerPoint version

EMS trainee

Are you interested?

Becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

The Yakima County Department of Emergency Medical Serivces (EMS Office) offers two courses a year for aspiring affiliated providers.

Submit an EMT application with the required attachments to the EMS Office (see the announcement and/or application below).

If you are not affiliated with an agency that provides emergency medical services, the options for taking an EMT course would be a community college, university or technical school. There are programs located throughout the State. EMT Programs may be found by using a search engine online.

If you have questions, please contact the EMS office by emailing your questions to diane.koch@co.yakima.wa.us.

Looking for a Career Path?

EMT Careers

Most EMTs will volunteer in their community at the local fire department. Yet others will become employed by a local ambulance company or fire department. However, EMTs have been known to find work at emergency departments, general clinics, specialty clinics such as a burn center or heart center, FEMA, contracted by private industry and military establishments. EMT-IV Technicians have found employment at places such as the American Red Cross or hospital laboratory utilizing their phlebotomy skills. It should be noted that EMTs can only obtain and maintain a Washington State Certification by volunteering or being employed by an agency that provides prehospital emergency medical services.

The Yakima County Department of EMS is happy to assist in providing information to local EMS employers, however this department has no influence over the hiring practices of any entity other than this office itself.

For information and whether an agency is hiring please see our Agency Contacts and contact those individual resources.

Let’s Get Started!

Initial EMT Training

Due to state regulations, we are only able to accept students who are with a local EMS agency. If you are not with a local agency, you can use a search engine and look for “EMT Courses Washington State”.

Fall 2025 EMT Academy

Download the  Fall 2025 EMT Academy Announcement and Application

List of Places that Offer Emergency Medical Technician Courses

Advanced First Aid Course for Fire Department Personnel

The Yakima County Department of Emergency Medical Services periodically offers an Advanced First Aid Course for fire department personnel only.

Watch this space for the next course.

FAQ

Emergency medical services and the credentialing process for providers is ever-changing. If you are unable to find the answers to your questions here, please feel free to contact us.

The majority of EMTs in Yakima County volunteer for their local fire department or search and rescue. Some become employed full-time as a firefighter/EMT or by private ambulance companies. There are also EMTs working in law enforcement.

Employment in a doctor’s office or hospital emergency department is not considered “pre-hospital care,” and therefore, will not qualify you for EMT certification. However, many individuals work full-time in clinical settings and volunteer with a fire department or other EMS organization in order to keep their EMT certification current.

  • To take an EMT course from Yakima County, you must be affiliated with a prehospital EMS agency.
  • At least 17 years old when course begins
  • High School Diploma or GED at the beginning of course
  • Copy of a driver’s license or other photo identification
  • NIMS certification IS 100.c and IS 700.b
  • Health insurance that covers the student
  • Professional liability insurance that covers the student
  • WSP Background Check within the last 10
  • Drug Screening by Certified Lab within the last year
  • Current CPR-BLS for Healthcare Provider or equivalent credential (a class is offered before the course starts for those who need it). An AHA Heartsaver course is not equivalent.
  • Vaccination Requirements
  • 2 doses MMR Vaccine or a Rubella/Rubeola/Mumps Vaccine
  • 1-dose Tdap received after 2005 (must be Tdap, not DTP/DTaP)
  • 2-doses Varicella (Chickenpox) or history of disease
  • 3-doses Hepatitis B
  • 2-doses Hepatitis A
  • 2-doses COVID-19

  • At least 18 years of age
  • Copy of a driver’s license or other photo identification
  • Current CPR-BLS for Healthcare Provider or equivalent credential.
  • High School Diploma or GED
  • Successful completion of a Washington State DOH approved initial EMT course (course completion certificate needed)
  • Successful completion of the National Registry EMT exam
  • Affiliation with a Washington State DOH approved agency

We currently offer one EMT course per year, which starts in January. The course is designed primarily for members of Yakima County fire agencies and others affiliated with pre-hospital care providers.

If you are currently a member of a Yakima County fire agency, contact your department’s Training Officer for information regarding future EMT courses with the Yakima County Department of Emergency Medical Services.

Application for Initial EMT Training

The Yakima County Department of Emergency Medical Services has a DOH approved Ongoing Training & Evaluation Program (OTEP). The yearly requirements, starting with 2022 are as follows:

Quarterly Training consisting of:

  • 1 Didactic Module
  • 1 Workshop

There are a total of 4 didactic modules and 4 workshops each year. Training must be completed each quarter per WAC 246-976 and the medical program director. Failure to comply with the requirements will result in OTEP being converted to CME and having to take a NREMT Assessment Exam.

The OTEP provided meets both NREMT and Washington State recertification requirements.

Makeups for the Workshops will be held each quarter at various locations. Consult the training schedules for dates/times/locations.

Please note: No more than 2 workshops may be completed in a single day. The workshops are open to all Yakima County EMS providers, unless other specified by the fire district or agency.

Calendar of OTEP & EMT courses

Yes, Advanced EMT.

Look on your certification card for the expiration date. You may start the process 3 months in advance. If you have questions, please contact the EMS office by email at diane.koch@co.yakima.wa.us

Contact – Washington State Department of Health –
Customer Service – 360-236-4700
hsqacredentialingreview@doh.wa.gov

You need to contact the paramedic program in order to determine the necessary requirements.

Washington State-approved colleges: doh.wa.gov

The average length of time is 3 years, which includes class time and field time.

Washington State-approved colleges: doh.wa.gov

Fire departments have been responding to aid calls for nearly 30 years. The reason for this is those fire departments are strategically located throughout your community and therefore have a very quick response time. In addition, local fire departments typically only respond to local medical aid calls whereas local ambulance services respond to calls all over Yakima County. This means that the availability of local ambulance services varies from day to day, hour to hour and at times are all busy with other calls, but you will still have your fire department to respond to you when help is needed. A typical medical call requires a significant level of manpower to properly manage. For example, there are patient care tasks (taking vital signs, providing for patient comfort, or chest compressions), there is information to be collected (patient medications list, past medical history, and recent events or complaints), lifting and extrication, scene safety concerns, and special rescue to name a few. For all of these reasons the local fire department plays a key role in the success of a medical aid call.