Wood River Fire & Rescue is a rural fire department which contracts with the Blaine County Ambulance District to provide prehospital emergency response.  The coverage area is all of southern Blaine County south of the East Fork Bridge to the southern county border.  WRFR may also be responsible in a support role for the care and transport of patients transferred to other facilities outside of Blaine County, for example to St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center or St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.  The northern area of Blaine County is serviced in a similar fashion by the Ketchum Fire Department.  On average more than 90% of WRFR’s emergency calls for service are emergency medical calls, and approximately 10% of emergency calls for service are structure or wildfire related.  WRFR receives non-emergency calls for service, such as good intent, false alarms, and other miscellaneous issues.

WRFR employs full time, part time, and volunteer staff, almost all of whom are trained as emergency medical providers.  Personnel pre-hospital emergency medical expertise includes Basic Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who perform many lifesaving skills, Advanced EMTs who are also trained to secure a patient’s airway and give fluids intravenously, and Paramedics who are sufficiently trained to deliver emergency care at a level similar to a physician.