(Bannock County Press Release, May 12, 2026)
When someone needs an ambulance, they want reliable, high-level care, and they want it fast. Bannock County is making moves to ensure everyone, regardless of where they live, gets access to that care.
The Current System: Volunteers with support from Pocatello paramedics
For decades, the Bannock County Ambulance District has contracted has contracted with the Pocatello Fire Department to provide EMS coverage for our rural residents using local volunteers within their respective communities.
The trained volunteers are stationed in Inkom, Downey, and Lava to provide Basic Life Support (BLS), which includes CPR, oxygen, and automated defibrillators. These volunteers have dedicated countless hours to helping their neighbors in need – leaving work, church, weddings, and family dinners to respond to emergency calls.
But when a stroke, heart attack, or severe trauma occurs, Advanced Life Support (ALS) is needed to provide the highest-level of emergency care, like heart monitoring, IVs, emergency medication administration, and advanced trauma care.
This system has worked, but with a few kinks.
First, volunteer reliability is declining, both nationally and locally, meaning BLS units aren’t always available for that initial response.
Second, the closest ALS unit to our southern communities is located in Pocatello — 30 minutes from Downey or Swan Lake.
Finally, the number of calls for EMS in Bannock County has increased by nearly 40% in the past five years.
So as volunteer availability declines and the need for high-level emergency care grows, it has become clear that something needs to change.
Three years ago, the search for a solution began. The goal: find a way to continue providing quality, reliable, and fast EMS care to all residents south of the Gap, without breaking the bank.
The New System: McCammon paramedics with support from volunteers
On April 30, the Bannock County Commissioners voted to establish a full-time paramedic crew who can provide ALS services at the McCammon Fire Station. The crew will serve everyone in and around McCammon, Inkom, Lava Hot Springs, Arimo, Downey, and Swan Lake.
By housing the paramedics in centrally-located McCammon, the wait time for that advanced level of care is cut dramatically:
- 3 minutes faster to Inkom
- 26 minutes faster to Lava
- 23 minutes faster to Downey
When lives are at stake, those minutes matter.
But these paramedics won’t be operating alone. The volunteer BLS crews in Downey and Lava Hot Springs will stay active to support the full-time crew when multiple calls happen at the same time. And while the ALS unit will be the primary responder, these volunteer crews will still be able to provide fast access to basic level of emergency care within their communities.
The Inkom volunteer unit will be retired due to declining availability of volunteers. However, those volunteers will have the opportunity to maintain their EMS affiliation by assisting the other crews, and the equipment used in Inkom will be repurposed for the McCammon crew.
Meanwhile, the Lava BLS unit is still struggling to recruit and retain volunteers as well. They currently have a 17.8% reliability rate for being available when 911 calls come in. So the Ambulance District is encouraging folks who live in or near Lava Hot Springs (and have a current EMT licensure or are interested in becoming licensed) to consider volunteering. You can complete the Volunteer Information Request form.
A Path Forward
The new system will begin operating in July 2026, with a target date of July 25th. In the meantime, the Ambulance District will begin hiring, training, and equipping the new crew while finalizing the specific details of how the new system will operate.
An exciting and long-awaited solution to ensuring the people of Bannock County know that help is just minutes away when they need it.
