Serving Washington County
Since 1953

Close Call - Oregon's Emergencies

Metro West Ambulance recently finished production of four half hour television shows that began airing in February of 1999 on NBC. Each show focuses on one of the four top reasons people call 9-1-1 for medical emergencies. The program, titled "Close Call ‚ Oregon"s Emergencies" take injury and illness prevention to a new, uncharted dimension. These highly acclaimed programs represent the first time an ambulance company have produced video recollections from past patients, coupled with unique videography, original scored music, and recognition of Oregon"s emergency workers.

Metro West is headquartered in the Dawson Creek Business Park, one of the region"s most interesting experiment of mixing technology with wildlife wetlands. Dawson Creek is truly an example of how Oregonians mix business with the outdoors.

Soon we will post information on how to get copies of Close Call. For immediate information, contact Metro West.

History of Metro West Ambulance

MetroWest Ambulance is the oldest continuous owner operated ambulance service in the State of Oregon. Owned by the Fuiten family, Metro West has provided ambulance service since 1953, starting from a base operation in Forest Grove and expanding into a Washington County wide service in 1973.

The first ambulance was staffed by Funeral Directors and college students, many whom were completing their studies at Pacific University in Forest Grove. In 1963, Metro West grew with Washington County by expanding services to Hillsboro. Ten years later in 1973, Metro West combined with Butler Ambulance, a firm based in Beaverton, and provided services to larger segments of Washington County. Also in 1973, Metro West began a paramedic training program and replaced the funeral directors and college students with emergency medical technicians.

Growth continued with the further expansion of Washington County. Additional ambulance were added to serve Tigard in 1974; Cedar Hills in 1975; a second ambulance to cover Hillsboro in 1977; finally adding Tualatin and Aloha as sesrvice areas 1979. In 1980, the state issued a common pre-hospital care form to the private providers. The information collected on these forms became the first response time data. According to these forms, Metro West had the fastest response times to patients in Washington County.

In 1981, Metro West was awarded the franchise to serve the City of Lake Oswego and the surrounding Fire Districts. In 1987, Metro West was awarded the ambulance service bid in the city of Lincoln City. Service began in June of 1987. The service was previously provided by Lincoln City and supported by tax dollars. Ambulance service in that area is now supported by user fees only. In 1992 Depoe Bay was added to the service area. In 1996 Metro West moved its headquarters from downtown Hillsboro to the Dawson Creek Business Park in Hillsboro.

In 1997 Metro West was officially awarded the 5 year franchise for 9-1-1 emergency medical services in Washington County, and has received two contract extensions since that time.