A new program intended to help save lives has been launched by Richland’s Fire and Emergency Services department, and an upcoming blood drive is planned to help support it.  

The Blood on Board pre-hospital blood transfusion program is officially up and running, as of mid-October. Blood is now carried in a specialized cooler in Richland Fire’s on-duty battalion chief’s vehicle, where it can be brought dispatched to the scene of any emergency involving significant blood loss.  

Richland is the first fire-based EMS agency in Eastern Washington to bring blood into the field.  

The department partners with the American Red Cross to supply the blood products used in the program and plans to host blood drives twice a year.  

At a blood drive hosted in support of the Blood on Board program this spring, 144 units were collected, the largest single-day blood drive in the state.  

Richland Fire and Emergency Services is hosting its second blood drive from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 23 at Richland Fire Station 74. To register: richlandwa.gov/RFESBloodDrive.