DAWSON CITY No one plans to require emergency medical services, of course, but those in Dawson who might find themselves in that need can breathe a little easier.

During the first week in November, some of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) volunteers in the Klondike quietly picked up their oversized radios and signed on for duty.

They'd signed off last July, following a protracted period of government inaction on complaints which they'd raised about the way the service was being run, and suggestions they had made to improve it.

The Dawson volunteers were responding to the announcement made by the Yukon government on Oct. 24 which transferred control of the EMS program to the protective services branch of the Department of Community Services.

It also promised to recruit full-time primary care paramedics for Watson Lake, Dawson City, set aside funding to train more PMCs, and deal with the thorny issue of on-call remuneration for volunteers when they sign on to carry radios for on-call services.

Speaking for the Dawson EMS group, Mike Perry, who has been on the team for seven years and is the co-supervisor, said he and his colleagues signed on again as a show of good faith.

There are four EMS volunteers working in Dawson, plus the full-time paramedic who was put in place to cover the situation here while the volunteers were withdrawing service.

Perry has been told someone will be here in that capacity until the local crew has polished its skills, recruited some more people, and is ready to handle the job again.

After that, it hoped that the government will soon be hiring at least one full-time person to be on site in Dawson.

'That was a big issue for us,' Perry said, adding that funding for training is the second key issue here.

'We haven't had anything in writing yet but apparently we're to have a PCP here until we're ready to take over the reins.'

Later, he understands, some $60,000 is supposed to be put into funding training and paid time for those who wish to take it.

'There's still a lot of ifs,' Perry said. 'I want to make sure that we're not left high and dry just because we decided to settle.'

He doesn't want to hear anyone say the problems are solved and the rest will be dealt with when someone in authority has time for it.

'That's not an option.'

Promises have now been made by the government, he noted. If those promises aren't kept, the government now seems to understand that the EMS crews will, on principle, walk away from the job rather than having to face burnout and the sense that they aren't doing as good a job as they could be doing with proper support.

'I hope that this is just the start of better things,' Perry said.

Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers said in an interview this morning his department appreciates both those who have gone back to volunteering and those in all Yukon communities who provide ambulance services.

Attendants in Watson Lake have not returned to the ambulance service after walking out earlier this year, Cathers said.

Generally, the feedback to the government's offer has been positive to date, he added, but the department is continuing to wait for feedback from volunteers on it.

'That proposal is still being reviewed,' he said, adding the government will give the volunteers the time they need to review the offer and decide how to proceed.

The government is looking forward to finishing negotiations and helpfully moving forward with a positive agreement, he said.

Stephanie Waddell contributed to this story.