This is an interesting letter pulled from the Post Record on Tues. Worth a discussion here as well.
“ECFR should live within its means
I am writing to express my disgust with East County Fire and Rescue, Camas Mayor Paul Dennis and Camas Fire Chief Leo Leon.
The first point of contention is their reference to the voters’ lack of understanding what they are voting for. Maybe they need to listen to the voters and realize the people are fed up with increased taxes and feel that ECFR needs to do a better job with the funds they already have. Why are you building a new station when you couldn’t afford firefighters?
We were threatened with having next to no service if the last fire protection levy was rejected, yet once it passed you can afford to hire new firefighters. Is it all or nothing?
The close vote was barely tallied before we were hit with the news of yet another levy being thrown at the voters to keep the ambulance service from Camas Fire Department.
Previous articles suggested it might be possible to use some of the fire protection levy money for this service. Now we are once again hearing the threats of all or nothing.
Either you vote to accept more taxes and keep the ambulance service from Camas or vote it down and be left without any ambulance service.
Why aren’t the commissioners seeking contract proposals from other ambulance service providers before Camas drops their service to East County customers?
Mr. Leon stated in the Post-Record that charges were increased in January 2007 to East County residents, yet in the next paragraph he states services are being provided at no charge. Which is it? In the same article, Chief Koehler admits he is already planning to try another vote in November if the August vote for Camas ambulance service fails. This is a waste of money. There needs to be a limit on how often increased tax proposals can be put on a ballot. People are tired of voting measures down only to have them back on another ballot a few months later.
East County Fire and Rescue needs to cut back on expenses and live within their means. Tired of ECFR’s bullying tactics? Please vote “no” for additional taxes.”
Keith Edwards
Camas
Sept. 2 -Primary Election is Certified
45 Comments
May 7, 2008 at 11:09 am
Regarding Camas Fire and ECFR, from Camas City Council Workshop Minutes April 21, 2008:
“Mayor said that he has been discussing the future of fire service with East County Fire and Rescue as the city continues to annex areas. Cursory talks will take place about the vision of shared services. They would like to discuss with Paul Lewis what financial implications there are and what the scope and outlook is. These discussions would concentrate on fire services, not emergency medical services.
Mayor confirmed with Anderson that a special board meeting was held with the East County Fire Commissioners and that it went quite well. There will be a fire open house during Camas Days weekend, a pancake feed, and a lunch at their new fire station. They will be providing an informational booth at Camas Days.”
http://www.ci.camas.wa.us/govern/agendapck/2008%20May%205%20Agenda%20Packet/WKSP%2004-21-08.pdf
This does not support the notion that Camas is considering any kind of discontinuation of our mutual aid agreements. Technically, Washougal and ECFR still have a mutual aid agreement as well, but in practice they have opted out.
But, I’m just a worn out hose jockey, what do I know? Sometimes, not much.
More to come, I am sure.
May 22, 2008 at 3:13 pm
First, this note from the CWPR reagrding talks between Camas Fire and ECFR:
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Fire department partnership talks are a positive step
By Heather Acheson
Post-Record staff
The Camas Fire Department and East County Fire and Rescue have once again opened the doors to discussions that could lead to additional partnerships between the fire service arms of the two entities, and down the road maybe even a consolidation of fire services.
Talks are in the very preliminary stages at this point, but the outlook is good that at the very least some additional partnerships and/or sharing of services could be on the horizon. It is an arrangement that has the potential to benefit the taxpayers, as well as the patients both departments serve.
Just a couple of years ago, a partnership possibility seemed to have fizzled for good.
In an effort that began in late 2005, it was the CFD, ECFR and the Washougal Fire Department looking into creating an expanded cooperative services agreement or full-out consolidation. After several months of meetings and discussions, Washougal officials abruptly announced that they were satisfied with the already existing cooperative efforts between the jurisdictions and did not want to commit the public funds or time to explore it further. It was an action that seemed to leave the issue dead in the water.
This time around, however, the situation involving the districts served by ECFR and the CFD seems primed for discussion of an expanded partnership. Namely, with Camas’ recent urban growth boundary expansion and annexation of more than 1,000 acres of land north of Lacamas Lake, additional collaboration between the two groups just makes sense.
In addition, the overall tone expressed by representatives of both jurisdictions is both positive and forward thinking. These are two qualities that at least at the outset could pave the way for a successful discussion.
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Some corrections/clarifications/updates and other thoughts upon review of this thread, in no particular order:
The decision to expand Station 5 was made prior to current Chief Scott Koehler coming aboard, and was being implemented just as he started. At the time, it made complete sense, as the Washougal Fire Chief at the time subscribed to the sensible approach of ‘closest unit goes’ and was willing to cooperate with ECFR… and the consolidation mentioned in the above article was beginning to form (the original scope of “East County Fire & Rescue” was to more or less merge Camas, Washougal, District 1 and District 9). At that point, the location in or out of Washougal was irrelevant because it appeared that all stations would be in a single department within a year or so. A few years later the WFR Chief bailed out (not a hometown boy and feeling the heat) and since then Washougal has gone its own way. District 1 and 9 kept the mantle and now after some time has passed, Camas wants in after all (ECFR didn’t start the talks).
Station 3 on 312th is in fact not the largest station as I had claimed. It has the largest truck bay, but a much smaller office/living area. The new Station 1 is the largest overall.
Station 5 is officially closed as of this morning (5/22). Last night was the last night shift, today’s day shift reported for duty at Station 4 instead. We will probably store some apparatus there – unstaffed – until it sells, because we have a few volunteers who still live close by and might be able to grab one of those trucks for a call, and because until the new Station 1 is open and a satellite station is opened, we do not have room for all of our apparatus. Interest is higher than we anticipated…. we can’t keep those real estate flyer holders stocked. Click here for the craigslist posting for Station 5: http://portland.craigslist.org/search/rfs/clk?query=fire+station&srchType=T&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max
Someone asked if Orchards Hills residents would have to pay for Station 5 twice (once as District 1 taxpayers and again as Washougal taxpayers). I still have not quite gotten my arms around this problem. Thankfully I won’t have to because Washougal is going their own way and not buying it. An interesting and thought-provoking question, though.
The first satellite station house has been purchased, it is located in Bear Prairie just South of where NE 28th St turns into NE Miller Rd. It probably will not open until late September or erly October (current owner has a provision to stay until his new house is built). When opened, it will house an EMS/brush squad and a 2,500 gallon engine/tender.
ECFR may be hiring an additional full-time person this Summer, but not as one of the afore-mentioned Captains or Lieutenants. This hire is contingent upon approval of a federal hiring grant. If approved, bear in mind that 100% of the funding for this position over the next four years is covered by the grant, and does not come out of taxpayers dollars. ECFR providing more and keeping expenses low….saving you money….
I haven’t made it clear before but I should do so now…. none of what I have posted here should be construed as any kind of official communication from ECFR. It is the ramblings/thoughts/observations/opinions of one member of ECFR, only. ECFR obviously should not be held responsible for anything I say!
June 6, 2008 at 4:01 pm
ECFR Volunteer; Or, should I ask a home owner that has a fire ……………What would be your choice: Washougal fire crew , with a Camas crew of 3 experienced firefighters OR…….Washougal fire crew, with an ECFR engine with little or no experienced cadets. When calling ECFR for help….You don’t know who you are getting…..we do know with help from Camas………..AND….about the idea of watching Washougal drive by your station on medical calls…. When ECFR DID respond with Washougal, ECFR (when getting there before Washougal) would just be getting out of there engines when Washougal arrived. HEY !!!! How much do you want to charge the home owners for arriving 10 seconds ahead of Washougal? I watched an ECFR engine blow by a house with Washougal right behind them…(of course Washougal stopped at the house….ECFR had to turn around and come back to the house). Bottom line is this….I am glad your gone out of the City also……….The Following is TRUE……The City will grow……The Districts will shrink….the Fire Department has no control over this………………….
One more thing, ECFR Volunteer: I hope the people who pay for your services in the county didn’t read your comments. I would be very upset if MY fire department was spending time resoponding to CITY calls. I would think that my money goes towards protecting ME……not the City. Dear Mr. County home owner….Do you know why they ran calls in the City? They didn’t have enough calls in THEIR DISTRICT to keep up their skills………..
June 20, 2008 at 4:21 pm
“The Yes On EMS Committee has announced an informational campaign to educate residents within the East County Fire & Rescue district regarding the upcoming EMS Levy restoration election.”
The City of Camas Fire Department and East County Fire & Rescue are not affiliated with this campaign, all funds for the campaign are from private donations, no taxpayer dollars are involved.
Please visit the following URL for details, answers to frequently-asked questions, and other important information:
http://www.EMSyes.org
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Protected Citizen:
If I have a fire at my house, I prefer having the best-trained people coming, but when seconds count there is great value in having the closest people coming, too. In my short time with ECFR so far, our training requirements have become much more demanding than they had been in the past. I won’t apologize or make excuses for the past, especially since it is before my time, but we are always trying to do our best and improve.
Your comment regarding an ECFR crew of “cadets” is completely in error. Our cadets are prohibited from driving apparatus at any time, let alone allowed to respond to calls alone. They are permitted to ride along and observe if there is room on the truck.
You are absolutely correct, however, regarding our trouble with staffing, this is precisely the reason we asked for (and received, thanks voters!) the Fire Levy restoration back to 2001 levels, to provide a minimal professional career staff 24 hours a day.
If Station 5 happened to be unstaffed when a call was received, I can see the 10 second interval you describe, but Station 5 was frequently staffed, and the three minute delay it takes Washougal to get that far is the difference between life and death when your heart stops and brain death commences in four to six minutes. I am not knocking my Washougal brothers and sisters, they are totally capable and they have great skills, but time kills.
We have all driven past addresses before, it happens to everyone. Us, Washougal, Camas, Vancouver, Portland…. it happens.
Yes, cities grow, and the ECFR district will obviously shrink over time. What is your point? Should we just close up shop? Sorry ECFR residents, this whole place will be annexed eventually in the next 40-50 years, so we’re out of here. Really, what would make you happy on this point?
ECFR did not run calls in the city “to keep up their skills”, it was because before the present Washougal fire leadership came into being, cooperation between us was common, and because the Clark County Medical Director, the highest authority over all EMS services and ambulances in the County, has standing orders (that Washougal chose to defy) that the closest EMS unit responds, regardless of district, period. And even supposing they did as you claim, “just to keep up their skills”, is there anything fundamentally wrong with that? Practice makes us better.
There’s a lot of hate and discontent here, and I am sorry you feel that way. I do wish you and others who let their discontent fly at us would check their facts before plastering them in the newspapers or on blogs like this, but I promise you, it won’t change my efforts to try to serve you or anyone else who is has an emergency and calls upon us to assist.
June 20, 2008 at 11:45 pm
ECFR Volunteer, You guys do an excellent job. We realize that you have limited resources and that you only have four full-time fire fighters. Three live in the area (Scott Koehler, Wes Long & Mike Carnes), the other (Dean Thornberry) lives in Battle Ground. So you at least have three full-timers who can respond to emergencies quickly. You also have a wonderful group of talented volunteers. People like Mike Green, Brad Baldwin, Larry Lehr, and others, who have extensive training, plus they know the county roads and many of the citizens by their first names. If I had a structure fire or medical emergency, I would feel confident in ECFR. One of the best fire fighters in the history of ECFR was Mike Blair. He was a valued member of the community and respected by the public. It is not clear why he was forced out of ECFR. For those of us who live on the east side, we miss old Mike. He was very reliable and he lived just a short distance from the Mt. Norway station. Is it accurate that Mt. Norway no longer has a full-time fire figher stationed there daily? If this is the case, I would like to re-think the vote I gave in support of the last levy increase.
June 21, 2008 at 6:26 am
Thank you so much for the kind words, but just the same I will be the first to acknowledge that we always have room for improvement,. Mike Blair left the department before I joined, so I cannot answer to that, but I never got the impression that he was forced out…. but I never claimed to know everything! I’ll check into that for myself.
While Station 5 on 39th was open, it usually had 24/7 staffing with part-timers and shift volunteers, and Station 4 on Mt Norway was often unstaffed because it has substandard living quarters and was not as busy. However, with the closure of Station 5, the mostly full-time staffing, as well as two live-in residents, have all relocated to Station 4 on Mt Norway.
Also, as a direct benefit of the Fire Levy lid Lift (thank you!), the money from that restoration to our 2001 tax level will result in hiring additional full-time career firefighters and you will have guaranteed 24 hour coverage out of Station 4 there on Mt Norway. However, although that Levy was approved already, we don’t actually get any funds from it until the next fiscal cycle, so those hires will not be aboard until shortly after the first of the year.
Thanks again for your kind words, they are appreciated.
July 15, 2008 at 1:10 pm
ECFR Volunteer,
Since you don’t think I have all the answers, Please answer the main question I have. Why staff stations in your district that are right on the border (Station 1-5 & now Station 1-1) when stations in the middle of your district (Station 1-3 and Station 1-4) would better serve ALL your people (after all, YOU said the closest responders are the best)? I realize that Station 1-4 will be manned now because station 1-5 is closed.
July 15, 2008 at 2:43 pm
ECFR Volunteer, I live in your district but I do not know the stations by the number designations listed above. Can you please tell me what properties ECFR owns and tell me by location, for example (Mt. Norway, Sunnyside, Bear Prairie or Fern Prairie). It sounds like you own 4 properties in the unincorporated area, or do you own more?
July 15, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Protected Citizen:
Thanks for your questions, but where did I say you ‘didn’t have all the answers’? None of us do, but I’m not trying to label you with anything. I think aside from the anonymity of a message board, I’d hope that we would probably get along great in person.
If we were not restricted by funding issues, we would of course prefer that all stations be staffed full-time. However, the reality is that right now we are usually only able to staff two stations. As such, we staff the busiest station on each side of the Washougal River. Following the implementation of the fire levy funds after the first of the year, we will always have 24/7 coverage at those stations.
On the East side, are (were) Station 4 and Station 5. While Station 4 is more centrally located geographically, Station 5 is (was) more centrally located demographically, meaning we are (or were) closer to more of our residents. And, as such, we were also closer to you (when staffed) than your own FD. Also, we have a great operating relationship with Skamania County District #4, and they have always been able to help us out with calls up in the Bear Prairie area above Station 4 because they have a near straight shot up the River Road – so the North end was generally never totally naked for coverage while we were at Station 5.
Likewise, while Station 1 is not centrally located geographically on the West side, is it by far our busiest station district and it makes sense for us to respond from there because we are closer to more residents demographically than Station 2 or 3. We used to staff Station 3 overnight while the new Station 1 was being built, and over and over again those guys were nearly always responding to the Station 1 and sometimes Station 2 areas, not so often to their own area.
We are currently accepting applications for resident firefighters, and after we get some more on board we will once again have live-in residents at Station 3, so that frequently we will indeed have coverage out of there as well. Station 2 is actually busier than Station 3, but that facility is literally just a garage, there are no sleeping or living quarters, so for now it is always unstaffed.
When the three new satellite stations (new 5, 6 and 7) are eventually opened and made available to resident firefighters (the new 5 opens in October) , there will be two stations with 24/7 coverage (1 and 4) , and up to four with part-time coverage (3, 5, 6, 7), leaving only Station 2 always unstaffed. We’re doing our best to improve, but always trying to look forward as well.
Good questions, thanks. Let me know if I can be of further help.
Help Me Understand:
We currently own five properties in the unincorporated area, and of course the one property in the City of Washougal (old Station 5) which is currently for sale. One of the five properties in the unincorporated area will be the new Station 5 in Bear Prairie, which per terms of the sale agreement will not be turned over to ECFR control until September.
Below is a written summary of our facilities, locations, and staffing. Below this written summary is a link to a Google Map with our stations that you can scroll around on and zoom in and out.
Station 1-1 (Fern Prairie)
600 267th Ave
Usually staffed 24/7 (always 24/7 beginning next year)
Station 1-2 (Mt Livingston)
4909 NE 292nd Ave
Unstaffed, no living quarters
Station 1-3 (Sunnyside)
121 NE 312th Ave
To be staffed by part-time residents
Station 1-4 (Mt Norway)
1808 SE 352nd Ave
Usually staffed 24/7 (always 24/7 beginning next year)
OLD Station 1-5 (Orchard Hills)
211 39th St
Closed, but still houses a reserve tender for now.
NEW Station 1-5 (Bear Prairie)
NE 397th Ave / Miller Rd
To be staffed by part-time residents
(opens October 2008)
Station 1-6 (Mt Pleasant)
No property has been obtained yet, but we are aiming for the Gibson Rd / Hans Nagel Rd area.
To be staffed by part-time residents
Station 1-7 (Jones Creek)
No property has been obtained yet, but we are aiming for a location on Boulder Creek Rd.
To be staffed by part-time residents
District Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=108208800616318278069.000448cf9a4ffbdc7ec89&ll=45.638047,-122.35611&spn=0.337027,0.52803&z=11
I hope this helps. Thanks all for the good questions. We’re at your service.
And again, it is high time I added this disclaimer yet again to this very long threaded discussion: None of what I write here is to be taken as any kind of official communication from ECFR. These writings are my own words, often slanted by my own personal opinions, and in no way (necessarily) represent the official positions of ECFR, its staff, or Board of Commissioners. … ie. these are just the ramblings of a worn out ECFR hose jockey trying to do his best.
July 15, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Also, unrelated, we are hosting an open house at the new Station 1 (600 267th Ave) on Sunday July 27th from 10AM to 3PM.
Life Flight is bringing in a helicopter, there will be a vehicle extrication demonstration, there will be a ‘bouncy house’ and visits from Smokey the Bear and other stuff for the kids. Food and drink will be available. Of course, station tours will be offered, and the event is being held in tandem with a fly-in and public event at Grove Field next door, where pilots will be offering rides for $10.
Mark your calender and come see us!
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