COVID-19 prompts Fire District 13 return to Zoom

The coronavirus pandemic continues to make its presence felt and not just in the number of new cases recorded across Skagit County over the past month.

The virus crisis forced Fire District 13 to run smaller crews in early February and its three-member board of commissioners returned to a remote monthly meeting format last Friday.

Chair Bruce Shellhamer logged in from a hotspot on Whidbey Island and faded in and out during the hour-long session.

Those breaks were so frequent that fire chief Wood Weiss offered to provide musical interludes.

“I’ll start playing my guitar when he leaves,” Weiss quipped at one point.

Shellhamer thanked commissioners for their patience.

“I apologize for being invisible,” he said, as his image did not appear on screen due to the technical issues. “I look forward to us all being able to meet together again.”

Weiss said that 2,195 positive cases had been recorded in Skagit County between Jan. 11 and the first part of February. He said there were 286 cases on Swinomish Reservation alone during that same period.

“Lots of stuff has been going on lately,” said Weiss. “We’ve had quite a few people come down with cases. We had to run smaller crews, just three of us, for a while. We kept things going, but there were a couple weeks where it was bad.”

In January, fire district crews responded to 101 service calls and provided 28 patient transport runs to medical centers. Weiss said the omicron variant of COVID-19, while relatively mild, has afflicted a significant number of people in Skagit County.

“It’s hard for people to understand it,” said Weiss, noting that local hospitals have felt the impact. “You don’t see people keeling over in the street, but it’s here. The good news is we’re seeing those numbers start to drop.”

The budget and long-range expansion plans for the district’s Snee Oosh Road station were the main focus. First priority is installation of a modular four-bedroom residential unit for staff on overnight shifts.

“Pricing is all over the place,” said Weiss, noting the design is unique.

Weiss and Commissioner John Doyle said delivery on such a special unit order could take close to a year.

The COVID-19 surge has required postponement of Wednesday training meetings. District officials are optimistic those can be resumed shortly.

Tentative plans are in place for wildland fire training this spring. In addition, Brian Geer of the Swinomish Department of Emergency Management is hopeful that the tribe and fire district can team up this year for oil spill training.

Fire District Capt. Ted Taylor saluted Geer for finding a secure location to house the fire district’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trailer.

Assistant fire chief Jamie Jurdi reported the district had auctioned off a surplus ambulance for over $9,000. “We were hoping to get $6,000 or $7,000 for it,” he said, “and we got a lot more.”

District Secretary Tracy Berg said Good Morning District 13 coordinator Gary Ladd is declining compensation for his role as community relations officer, preferring to serve as a volunteer.

Scopa thanked District 13 responders for their yeoman work during the pandemic. “I know a lot of people have had to work a lot of hours,” she said, “but folks can only do so much. I really acknowledge all the extra time folks have put in, but they also have to take care of themselves and not get overextended and be at risk of fatigue.”