Anacortes wants March Point fire station

Skagit County Fire District 13 Commissioners have expanded their summer reading list.

The three-member panel will focus in the weeks ahead on details of a proposed cooperative services study with the Anacortes Fire Department regarding future station construction and development in the March Point area.

Anacortes Fire Chief Bill Harris and retired chief Richard Curtis asked commissioners at their hybrid meeting Aug. 11 to jointly develop a study addressing the feasibility of the two departments staffing a shared facility at March Point near the district’s present Summit Park station.

Curtis said Anacortes and Fire District 13 have overlapping firefighting and emergency medical services in the area and wondered if it would be more efficient if the two departments combined forces there and worked “side-by-side.”

“Everything is up in the air,” he insisted, “but Anacortes would want to build there regardless.”

Curtis estimated the comprehensive study would take six months to complete and feature extensive data collection related to potential shared services. The study would include examining dispatch process and response times for each department, he said.

If District 13 were to participate, it would pick up 20% of the anticipated $50,000 study cost.

Commissioners took no action on the proposal.

“It’s a lot to digest,” said Chair Bruce Shellhamer. “It’s a big deal.”

Commissioner John Doyle noted that work has only recently been completed on the district’s new strategic plan, a project spearheaded by Capt. Ted Taylor, and that it should be referenced prior to reaching a decision.

“We should look at our five-year plan,” said Doyle.

Shellhamer agreed, vowing there will be “more discussions to come.”

Much of the meeting centered on increased stipends for non-salaried district personnel.

Commissioners approved an increase from $16 to $18 per hour for “shifters” and a $20 fuel stipend per shift.

The twin moves come at a time when district personnel are being recruited to fill positions at career departments.

“A lot of things are going on with personnel,” said Fire Chief Wood Weiss. “We’re getting people dragged off from us at alarming rates.”

“Every fire department is hiring like crazy,” Jamie Jurdi, an assistant fire chief, confirmed.

Shellhamer said the quality of service provided by its firefighters and emergency medical technicians makes their retention a top priority.

“Our income is up, we’re doing well with the budget,” he said. “I’d like to keep our people.”

He suggested doubling an initial $10 fuel stipend, mindful that District 13 personnel commute from as far as Ferndale and Kirkland to fill shifts.

“Is $10 enough?” he asked. “That’s just two gallons of gas.”

“Twenty dollars is a big deal,” firefighter Andrew Schram added.

In other District 13 news, Weiss said the district fielded 136 service calls in July, 25 of them involving hospital transports.

Jurdi shared a video of District 13 participation in fighting the Williams Lake wildland blaze near Cheney in eastern Washington.

“The firefighters there had to deal with temperatures over 100 degrees during the day,” he said.

Jurdi and Weiss praised firefighters Jackson Grande and Tim Wurtz, part of a strike team that logged 14-16 hour days on scene.