Fire District 13 will not join Anacortes study

Fire District 13 and the Anacortes Fire Department enjoy a strong working relationship.

But theirs is, in the truest sense, a limited partnership.

On Thursday, Sept. 8, commissioners opted not to join Anacortes in a comprehensive operations and services study, which was designed to address the feasibility of the two departments jointly developing a fire station in the March Point area.

The commission had entertained for the past month a proposal that FD 13 participate financially in the study, a plan Anacortes Fire Chief Bill Harris and former chief Richard Curtis presented in August.

“They invited us to join in and participate in an overview of the service area,” said Commission Chairman Bruce Shellhamer. “We’re grateful that they were here.

“But we’re coming off our own five-year plan, well led by Capt. (Ted) Taylor, and feel we’re in a very good position moving forward,” Shellhamer added. “My concern is the cost of the study, which would not be insignificant to us, and joining in the cost of building a fire hall.

“To me,” he said, “it just feels a little premature.”

Shellhamer said he feared the district would incur debt by taking part in the Anacortes plan.

Commissioner J.J. Wilbur concurred.

“I value our relationships with other services, but I share your concern,” Wilbur told Shellhamer. “I look forward to working with Anacortes in other ways.”

With Commissioner John Doyle absent, Shellhamer and Wilbur agreed to draft a letter “gracefully declining” the offer.

District Fire Chief Wood Weiss supported the commission action.

“I’m in line with that, too,” he said.

The commission later agreed with the chief’s plea to implement signing and retention stipends to help curb the loss of district personnel to career departments.

While language must still be crafted by legal counsel, stipends will add compensation for those who commit to remaining with the district for a pre-determined period.

“A lot of people are being hired right now,” Weiss said, “and it won’t be slowing down. We have to react to it. It’s beating us down.”

The commissioners endorsed the concept of loyalty stipends to retain district personnel who otherwise might be tempted to hire on with larger departments.

As an example, Shellhamer said he has been told that the Bellingham Fire Department is on the verge of a major hiring campaign.

“They’re looking to hire 30 people this year,” he said.

“It’s the world we live in today, post-COVID,” Wilbur said. “Wages are rising. Demand (for labor) is there, not just in this industry, but in all industries, for employment. We have to invest in our people and keep them here.”

Career departments are now hiring personnel with as few as six months experience when before a new firefighter-first responder would typically log two years before being recruited.

Shellhamer suggested that the commission could call a special meeting prior to the panel’s Oct. 13 session if more specific language and stipend amounts are formulated between now and then.

In other business, Weiss said FD 13 and the Town of La Conner and McLean Road fire departments are planning a tri-department structure fire training drill in October.

Taylor, in his district emergency management report, said there is “development of a communitarian spirit” under way to help residents embrace the teamwork and communication skills necessary to effectively respond to major earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Additionally, former commissioner Bobbie Scopa has released her book, “Both Sides of the Fire Line,” Weiss said, with Scopa having signed books in Anacortes.