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Fire district upgrading to ALS care level

By Meg Olson

Fire district commissioners will ask voters to pick up the slack after the demise of fireman’s bingo last year and go beyond to improve response capability and the standard of emergency medical care.

At a special meeting February 17, all three commissioners agreed to put a measure on the November ballot asking voters to approve an additional 40 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation in taxing authority for the district. This would represent almost a doubling of fire and emergency medical services (EMS) taxes, now at 47 cents, taking the district from the cheapest tax rate in the county to the middle of the pack – eighth lowest out of 13 agencies, not including the Bellingham fire department. The current tax levy totals $237,325 annually; the new rate would increase taxes to a total of $439,924, an 85.3% increase.

On the high end of taxation rates for fire and EMS is $1.50 for Whatcom County Fire District #8, which serves 43 square miles northwest of Bellingham and handles approximately 1,100 calls per year. Point Roberts is five square miles and the department handles 170 calls per year, 70 percent of them medical. The levy rate for the local department is currently the lowest in the county, with the next lowest being Glacier Fire and Rescue, currently levying 51 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.

During a January special meeting, chief Nick Kiniski outlined what he saw as the future funding needs of the department, recommending the 40 cent increase to address three areas: keeping equipment up-to-date, starting a volunteer sleeper program to ensure better staffing and upgrading the level of emergency medicine available on the Point to advanced life support (ALS).

Commissioners were split on the last item so Kiniski invited Ferndale fire chief Gary Russell and EMS division chief Jerry Martin to the February 10 regular meeting of the commissioners.
“The reality of it is, you’re isolated out here from all the other fire districts in the county who could provide mutual aid,” Russell said. “You have a greater need to provide a higher level of service because you don’t have anybody nearby to help.”

Specifically, Kiniski said, paramedics with Whatcom Medic One do not respond to Point Roberts. Local emergency medical technicians respond in the fire district ambulance and either transport patients to meet up with Medic One at the Peace Arch or, if it is available, call the Airlift Northwest helicopter. The Point Roberts fire department is currently the only one in the county to have trained to the intermediate ILS level, but unlike ALS trained paramedics they cannot administer painkillers or cardiac drugs.

Sheriff’s deputy Brian Oswalt gave a very personal reason why Point Roberts needed a higher level of emergency medical service. In a recent medical emergency the local ambulance transported his wife to meet Medic One in Blaine. “She was in excruciating pain and all it would have taken to make her comfortable and lower her anxiety was a little medication,” he said. “I find it odd we are so isolated and don’t have a higher level of service.”

The move to ALS will be difficult politically and operationally, Kiniski acknowledged. While Ferndale has offered to partner with the local fire district they still don’t have their own paramedic system running due to political wrangling with Medic One. Kiniski said B.C. ambulance was also willing to work with the local department.

“We have a golden opportunity,” Kiniski said. “Can I guarantee 100 percent it will be successful? No, but I can guarantee the money will be used to improve emergency medical service.”
By the February 17 meetings all three commissioners appeared to have come around to the 40 cent increase.

“The district has been operating in a frugal manner in order to save money,” said commissioner David Gellatly. “We will continue to operate frugally and with the increase we can put money aside to establish programs that will benefit the community.”

Gellatly pointed out that there had not been a voter approved increase in the levy in 20 years, a time during which Fireman’s Bingo went from being a golden goose that paid for department facilities and equipment, to extinction. “We’ve been operating on what we’ve got and paying for things bingo used to pay for,” he said, such as a new ambulance and renovations to the fire station on Benson Road.

Kiniski said the district would need to convey to voters the need for additional funding to address current and future challenges. “The biggest question you get is, ‘you guys do a great job, why do you need to ask for more?’” he said, adding voters needed to be made aware that without more dollars to meet a replacement schedule the department would be operating with substandard equipment. Without a new staffing plan, dwindling volunteerism would further jeopardize the department’s ability to respond to emergencies.

“Without it, this is all we’ve got,” said commissioner Susan Brownrigg, “and the district simply can’t afford to upgrade equipment or service levels.”

Fire district commission chairman Bill Meursing said they needed to make outreach a priority. An open house is planned for July to celebrate the newly renovated fire station and Meursing recommended commissioners make plans to speak to local associations.

“It’s not going to be easy but it can be done,” Gellatly said. “Bingo is gone so it’s the only place we can get the dollars.” The last time the fire district asked for a substantial increase, it was criticized as a “Cadillac version” of small town fire service and voters rejected it. “We’ve got to make sure we listen to the people and what their concerns are,” Gellatly said.

Total taxes for fire, emergency health and the local hospital district will jump to $657,412 if the levy passes at the polls.