Fire district leaders in Port Angeles and Sequim have agreed to a plan that sees three agencies automatically respond to and/or back each other up during a structure fire.
The move for an Automatic Aid Operational Plan started at a June meeting between Clallam County Fire District 2, District 3, and Port Angeles Fire District leaders and elected officials where they agreed to work with PenCom, Clallam County’s 9-1-1 center, to better collaborate fire/EMS response depending on location.
In December, fire chiefs met to finalize the operational plan, according to Fire District 3 interim chief Dan Orr.
“Before, everything was by request to a fire,” he said. “The hope is now it saves time and gets more units in a general direction sooner.”
Previously, a responding agency would have to call for mutual aid.
Orr said the automatic aid wasn’t built into the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system that PenCom uses, so they’re still working with dispatch to implement it.
“The chiefs all seem pretty excited by it,” he said at a Jan. 2 District 3 fire commissioners meeting.
“All those pieces are starting to come into place, and we’re sticking our toe in the water, so I’m interested to watch and see where it goes.
“There will be long conversations about the next (collaborations), but I think it’s gonna go in a good direction.”
Derrell Sharp, Port Angeles Fire Department chief, said establishing the agreement “highlights the collaborative efforts our agencies have undertaken to enhance and strengthen relationships across jurisdictional boundaries.”
“This agreement will encourage and foster further coordination with regard to planning, training, operational readiness and emergency preparedness to ensure delivery of services in the most efficient and effective manner possible to our citizens,” Sharp said.
“Partnerships like this Interlocal Agreement have the potential to reduce duplicate efforts and further enhance each agency’s operational efficiency.”
Under the plan are four actions:
• If there’s a structure fire within Fire District 2’s jurisdiction, Port Angeles Fire Department would automatically respond with one fire engine to the incident, while Fire District 3 would dispatch an engine with at least two personnel to Deer Park Station 25 to cover both Fire District 3’s western area along with Fire District 2’s eastern area.
• When there’s a structure fire in the City of Port Angeles, Fire District 2 will automatically respond with one fire engine to the incident.
Fire District 3 will also dispatch an engine and at least two personnel to Deer Park Road Station 25 to cover both Fire District 3’s western area along with Fire District 2’s eastern area.
Both District 3’s resources could be redirected to a fire in either District 2 or the City of Port Angeles if needed by the incident commander, according to the plan.
• If there’s a structure fire in Fire District 3’s western area (Agnew to Dungeness to Sequim) for stations 31-34, Fire District 2 will automatically respond to the incident while Port Angeles Fire Department will cover its and District 2’s area from Station 11.
• For a structure fire in the response areas of Diamond Point station 35 and Blyn station 37, a District 3 battalion chief or captain will call for mutual aid from East Jefferson Fire and Rescue.
Orr said he’s planning to reach out to East Jefferson Fire and Rescue leaders about creating a similar agreement for automatic aid response in each other’s jurisdictions.
Community paramedicine
This spring, Battalion Chief Elliott Jones and Medical Safety Officer Kolby Konopaski will present to District 3 fire commissioners about starting a Community Paramedicine program, according to district documents.
Orr said it will be similar to Port Angeles Fire Department’s Community Paramedicine program that started in 2019. According to the Peninsula Daily News, a paramedic meets regularly with heavy users of the 9-1-1 system, checking vital signs, reviewing medications, assessing general health and living conditions, providing wound care and making referrals for needed services, among other duties.
Orr said there isn’t a great system in place currently to intervene and help those frequently using 9-1-1 for calls, such as slipping/ falling.
A community paramedic could be referred by firefighters/paramedics after a call to help them navigate solutions for continued problems, Orr said.
“It could be a nice service for the community and help get them the services they need,” he said.
Neighborhood station
While still in an exploratory stage, Orr said in an interview he met with Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s leaders late last year about some potential projects including partnering on building a small fire station along Woodcock Road by the Cedars at Dungeness.
Instead of building a large fire station, Orr said they want to explore a “neighborhood fire station” concept with a home featuring three-four bedrooms and a garage to hold one or two apparatuses.
Following an assessment of ideal station locations, he said fire officials learned being by the Cedars at Dungeness made more sense for response times and the service area rather than at its recently sold East Anderson Road property because much of its response radius went into water.
Partnering with the tribe could entail them purchasing the property, constructing a home and leasing it back to the fire district, Orr said.
The tribe could also build it cheaper than the district because they have their own construction crews and don’t have to pay prevailing wages, he added.
“This would be a better use of resources and could serve the district well for 25-30 years,” Orr said.
“We could start with two people there who would respond quickly north of Woodcock and to Sunland and start taking the load off of (Sequim) Station 34,” he said.
W. Ron Allen, CEO/tribal elder for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, confirmed via email that staff are exploring possible locations for this project.
Election
Newly elected fire commissioner Michael “Mike” Mingee was sworn in by taking the oath of office on Jan. 2, following the November General Election in which he ran unopposed.
Chairman Bill Miano administered the oath of office for Mingee to begin serving his six-year term.
Mingee was appointed last April to Steve Chinn’s position after he resigned.
Also at the commissioners’ meeting, Jeff Nicholas was elected board chairman and Mingee vice-chairman.
For more about Fire District 3’s regular meetings, visit ccfd3.org/board-meetings.