After hearing from residents inside a full-firehouse, Clallam County Fire District 3 commissioners say they’re going to take a wait-and-see approach to selling Lost Mountain Station 36.

The structure and property has become a possible option to sell for fire district leaders, who say it would help offset costs for a new Carlsborg Station 33 at the current Training and Operation Center property. They said it would host more staff to respond to Lost Mountain, too.

Fire commissioners and interim fire chief Dan Orr answered questions from more than 30 residents on Oct. 9 inside the Lost Mountain station at 40 Texas Valley Road, located about six miles south of U.S. Highway 101.

A majority of the residents expressed concern about closing the station for fire and medical calls, despite it being used for storage for about a decade and without staffing of a regular volunteer since 2021.

Resident Tom Harris said having the station is an ease on the mind of residents, and one of the few places a helicopter could land in the area during an emergency.

“I feel it’s incredibly important to keep it,” Harris said. “If it sells, we’re not going to get it back.”

Fire commissioners expressed surprise at the turnout. District officials said 379 fliers went to area residents about the meeting. It stated that the district must have six volunteers who meet certain standards and live within a 5-mile radius of the station in order to be considered an active volunteer station.

“The commitment is very, very high,” Orr said at the meeting.

For training, firefighter volunteers must train two nights a week, and all day on Saturday for four months, pass a physical, and complete drills once a month.

Commissioners said the average volunteer firefighter is in their 20s or 30s. Residents said the area had been mostly elderly people but there’s been more growth and younger people coming to the area.

Some residents expressed concern that the district’s letter indicated commissioners’ minds were already made up about selling the property. It stated that fire commissioners perceive the property “as an inefficient allocation of district assets” but they want to ensure “effective communication of their intentions and rationale behind the sale to the local community.”

Commissioner Mike Mingee said they were thinking about “reinvesting capital to meet up with growth without raising taxes,” but they aren’t in a hurry.

“We haven’t made a decision,” he said.

Mingee added that the “cost to maintain it is something none of us are getting benefit from.”

Resident Leo LeBlanc said he helped build the cupola atop the station to house the former schoolhouse’s bell, and he’d be sad to see the station sold.

However, he said he understood that when the station was built, being a volunteer was “a whole different can of worms.”

LeBlanc added this isn’t the only Sequim area to be served by water tenders, such as in Dungeness.

His request was that the bell go to the Dungeness Schoolhouse or Sequim Museum & Arts. Orr said if sold, they planned to give the bell to the museum.

Investment

Commissioners were also encouraged to invest in the area because of growing concerns for response times to the area and the danger of wildfires.

“We have to have paid firefighters where it makes sense,” Fire commission Bill Miano said.

Carlsborg station has three firefighters and will soon have four, with plans for the new Carlsborg station to accommodate up to six firefighters, district leaders said.

“I’d love to fully staff all seven stations, but we would probably need to quadruple taxes to do so,” Miano said.

Currently the district has three fully staffed fire stations, Orr said, with 10 firefighters on duty over a 24-hour period covering 142 square miles.

Last year, the district had about 8,700 calls for service, and district officials anticipate up to 9,000 by year’s end. Medical incidents make up about 87 percent of their calls, Orr said.

Fire District officials report that there have been 22 calls for service to the Lost Mountain since Nov. 6, 2022. Of the calls, two were for grass/brush fires, one for power lines down, two for smoke complaints for controlled burning, eight calls for basic life support, two for advanced life support, and seven invalid assists for support or there was no incident.

As for the area’s insurance rating, Orr said the station hasn’t helped lower the cost for homeowners for 15 years because of the lack of firefighter volunteers.

Miano said they removed a fire truck from the premise because the station didn’t have any volunteers, but they could bring one back if there are volunteers.

Mingee said Diamond Point residents face a similar issue and insurance rate because of the lack of volunteer firefighters there. He encouraged homeowners to check with their insurance agent to see if the fire station’s status impacts their rate.

Outreach

Residents also asked why there hasn’t been outreach to seek volunteers in recent years. They encouraged the district to send out fliers similarly to the letter about the meeting.

Executive assistant Lori Coleman said the district has done recruiting in the past, but it’s been more general.

“We won’t know until we ask,” Mingee said.

Commissioner Jeff Nicholas said the district can work with its volunteer coordinator to see who might be interested and set up a meeting at station 36 again.

On Oct. 12, Orr said they plan to send out fliers about volunteering to area residents in the coming weeks, and put out volunteer recruitment signs on roadways.

Wildfires

Asked about the possibility of wildfires with a close proximity to Olympic National Park and thick brush, Orr said they are possible in the area.

“We have a dire concern about next year,” he said. “If we have a heat spell, we’re worried about that.”

Resident Norm Baker said the only protection he sees from wildfires is on the homeowners to establish, such as keeping trees away from their house.

He also encouraged the district to strengthen its fire protection information on its website. Orr agreed.

Building, land

According to the property’s deed, the district is allowed to sell the parcel, Orr said.

Fire commissioners said its tentative market value is about $300,000.

Miano said they’re selling two pieces of land to help with the Carlsborg station’s cost.

In September, the district listed its 1.96-acre East Anderson Road property for sale for $165,000 that was slated to become a new volunteer Dungeness Station 31.

However, district leaders said they are looking at a different area that could serve residents better following call analytics. They also plan to seek rezoning for 5.1 acres on the 100 block of Sieberts Creek Road and sell the property slated to replace Station 32 on U.S. Highway 101.

Retired fire chief Steve Vogel asked commissioners at their Sept. 19 meeting to reconsider the sales, including station 36, because he believes them to be vital assets in their response areas. The sales would make little difference to the overall budget and future property acquisitions would inevitably become more cost prohibitive, according to district meeting minutes.

Work to move forward with a new Carlsborg Station 33 would tentatively begin in January, district leaders said. Once built, they’d plan to sell the existing Station 33.

For more about Clallam County Fire District 3, visit ccfd3.org.

Residents fill an open bay of Clallam County Fire District 3’s Lost Mountain Station 36 on Oct. 9 where they expressed concerns about the district selling the station.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Fire commissioner Mike Mingee with Clallam County Fire District 3 tells a crowd of more than 30 people on Oct. 9 that no decision has been made to sell Lost Mountain Station 36. He and other fire commissioners agreed that they wanted to see a volunteer firefighter recruiting effort before making a decision on the station.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Resident Tom Harris tells neighbors and Clallam County Fire District 3 leaders on Oct. 9 that “it’s incredibly important to keep (Lost Mountain Station 36). If it sells, we’re not going to get it back.”