An historic moment took place at last night’s Fire District 43 Commissioners meeting when the board unanimously approved a contract for services with the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.
The 20-year contract, which still needs to be voted on by the Puget Sound RFA Governance Board at their June 6 meeting, will help both Maple Valley Fire and the Puget Sound RFA. When approved, the contract goes into effect on October 1, 2018.
The contract for services that District 43 is entering into is similar to one that the City of SeaTac signed with Puget Sound Fire in 2014. Currently, Puget Sound Fire protects 60 square miles that include the cities of SeaTac, Kent, Covington, and King County Fire District 37 (Lake Youngs area). It does so with approximately 220 firefighters and 40 civilian staff.
This contract will help Maple Valley Fire in many ways, including: a cost savings of $1.2 million during the first year; the purchase of much needed equipment; the advantage of “economies of scale,” which allows per-unit cost savings, due to being part of a larger purchasing group – similar to the idea why people shop at big-box stores and buy in large quantities. The contract will also eliminate any more temporary station closings like we saw last year.
What changes can Fire District 43 community members expect beginning on October 1? The day-to-day operations of the department will not change. The public can expect the same high level of service that they have come to expect from their firefighters. In addition, the reserve firefighters (formerly called “volunteer”) will continue to play an important role in protecting the northern portions of the district as they always have.
At last night’s meeting, both Fire Chief Aaron Tyerman of Maple Valley Fire and Fire Chief Matt Morris of Puget Sound Fire said that they expect a smooth transition because of the ongoing cooperation between the organizations and that fact that Maple Valley and Puget Sound Fire work and train together on a regular basis. Both are members of the South King County Fire Training Consortium, so the firefighters are trained to the same high level which allows them to work seamlessly at incidents.
More information on the contract for services will come out over the next few weeks and months. Please check our website (www.maplevalleyfire.org) and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/maplevalleyfire) for updates.
