The greatest challenge for any fire department across America is to consistently work to reduce response times to citizens in need.  Studies show that for every minute of delay after a cardiac arrest, the survival rate is decreased 10%.  For every minute of delay in getting to a burning home, the fire doubles in size.

In outlying North Mason areas, whether it’s getting to the Tahuya River Valley or Twanoh Falls, our response times are often in excess of 13 minutes.  This is OUR #1 CONCERN for our citizens going forward in 2008 and beyond.  We need to get to you quicker.  After numerous community meetings, analyzing different funding options and staffing level needs as well as considering the invaluable feedback from the ‘Citizens Advisory Committee’ we believe we have found the solution. 
 

The District #2 fire commissioners have approved moving forward with a levy ‘lid lift’ to replace the expiring BAC funding level and add an additional 31 cents per thousand.  This will raise the $330,000 necessary to add 5 career firefighters.  “Without question, this WILL provide added coverage and reduced response times while improving our ability to deal with a growing number of calls throughout our district.” Said Chief Beau Bakken.   Last year, Fire District #2 responded to 200 more calls than we had in 2006 and we expect this trend to continue over the coming years. 
 

In the past, District 2 chose the BAC format for funding a portion of their annual budget after suffering a loss of voter approved funding due to proration from Mason County in 2002.  Since that time, the state has passed legislation which essentially eliminates  the threat of future proration.  “The state has now changed some things that really protect the ‘voter approved’ fire district funds” said fire commissioner Kelly McIntosh  “We are happy to return to the more traditional funding model to support our services to the community.” she added.

The need to add firefighter / EMT responders is paramount to addressing the goal of added coverage and decreased response times.  While District 2 has and will always rely on assistance from a quality group of ‘support’ volunteers and the district will still maintain an active and appreciated volunteer organization, state and federal training mandates have significantly reduced the number of qualified individuals able to respond on a regular basis.  Our district is at a point where we must increase our full-time Firefighter / EMT staffing levels in order meet the needs of the citizens.

In addition, District 2 serves a 99 square mile region which is geographically split by the Hood Canal.  Given this challenge, we are often faced with the difficult task of responding to calls on opposite shores with a limited or split staff. This geographical and service delivery challenge was never more evident than during the 72 hour search & rescue efforts on the Tahuya Peninsula in the December 2007 storm.    This levy ‘lid lift’ would directly address this challenge and the need to consistently split our Emergency Response Teams thereby decreasing our response times which equates to saving lives and property.
 

“Our district is growing.  Our call volume is increasing and our citizens deserve the best possible Emergency Response we can provide.  This funding will provide full-time professional staffing to accomplish our goal of decreasing response times.”  Said Chief Beau Bakken.  “The bottom line is, ‘saving time saves lives.”  He added.