SEQUIM — Clallam County Fire District No. 3’s call volume has consistently increased by 6 percent every year for the past two decades, Assistant Chief Dan Orr said.
A recent service delivery study described the increase as “the single most significant challenge we face.”
However, a federal grant could offer a “proactive” solution to the call volume by allowing the district to hire up to six more firefighters, Orr said.
On Tuesday, Fire Commissioners James D. Barnfather, G. Michael Gawley and Steven K. Chinn found out the district was awarded a $1 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.
The $1,006,881 grant would cover about 75 percent of new firefighters’ wages and benefits for two years and 35 percent in the third and final year, according to a news release.
To accept the award, the district must ensure it has the financial capacity to sustain its current operations while paying for the partial wages the grant will not cover in three years and all the wages thereafter.
“It’s ‘free money,’ but we are obligated as a district to provide some of that pay,” Orr said.
Orr said the district’s finance director has been working “feverishly” to determine whether the grant will be financially viable.
At 1 p.m. this coming Tuesday, the board will conduct a special workshop in Sequim’s Fire Station 34, 323 N. Fifth Ave., to discuss finances. The meeting will be open to the public. It is not likely the board will come to a decision during the meeting, Orr said.
Commissioners must decide whether the district will accept or decline the grant by Oct. 1. If the board accepts, the district will have 180 days to recruit firefighters, according to the release.
In addition to the special meeting, the public can mail comments to the commissioners at Clallam County Fire District No. 3, 323 N. Fifth Ave., Sequim, WA 98382.
Currently, eight to 11 on-call firefighters per day respond to mostly emergency calls, Orr said, noting eight is a “more realistic” figure. Four to six firefighters on two different crews work in Sequim, two firefighters work in Carlsborg and two work in Blyn, he said.
In 2004, the district received 3,859 calls, and in 2016, it received 7,296, Orr said.
“We are not in a staffing crisis right now, but we have been working in that direction,” he said.
The SAFER grant could allow the district to form another response team, which would most likely be stationed in Sequim, where the greatest need exists, Orr said.
“Sequim is where the vast majority of calls come in, so that’s where the starting place would be,” he said.
Fire District No. 3, staffing two crews in Sequim, one in Carlsborg and one in Blyn, serves about 33,000 residents, nearly half of Clallam County’s approximate population in 2016 (74,570).
It also includes a portion of Jefferson County. Its 142-mile service area extends approximately 3 miles east of the Clallam County line into what was formerly a portion of Jefferson County Fire District No. 5 to about 24 miles west of the Deer Park area.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsula dailynews.com.
