FD merger on February ballot

Edgewood’s fire department is looking to merge its services with the larger East Pierce Fire and Rescue, in order to provide better service and faster response to residents of the city.

The tax-increasing measure will be placed on the Feb. 9 ballot.

Fire department mergers are a growing trend in the local area, largely because smaller departments, like Edgewood’s Fire District 8, are unable to afford services such as paramedics and internal ambulance response.

Currently, Edgewood relies on surrounding jurisdictions and private ambulance services for advanced life support (ALS).

Merging with East Pierce would put an additional response unit and 24-hour in-house paramedic support in Edgewood’s firehouse at 10105 24th St. E.

Fire officials say this could greatly increase Edgewood’s ability to respond to fires and other emergencies much faster, potentially saving lives.

Edgewood firefighter Bill Sandlian said he has seen an instance where an ALS medic unit took 23 minutes to respond to an emergency not far from the fire department.

“There is no way I would accept that for my family,” the Edgewood resident said.

Because of the increase of fire department mergers, the need for private ambulances has reduced and many services have retreated to more rural areas, increasing the time it takes for a paramedic to arrive to the scene of an emergency.

According to a report from the Edgewood fire department, response time from private ambulances has more than doubled (from an average of 8:11 minutes to 16:42 minutes) from 2001 to 2009. On average, it takes about five minutes for firefighters from Edgewood fire department to respond to a call. This has stayed consistent since 2001.

The levy rate for all East Pierce customers is at the maximum rate the state will allow, $2 per $1,000 of assessed valuation ($1.50 for the fire department, $0.50 for ALS.)

Currently, Edgewood residents pay $1.56 per $1,000 in taxes to support the fire department.

Edgewood resident Keith Peterson, a former fire commissioner for the city of Fife, attended a public forum on the issue Jan. 13. Peterson said he was on the fire commission when Pierce County Fire Protection District No. 10, which provided services to Fife, consolidated with the Tacoma Fire Department consolidated in 1994. He voiced his support for the merger.

“That merger was a win-win deal,” he said. “I am 100 percent for this deal (between Edgewood and East Pierce). There really is no downside.”

Additional costs to citizens during a rough economy is one reason taxpayers may be skeptical of the merger.

Merging with East Pierce would cost an owner of a $250,000 home an average of $0.31 extra per day.

But merger supporters insist it is the best deal for taxpayers.

If Edgewood were to provide ALS independently, it would cost about $1 million a year for a medic unit, and the tax increase for residents to pay for the unit would be approximately $0.87 more a day in taxes.

Continuing use of private ambulances also comes at a cost. An average ride in a private ambulance runs the customer about $1,200.

Officials say that under the merger, residents of Edgewood would not be charged anything out of pocket for ambulance services, whether or not they had insurance.

Officials also say that if Edgewood does not approve the measure, they may lose some support from East Pierce that they already rely on. Edgewood fire officials say District 8 receives back-up support from East Pierce about 15 times a month, most of which is for ALS, when private ambulances are simply unavailable.

East Pierce Chief Jerry Thorson says if the measure fails, his department would have to “take a look and see if we could continue to support Edgewood without anything in return.”

Officials also stress that Edgewood would be equally represented by their current fire commissioners on the East Pierce board of fire commissioners (which includes Sumner, Bonney Lake, Lake Tapps and South Prairie), if the merger is approved, and department administrative staffing would not be cut.

Edgewood’s historic department would also be able to maintain its long-standing traditions and identity as the city’s first governmental agency. Losing the small-department feel under a larger service umbrella is a concern among some residents.

Following Edgewood’s inclusion in the East Pierce District, neighboring department Milton is slated to join in next.

“The merger makes

sense money wise and services wise. And we don’t want to abuse our mutual aid with East Pierce,” Edgewood Fire Commis-sioner Dale Mitchell said. “Other departments have maintained their identity (following a merger.) We won’t lose ours.”

If the measure passes, service will begin immediately. The new tax will not be collected until January 2011. This measure is part of a mail-in only ballot. Ballots were mailed out beginning Jan. 22. For more information about this merger, contact Fire District 8.

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