New Year Brings Changes to Fire District No. 2

WAITSBURG – As of midnight, Dec. 31, the Waitsburg City Fire Department and the Waitsburg Ambulance Service ceased to exist. The services those entities provided are now covered by Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District No. 2.

On New Year's Day, The Times sat down with Chief Jim Callahan and his son, Assistant Chief Brian Callahan, to talk about the changes – or lack thereof – to expect in 2016.

Background

Jim, who has been either assistant fire chief or fire chief for all three fire entities for over 20 years, opened the conversation by offering a "short history" of the department.

"When I first took over as chief, all these entities we're dealing with – city fire, Walla Walla No. 2, Columbia County No. 2, and the ambulance service – were housed under one roof and most people in the city thought they were one department. It was all the same personnel pretty much. The ambulance was a separate entity, but we housed them here, so when the ambulance rolled out, most people thought it was part of the fire department."

Jim said the first time people really noticed the separation between the fire department and ambulance service was when the Waitsburg Ambulance Service began experiencing "growing pains" and moved to a new location on Preston Avenue.

"To me, everything is all kind of coming back together again. Although now it's formally all under one umbrella," he said.

That "one umbrella" is Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District No. 2 which is, technically, two separate entities. For bookkeeping purposes, funding, assets, and expenses must be tracked separately for each county. That means Columbia County Fire No. 2 can own a percentage of a fire engine and Walla Walla Fire No. 2 can own the remainder.

Jim said that pretty much the only place the separation comes into play is on paper. For all intents and purposes, they consider themselves simply Fire No. 2.

Jim said they had previously gone by Walla Walla – Columbia County Fire No. 2 until an audit revealed that the counties must be listed alphabetically. Now Columbia comes first.

Jim led us on a tour through the fire station, noting which portions belonged to which entity as of pre- and post- new year. The north end of the building, where the commissioners meet, was purchased by Columbia County, the center bay and meeting area was owned by the City of Waitsburg, and the southernmost bays belonged to Columbia-Walla Walla Fire No. 2.

"Now it's all just Fire No. 2. This building is now Station 21 and the former ambulance building is Station 22," Jim said.

Fire No. 2 also owns the 14 fire/EMS apparatus, including ambulances, fire engines, and water tenders.

Personnel

Each county has its own set of commissioners. Columbia County Fire No. 2 commissioners are Deb Fortner, Bruce Abbey, and Jim Hickam. Walla Walla Fire No. 2 commissioners are Jake Long, Jim Leid, and Jerry Baker.

The stations are currently operated by 33 volunteers. Chief Jim Callahan, Assistant Chief Neil Henze, Assistant Chief Brian Callahan, and Captain John Watts have served as officers for approximately seven years. A roster hanging in the Station 21 meeting room also lists several "honorary volunteers."

"I've been with the department for 20 years, but some of these guys – like Louie Gagnon – have been here going on 40 years," Jim said.

Jim said that all the former ambulance service personnel have already gone through the process to become Fire No. 2 volunteers.

Money

Jim said the department will receive more funding than they have in past years, but the biggest change – because they will know just how much to expect – will be the ability to budget and plan for the future.

"This is a big change for us," he said. "Before, our budget could change depending on the city's budget. Now we know how much we will get each year through taxes. That makes it easier to develop 10-, 15-, and 20-year plans. Now we can plan to replace equipment and gear.

"Before we couldn't do that," Jim added. "Anything I didn't use went back into the city's general fund at the end of the year. A lot of the time I didn't have the money to buy what I needed so I didn't buy it."

One set of structure-turnout gear (protective equipment and clothing used for structure fires) runs about $2,200. And each set expires in ten years from the date of manufacture and has to be thrown out, whether it's been used or not, Jim said.

He said the new financial structure will make it possible to set money aside each year for future large capital outlays such as ambulance replacements.

Volunteering

Jim said the department's top priority is to recruit more volunteers, especially those willing to obtain EMT certification. Department volunteers can apply to work wildland fires only, structural fires only, EMS only, or any combination of the three.

Of the 33 current volunteers, the department has two EMTs, two AEMTs (advanced EMT), and an emergency medical responder (with slightly less training than an EMT).

Obtaining EMT certification is a big commitment for both the volunteer and the department. Classes run four nights a week, from 6-10 p.m., and last one quarter, making it a significant time investment for the volunteer.

Because the training is also expensive, the department asks that EMT volunteers commit to serve for two years, following certification. If they have to leave before that time, they will be asked to reimburse the district on a pro-rated basis.

Fire volunteers receive a reimbursement of $10 per incident (regardless of how long they are on the call), which is paid annually. The EMS volunteers will receive reimbursement based on a newly developed point system.

Brian, who will oversee EMS services, said he doesn't expect the point system to come out to much more than minimum wage, but it will be more than the fire volunteers receive, and will be paid quarterly rather than annually.

Jim said two firefighters are currently in the process of completing the Walla Walla Community College EMT certification course, two more are interested in starting in the spring quarter, and two EMTs from outside the district have expressed interest in filling out applications to become affiliated with Fire No. 2.

"It's going to take more people to run the EMS side because we do not have full-time people there," Jim said. "And you won't see a huge increase in numbers (volunteers) immediately, because it takes a long time to go through the process to get certified. And once they come out of that they will still need to ride along and learn the ropes."

Both Walla Walla and Dayton dispatch services will receive copies of the Waitsburg EMS schedule so that they can know when Waitsburg is fully staffed and when the ambulance is running with a light crew, Brian said.

Changes

When asked what residents should expect in 2016, Jim said that an end to the $35 ambulance subscription service (which the department can't offer, as a public entity) and new decals on the apparatus' should be the only changes evident to citizens.