Eastside Fire & Rescue shows off their new wildfire fighting rig at the Carnation Wastewater Treatment Center special community event. In a presentation to the Carnation city council (June 1) and in a follow up interview (June 11), Eastside Fire & Rescue Chief, Lee Soptich, discussed 2009 highlights and 2010 updates to services in Carnation.

In addition to new capabilities, Carnation will also be the first city of its size to become a Class 4 city. In few words, this is good news for the city.

Elite designation for Carnation

According to Chief Soptich, Carnation is improving from a Class 5 to a Class 4 city. Thisputs the city in a “very elite designation” since no other cities the size of Carnation are recognized as a Class 4.

“Other Class 4 cities are Issaquah, which is ten times the size [of Carnation] and Sammamish with a population of 40,000,” he said. “This puts Carnation in a very envious position for small cities.”

Eastside Fire and Rescue’s new wildfire truck in action in the field. The truck has four wheel drive, can spray water while moving and has spray nozzels on the front as well. The Washington Survey and Rating Bureau grades municipalities’ ability to fight fires. They look at “the whole effort” including a range of requirements such as code enforcement, fire department capabilities, inspection programs and water supplies. On the scale used to grade a city, where “one” represents the best and “10” represents no protection at all, most stations in Washington fall somewhere in the middle range (4-8).

“We have been working earnestly with the Survey Rating Bureau to try and find a way to improve that rating,” he said.

Moving from a Class 5 to a Class 4 has a direct outcome in that insurance companies would have the option to credit property owners with premium reductions. While residential properties are generally not affected, commercial properties could see improvements.

The change has been delayed because of the need for an emergency power generator that would be installed at the pump station. It would help operate emergency fire pumps in the event the city lost conventional power. Once installed, Soptich thinks it would be a matter of weeks before the new classification took effect.

“We think [becoming a Class 4 city] would be a real triumph and certainly a feather in your cap,” he told the council at its meeting on June 1.

New wildfire fighting rig, CERT dollars

Another first is the wildfire fighting rig that was purchased last year and is stationed in North Bend. While this type of fire engine is typical east of the mountains, it is one of a kind in King County.

“The rig has features that most fire trucks don’t,” said Soptich. “It can pump while moving, has remote operated nozzles in the bumpers so people in the cab can continue to fight fires while driving…and it has four-wheel drive.”

H e also com-

mented on the Carn ation-

Duvall CERT program.

“Last year was the first year Fire District 10 extended grant dollars in the amount of $2000/year [for CERT],” he said. Dollars have been allocated again this year to assist the program. Soptich said that this was CERT’s major source of funding last year.

“Thedollars closely compliment the work that CERT has done; it helps firefighters be more efficient during disasters,” said Soptich who is pleased with the direction CERT is taking.

Safe 4th of July, service levels

Soptich said they are working to make July 4th as safe as they can in regards to fire risk. Signs at the north and south ends of town will remind people that Carnation has banned fireworks. EF&R had one call last year – quite different from ten years ago when it was “literally a battlefield.”

Soptich also addressed concerns about future service levels. While other area fire districts have been reducing service levels, Eastside Fire & Rescue is not. He reported that the county assessor met with King County fire chiefs to let them know to expect a 4-10 percent reduction in property values. The assessor expects the down-turn to last 3-5 years. This reduction will “put a strain on agencies that are primarily funded through property taxes.”

“Maple Valley [Fire] is looking to reduce staff by six positions and we’re hearing similar stories in other districts,” said Soptich.

Carnation has a fire benefit charge. Soptich said fire commissioners will not exceed the $1.50 per thousand equivalent in the future but that they have some latitude with it. He hopes that EF&R will not suffer the same cuts as other jurisdictions.

EF&R has a struggle ahead if the assessor’s prediction is correct. Any good news on the real estate front is not directly translated to property values right away – there is usually a lag of 2-3 years, according to Soptich.

New water rescue, evacuation routes

“Last year, we added water rescue capabilities,” said Soptich.

EF&R acquired a rescue raft and is planning to purchase a hard-sided vessel in the future.

“Prior to the raft, our capabilities were limited to what we could attempt from shore or we put people in the water to go help others,” he said. “The raft opens up a whole different world and makes rescue much safer for victims and for fire fighters.”

“During the last flood some of the backdoor ways into the city were compromised,” explained Soptich. “We had to develop an overnight satellite fire station cobbled together out of the Davidson Sawmill, a reserve apparatus brought in and some reserve firefighters.”

EF&R found that the trail was an avenue to get in and out of the city with other routes closed. King County has been working with EF&R for two years and has designated a trail as an emergency access route for the Valley. They are also currently working on some bridges to help EF&R get aid cars in and out of the city. Width, not weight, is a concern for vehicles in the future.

The department also participated in two training exercise in 2009. One, a large regional tabletop exercise put on by the Seattle water utility, taught EF&R a lot about the agencies that will be responding if the Tolt Dam fails.

Other plans for 2010

Eastside Fire & Rescue is looking to increase its number of volunteers. They are up to six volunteers at the fire station now and three firefighters are on duty 24/7. That constitutes the local capability for emergency medical and fire services.

Soptich said the City of Sammamish gets $800,000 through sales tax to help pay for fireservices. Theprinciple is that a sales tax helps maintain service levels by spreading the cost to people who pass through town, using the services but not paying for them through property taxes.

EF&R acquired a five-acre parcel of land that is part of a reclaimed landfill in the city. While there are no final plans as of yet, the department is looking at options such as putting in a driving course for vehicle operators or building a formal training facility.

EF&R is “anxiously anticipating” some remodeling at the Carnation fire station. Fire District 10 commissioners approved some funding to go toward architectural conceptual design and the project is slated for next year.

In 2010, EF&R will be going through a complete revision of its operations plans for disasters including emergency communications, studies, reviews of policies and inventories of equipment.

For more information, visit http://www.eastsidefire rescue.org/.