North County Regional Fire Authority is the consolidation from 2008 and 2021 of what were four separate agencies: Snohomish County Fire District 18 – Bryant Fire; Snohomish County Fire District 14 – Warm Beach& Freeborn; The City of Stanwood and The City of Arlington. Their jurisdiction covers the City of Arlington, City of Stanwood, Warm Beach & Kayak Point, Freeborn, Bryant / Kackman Road, Grandview and the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. They have five active fire stations, the Grandview Station that needs volunteers to reopen and the new Training Center that will open Fall 2023.

 

North County Regional Fire Authority provides service to 45,000 people over approximately 120 square miles combined. Their diverse response area, encompassing all hazards, includes residential, commercial, industrial manufacturing, rural farms, wildland areas, the Arlington Airport, the Stillaguamish River and areas of Puget Sound.

 

In 2022, the district received 9,948 calls for service. 86% were Emergency Medical Service Calls and 14% were fire calls for vehicle, building and wildland fires. They also engage in the community by providing station tours, school visits, EMS, CPR and Fall Prevention Training, sponsor an Explorer Post and participate in public events.  Their largest event is the Santa Run Food Drive benefiting the Arlington Food Bank.

 

The NC Fire & EMS Services District is founded through two property tax levies for fire and emergency medical services (EMS). Voters approved a fire levy of $1.50 per $1000 assessed property value in 2021 and an EMS levy of 50 cents per $1000 in 2015. Since that time, the EMS levy has dropped to 28 cents due to legislation capping increases at 1% annually.

 

The August 1 Ballot will ask voters to consider a levy lift, returning the EMS levy back to 50 cents per $1000 assessed property value. This is needed, because the call volume has increased by 27% since 2016 due to population growth. Some 10,000 calls per year are 86% for EMS services, including transporting patients to area hospitals. The levy lid lift would help add six firefighter/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics per shift to provide an additional transport unit and increase Station 96 in Freeborn to fulltime staffing. They would also be able to replace three ambulances and fund training programs.  This would cost the owners of a $450,000 home (considered average) an additional $99/year or $8.25/month.

 

For further information, visit the website at http://northcountyfireems.com .