Lake Stevens Fire Department Chief Kevin O'Brien and Snohomish County Fire Protection District #7 Chief Gary Meek spoke to Club members on Friday, May 10th about the merger of Lake Stevens Fire and Fire District 7. The proposed merger is on the August 6th Primary Election ballot for Lake Stevens. Every where you look in Lake Stevens the landscape is changing from Frontier Village to downtown, new home developments, new businesses and the population in Snohomish County grows. The demand for emergency services increases. The two districts already share fire investigation services, training programs and a community resources paramedic. They are stronger working together both operationally and financially.
A merger of Lake Stevens Fire and District 7 would enable better deployment of personnel to provide an improved emergency response for both communities. Another benefit is the combined financial strength of both agencies also improves the ability to fund capital needs, such as apparatus, equipment and stations. Important to know, that both districts would still have local stations, professional firefighters and strong involvement in our communities for events such as AquaFest.
Both organizations provide emergency medical services (EMS), fire suppression and prevention, rescue, community risk reduction, helping people, and participation at community events. The combined districts will provide more firefighters to respond to calls. Combined total means 234 personnel ready to respond to alarms. This is especially important for large scale incidents, weather events, wildland fires or disasters. Merger goals include improved services, regional planning and fiscal accountability.
The combined Districts will have 11 fire stations, 234 personnel, 140 square miles with four miles between service areas, 162,000 residents, 17,670 calls and $27,393,329,265 in assessed property value. Finally, Firefighters and Paramedics support this proposal.