By HANNAH ROMERO
Staff Writer
The Sweetwater County Fire Department will soon be a thing of the past after the Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a plan which will close the county fire department and contract its services out to existing fire agencies in the county.
“In no way is county fire (protection) going to be eliminated, reduced — if anything it will be enhanced,” Commissioner Mary Thoman said.
At the last commission meeting March 1, the commissioners discussed the findings of the Sweetwater County Fire Committee, which was formed to examine fire service in the county and see if there might be more cost-effective ways to provide those services.
During this week’s meeting, Thoman summarized the fire committee’s process and findings again. She noted the committee’s report was sent to Melissa Towers, the Bureau of Land Management Acting District Manager for the High Desert District Office and the branch chief for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
Thoman said Towers told her the report was “one of the most thorough she’d ever seen” and the third option, which recommended closing the county fire department, seemed appropriate to address the committee’s findings.
“We have studied this and worked on it and we’ve fully presented every possible thing we could think of,” Thoman told the commission. “I just feel it’s time to move.”
Thoman made a motion to reorganize county fire protection to be consistent with the third option the committee presented, which was for the county to contract with existing fire agencies to cover fire protection outside of the incorporated areas and districts. Commissioner Lauren Schoenfeld seconded the motion.
During discussion of the motion, Commissioner Wendling stated he would be voting no primarily because of the humanitarian services that would be lost due to closing the county fire department and his concern over contract costs rising over time.
Thoman addressed the topic of contract costs by saying a contract is not a carte blanche check and the fire agencies providing the services will be billed for specific services and costs. Schoenfeld also addressed the concern over losing humanitarian services in the county by saying there are other entities and organizations who can provide similar services, and they can do so throughout the year regardless of whether there’s a fire or not.
Schoenfeld also expressed her belief the end goal is ultimately to have a unified fire service throughout the county and “this is the first step in the right direction.”
“For me this was never about money, it was about scope,” Commissioner Roy Lloyd said, explaining he always wanted to look at which agencies could provide the best coverage for the county.
In a roll-call vote on Thoman’s motion to adopt option three, Wendling voted “no” while Thoman, Schoenfeld, Smith and Lloyd — after some deliberation — voted “yes.”
Adopting the third option confirms the Sweetwater County Fire Department will be closed.
The Green River Fire Department and Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1 are two of the fire agencies the county will contract with in the future to cover areas the county department previously covered. Assistant Fire Chief Bill Robinson of the GRFD and Fire Chief Scott Kitchner of District 1 were among those present at the commission meeting, and both expressed their commitment to serving Sweetwater County in the future, as they have always done.
Robinson admitted he had “torn thoughts” on the decision but said he believed the commissioners handled everything well for having to go through such a tough process.
“Was there ever a right answer? I don’t know that,” Robinson said.
He also said he understands people’s concerns, but said firefighters are “there forever” and Sweetwater County is well-covered in terms of agencies coming together to take care of fires as they need to, no matter how many departments there are.
“Green River is going to continue doing what we’ve always done, which is protect the west side of the county,” Robinson said.
Kitchner expressed his support for the commission’s decision, saying he believes it’s a good decision financially and other fire agencies and local entities support this option as well and are willing to come together to make it work.
“It’s the same level of services being provided, just by people in different uniforms,” Kitchner said.
District 1 will be capable of handling the extra work, according to Kitchner. He estimated the call volume previously covered by the county will add about 60 calls a year for District 1, which won’t be a significant increase on top of the 500 to 600 calls a year the district typically responds to.
Kitchner recognized the increased fire danger for the summer after a dry winter, but said that concern will always be there, regardless of who’s responding to it. He explained this is why the district wants to hire extra seasonal workers for a four month period during the busiest part of the year, which will be negotiated with the county in the contract. Kitchner also reiterated the volunteers who currently work for the county fire department are welcome to join District 1 as seasonal workers.
When it comes to contracting with the county, Kitchner stressed the costs they gave the commissioners were based on worst case scenarios and the fire agencies will bill the county for what they need specifically.
“We’re not in this to make money,” Kitchner said. “We’re in it just to help out.”
Kitchner also agrees with Thoman in the belief this decision could actually enhance fire service throughout the county by having responders who are better equipped to serve a wider variety of needs.
“The county fire department is going to go away, but county fire protection is not going to go away,” Kitchner said.
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