Citizens to consider fire and ambulance staffing levy

Like many agencies, SW Polk Fire District is facing challenges, including a significant increase in call volume, staffing, rapidly escalating expenses and other contributing factors. It is no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the healthcare industry, and fire districts that provide emergency medical services are no exception.

The levy would fund six additional firefighter/paramedics to staff a second fire station. The goal of the levy is three-fold -- accommodate the increasing call volume, reduce response time throughout the district and support the volunteer base and current staffing levels.

Historically, the SW Polk Fire District has always provided structural and wildland fire services, hazardous materials response, basic rescue services and quick response to medical incidents. SW Polk has been making great strides forward in the past five years. Thanks to the citizen-passed bond in 2017, SW Polk has built three new Community Fire Stations and purchased three new engines along with firefighter equipment.

The SW Polk Fire District Board of Directors has elected to draw down reserve funds to provide career firefighting and medically trained personnel 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The board’s decision to move this direction in 2021 was a historic first for the district.

“In early 2022, we were approved by Polk County and State of Oregon to provide ambulance transport services,” said Fire Chief Fred Hertel.

This allows the district to assist the current ambulance transport system, which has become strained with the escalating call volume.

“SW Polk Fire District call data demonstrates an increase in call volume of 19% in the past year, which is double the typical annual increase in call volume,” Hertel explained.

Surrounding agencies are relying more and more on each other for mutual aid support. Everyday local fire districts assist one another on fire and medical incidents.

Response time is another major concern for the district board members and Hertel.

“As CEO of the fire district, I am concerned about increasing call volume outpacing our staffing capabilities,” said Hertel.

The district currently has about 15 responding volunteers, augmented by six career personnel. Today’s volunteers are often employed outside of the district, diminishing the amount of time they can commit to emergency responses. With call volume increasing and the decrease in volunteer availability, the district faces a challenge in managing increasing response times to incidents. In their 2020 annual report, the district notes that the Bridgeport area has the longest response time.

“Response data for 2020 reflects a 25-minute response time 90% of the time to all incident types in the Bridgeport area,” said Hertel. “By staffing the new Bridgeport station, we anticipate the area’s response times will decrease significantly.”

Response times often correlate to fire and medical incident outcomes. For example, the longer the response time the larger and more dangerous a fire becomes. In addition, a fast and reliable response time is critical to the survivability of a stroke, heart attack, and other trauma related incidents.

Passing the proposed levy would increase the number of career responders each day from two to four, doubling current capabilities.

“Hiring career personnel relieves the volunteers from the need to respond on minor incidents that can be handled by on-duty crews,” Hertel explained. “The district still relies heavily on our volunteers for major, large-scale incidents, and times of concurrent incidents. We cannot provide the current service level without our amazing volunteers.”

The SW Polk Fire District Board of Directors is actively pursuing other funding sources to improve service to citizens, including submitting grants, selling surplus assets, and requesting American Rescue Plan Act funds from both Polk County and the State of Oregon. However, if the new levy is not approved, Hertel said the current level of staffing that supports SW Polk volunteers will not be sustainable.