Outreach is underway for a controversial county council-initiated study to find efficiencies and cost savings in Whatcom County’s fire protection system and emergency medical services.
In December 2023, the Whatcom County Council voted to seek an independent review of the county’s 12 fire districts, one regional fire authority, two municipal fire departments and one EMS system, with the goal of finding collaboration or consolidation opportunities that could improve response times and reduce costs to taxpayers.
Fire officials said they were left out of the conversation and responded with a letter of protest to the county council, saying the resolution had “numerous errors” in supporting documents and inaccurately portrayed fire service in the county.
In April, an attempt to repeal the resolution failed, and in June the council approved spending $223,056 out of the council office’s budget on a contract with Mission Critical Partners, a Pennsylvania-based public safety consulting group.
Mission Critical Partners, or MCP, hosted a kick-off meeting in early October that garnered a less-than-positive response from fire leadership.
Multiple fire chiefs and commissioners that attended reported back to their boards that MCP appeared to need a “Fire 101” briefing and did not drill down on details during the kick-off meeting.
“A lot of the meeting was about the fire districts educating the company,” South Whatcom Fire Authority Chief Mitch Nolze wrote in a report to the SWFA commissioners in October. “The company was not familiar with the [state law] establishing fire districts, they did not know that the council did not have authority over the fire districts, and that the fire districts had elected commissioners.”
After hearing a similar message from North Whatcom Fire & Rescue Chief Jason Van der Veen during a Fire District 4 meeting on Oct. 15, Fire Commissioner Mark Lann said, “This sounds like a colossal waste of time and taxpayer money to me.”
During a presentation to county council on Tuesday, Dec. 3, Mission Critical Partners consultant Rick Harrison laid out the study timeline and deliverables. He acknowledged the kick-off meeting was “a rough road” and said many attendees were “not too happy to see us.”
But, Harrison said, in recent weeks the team has held individual meetings and taken facility tours with many of the district chiefs, the county EMS manager and local representatives from the International Association of Fire Fighters, and that those interviews felt very positive and productive.
“Input from stakeholders is paramount,” Harrison said.
District 16 Fire Chief Hank Maleng agreed with that assessment. “There’s only so much information gathering you can get into in two hours,” he said about his meeting on Dec. 2 with MCP. “But we gave them what they asked for. Everyone has been receptive to what’s happening.”
After wrapping up interviews, MCP will analyze its findings, review county GIS, determine whether local emergency response is meeting National Fire Protection Association and Insurance Services Office standards, and assess staffing needs. MCP is expected to give its draft report to the county council by summer 2025.
This article was updated on Dec. 4 to include information from Fire Chief Hank Maleng.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
