By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
Though the fiscal year isn't over and October's bills aren't yet posted, spending in Medical Lake's fire and emergency medical services budget for 2007 so far has been kept to a minimum, however officials may still pursue some high-cost but much-needed upgrades to the department in 2008.
At the forefront of discussion is the department's aging apparatus, its oldest model a 1970 fire vehicle that's incurring a lot of repair expenses for the department.
The department would have to raise about $250,000 to replace the old truck with a new model, which isn't an option the city can afford.
Other options could include the purchase of an older model vehicle that wouldn't be a full-size truck, though the question of the extent to which the department can uphold its business contract to provide services to the state institutions will be a deciding factor in any new purchases in the future.
The purchase of an additional light-attack vehicle wouldn't affect the department's current rating of 6, City Administrator Doug Ross said on Oct. 24, adding the 1970 model will need replacing either way soon.
It's just a question of when and how much, Fire Chief Gino Palomino said.
“We are trying to get an apparatus plan in place, but these are high-cost items. The good news is that [vehicles] last a long time,” he added. “When you take their costs and divide it over a 20-year period, it's pretty good.”
The department's current fire engine fleet also includes a 1987 Ford 3D Apparatus pumper, and a 1992 and 1994 attack and/or rescue engine/EMS unit, only one of which is used as a wildland engine.
The smaller the vehicle means less firefighters to carry, which translates to multiple vehicles being used in a response.
Having a full-size ladder truck would be great, but since funding is limited, the best option for the department is finding a vehicle with multi-use amenities, Palomino said.
On any given year countywide, funding sources are limited to fire departments that are highly dependent on grant funding to acquire new resources.
Voters approved an EMS levy last year, and the department did receive some small-size grants from the state Department of Health for volunteer training software and items such as pagers—something Palomino said the department tries to stay pretty regular in applying for to finance its all-volunteer training program.
Still, the department is turned down more often than it's granted funding.
Costs for dispatch fees and increased call volumes this year meant more spending in both equipment and operational costs, a trend that will continue into next year as the city continues to grow. Countywide, call volumes are also up, Palomino said.
“This year [2007] is going to be our highest year for calls, and we still have two months to go. We're looking at 100 calls ahead of 2006, 2004, and 2005,” Palomino said.
Currently, the department is sitting at 20-25 volunteers with frequent fluctuations, retention being a perennial challenge not just for MLFD, but also in general for any volunteer fire departments. Four volunteers are currently attending EMS school, and two are in the process of completing paramedic internships.
Palomino said even though the department's expected to exceed 540 calls this year, productivity is up and any increases in budget spending next year will likely fall into the equipment and preventative maintenance department outside of increased costs for dispatch fees.
In the meantime, the rule is to proceed spending with caution.
“The goal for the most part is to try to maintain what we have. We see no significant changes for the budget,” he said.
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
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