At its June meeting, the Medical Lake City Council approved an agreement between the Fire Department and the state Department of Natural Resources to provide mutual assistance and cooperation for controlling forestland fire, dispatch and paying for fire services outside of district jurisdictional boundaries.
Under the agreement, the Fire Department may respond to a fire emergency in a DNR-protected area to provide immediate control action and minimize fire damage. DNR may also request response from the Fire Department to supplement its resources and gain timely control for the attack. In the case of an emergency in Medical Lake’s jurisdiction, DNR may respond to support in similar fashion.
In a joint jurisdiction, the first arriving agency shall establish command. A unified command will be established upon the arrival of the other agency.
During “offseason” incidents — Oct. 15 through June 15 — agencies will have command during incidents in their jurisdiction. If the other agency arrives first, they’ll be in command until released by a representative from the home agency. Special resources including aircraft, dozers and heavy equipment or other resources can be requested to control the fire.
Under the agreement, representatives from both agencies shall develop operational guidelines and provide principles, guidance and direction for the conduct of fire control operations. The guidelines shall be reviewed every year and revised as necessary.
Fire Chief Jason Mayfield explained that the agreement isn’t much different than what DNR has with other fire departments.
“We’ve helped each other in the past but we didn’t have an official agreement until now,” Mayfield said. “This doesn’t change a lot on how we do business. The agreement just adds legal backing to it.”
The agreement also states that DNR will reimburse Medical Lake Fire Department volunteer personnel at the Washington-Oregon Interagency Firefighting wage rates as “emergency firefighters.”
In addition to mutual aid, the agreement allows the Fire Department to register for DNR’s assistance grant program, which provides funds for agencies serving communities with a population of under 10,000 people.
Different categories for grants include equipment, fire prevention, vehicle acquisition and refurbishment, training communications and a dry hydrant. The agreement also allows Medical Lake to bid on surplus equipment.
Although the agreement doesn’t change business, Mayfield said it solidifies the good relationship between the two agencies.
“We value our working relationship with DNR,” Mayfield said. “Wildfire suppression and containment is their bread and butter. We couldn’t accomplish what we can on wildfires without their help.”
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
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