Finding some firefighting options

No matter how you slice it, fire and emergency service delivery in Medical Lake is likely to cost taxpayers more money.

At least that’s the assessment of Medical Lake Fire Chief Jason Mayfield, who cited an increased number of calls received by the department’s all-volunteer staff that went unanswered in 2018.

Those missed calls are symptomatic of a number of challenges the Medical Lake Fire Department is facing, including geographically dispersed volunteers — many live outside Medical Lake — aging equipment, and a population that is larger than most other rural fire departments in the county,...