Regional Fire Authority declines to contract with Enumclaw Fire Dept

Published 10:00 am Tuesday, May 27, 2025

The Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority will not be partnering with the Enumclaw Fire Department in the future.

For the seven months, the EFD and the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) have been discussing the future of the local fire department as calls for service continue to increase.

According to the department, the EFD received 2,324 calls in 2015. That increased to 2,798 in 2024, a 20% increase.

That increase in calls is one of the reasons why the EFD put a levy lid lift measure on a 2022 ballot; the levy, which received wide support from voters, allowed the department to hire three first responders and guarantee both a medical aid unit and a fire engine was in service 24/7.

Prior to 2022, a fire engine had to be taken out of service when multiple EMS calls came in.

The increase to staffing had a great positive impact to first responders, Enumclaw Local 3931 President Josh Hettick said at the April 21 commissioners meeting.

“The improvement to a minimum staffing of five and seven assigned to each shift has been palpable. Operationally, we’re feeling more equipped to provide effective and impactful service to the community,” he said. “In addition… the feeling of being behind all the time and near-burnout is improving.”

However, this increase in staffing was still not enough for the RFA to consider contracting with Enumclaw to support its operations.

According to RFA Chief Brian Carson, taking control of the EFD would affect the Regional Fire Authority’s accreditation.

“We report out our times every five years, and we’re internationally accredited, so we watch those metrics pretty carefully,” Carson said during the April 21 meeting. “… Serving Enumclaw with your existing units would certainly be a problem for our accreditation standards, if we were to come out and do a contract as is.

“But candidly, it’s also outside my comfort zone,” Carson continued. “I’m not comfortable with how often the engine company is the only apparatus in the station and what we’re asking those women and men to do when they roll into some of the calls that just demand more than two or three people.”

To consider a contract, the current minimum staffing of five would have to increase to eight, and total staff from 21 to 33.

Such a staffing increase is not in the financial cards for the EFD.

“At the end of the day, and I’m sorry I have to share it, there is not sufficient revenue within the district to afford the service model that Puget Sound Fire would want to provide for you,” Carson said. “Which brings us to the hardest part of the conversation… and that’s increasing district revenue.”

However, EFD Chief Ben Hayman said that increasing revenue is only one option the department and its commissioners are considering at this moment, and that they’re also looking at ways to cut spending or reorganize staffing to free up some of general funds.

A special commissioners meeting is scheduled for May 28 to discuss these options.

But commissioners are going to need to make a decision soon, because current department revenue is insufficient to maintain EPD operations.

According to the RFA, current projections show the EFD will reach a tipping point in 2029 and then dip into the red in 2030. On its current course, the district could be operating with a $6 million deficit by 2035, a fact Carson said is “extremely concerning.”

“I believe the first step is going to be… finding ways to live within your current revenue,” he added. “And that really has to start now.”

The RFA’s decision to not contract with Enumclaw Fire drew ire from some commissioners.

“I don’t understand it. I feel like this was never going to happen… they wasted six months of our time telling us ‘no’,” said Commissioner Amy Trachte. “That’s… very frustrating, and I really thought this was a done deal, and that’s why I’m really so angry about it.”

Commissioner Angie Stubblefield said she felt the decision was “a kick in the stomach.”

“We are not an urban fire department,” Stubblefield said. “We’re suburban… so for them to walk us through from November all the way through to this point, making it seem like we had a shot with them, it was dishonest in my mindset, because if most of their bead and butter is urban response… we were never going to meet those demands.”

Commissioner Eric Heintzinger defended the RFA and said this was just a miscommunication at worst.

“I don’t believe it was plain to see that us contracting with them was a non-option,” he said, adding that he believes that their district doesn’t need the level of service the RFA would require them to have, even if the EFD could afford it.

Chief Carson declined to comment via a spokesperson when asked about the commissioner’s reactions.

Another option that was being explored was annexing the EFD into the Regional Fire Authority, but the RFA has also declined to move forward on this.