Cowlitz-Lewis Fire District #20, known locally as Vader/Ryderwood Fire and EMS is asking the voters to approve a permanent levy lid lift from the current levy rate of .42 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.35 to take effect in 2024. This would mean that a property assessed at $350,000 would go from paying $147 annually ($12.25 per month) to $472.50 annually ($39.37 per month). The reason that the agency is asking for the increase is to allow for the hiring of full-time Firefighter/EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) to provide 24/7 hourly coverage for 365 days a year for the Vader/Ryderwood area. The number was a calculation of what a current cost for a firefighter/EMT would be using pay rates from local agencies as a guide.
Historically and currently, the district is only staffed by volunteers, which totals eight volunteers (four based in Vader and four based in Ryderwood). Of those volunteers, only the Chief is an EMT and the Captain in Ryderwood is an EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) to handle EMS calls for service. The remainder of the volunteers respond to fire calls only. There are two brand new volunteers that have expressed interest in the medical side and are registering for EMT school in the fall. Those new volunteers are too new to respond on their own until they have received more in-depth training.
Although volunteers are a dedicated and loyal group of people, this system of staffing is not dependable or reliable. "People have full time jobs and family considerations that they are obligated to," said Chief Richard Underdahl. "It is difficult to mandate personnel to be available for emergency calls when they have little time for their personal lives. That's why it's called volunteering." With the steady decline of overall volunteerism, in all areas not just fire districts, many districts in Lewis County struggle with the same issues that District #20 has. "It takes a special person to dedicate themselves to responding to incidents during all hours of the day and night. Many are not available to respond to someone in need which is stressful to the system, patients, and themselves. All of us try to stay available, but we have lives to lead ourselves. We text each other when we are away, but it still doesn't help when a call comes out. We would then need to rely on mutual aid from another district like Winlock or Toledo to handle the call."
By passing the levy lid lift, the plan is to hire three full-time employees that will be housed at the Vader station on a 48 hour on-duty/96 hour off-duty rotation. There will be three shifts - A Shift, B Shift, and C Shift - that will mirror Winlock Fire and Rescue's system currently in place. Vader/Ryderwood already contracts with Winlock Fire and Rescue for ALS (Advanced Life Support) services where one paramedic is contracted to come to Vader/Ryderwood when there is a need for ALS service. In December of 2022, Lewis County Medic One, which was a paramedic service that was shared by Toledo, Salkum, Onalaska, Mossyrock and Vader/Ryderwood disbanded leaving the districts to find their own way to cover ALS calls. Most districts adopted their own systems and hired their own staff. Toledo and Vader/Ryderwood contracted with Winlock Fire and Rescue who already had Paramedics and offered to hire more to cover the additional area at a cost to each district. In 2022, Vader/Ryderwood paid $191,000 annually to have paramedic service from Lewis County Medic One.
"It was our portion for the service based on the number of calls by percentage," said Underdahl. "With the new contract with Winlock, Vader/Ryderwood's contribution is $140,000, which is a cost for a fully loaded Paramedic. Toledo pays for two of the Paramedics and we pay for one, it's definitely a cost savings and with quicker response times and more ambulances." This system is working well and feedback from area residents is very positive.
Even though the lid lift will hire full-time staff, there will still be a reliance on volunteers. "A firefighter/EMT cannot handle a patient by themselves. There will still be a need to have volunteers assist staff with transporting patients to the hospital," says Underdahl. "By having our new volunteers go to EMT school, it will help those of us who respond to the majority of the calls, get a little relief and have some time with our families."
Ballots are currently in the mail and please take the time to vote! The Fire District is having an open house on July 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Vader station on 801 B Street. The public is encouraged to attend, and all your questions and comments are welcome.