Personnel from Grays Harbor Fire District 5 will once again staff the Elma Fire station, a more central location for the the district’s firefighters, EMTs and paramedics than the current District 5 headquarters on Stamper Road Northeast.
The City of Elma and District 5, with support from the Elma Fire Department, signed an agreement Dec. 18 to allow the staffing change.
“Staffing the Elma Fire Station will help us improve emergency medical service responses to all areas of our district and the City of McCleary as well as improve our fire response,” said District 5 Chief Dan Prater.
Fire District 5 provides EMS services to unincorporated areas of the county including Satsop, Elma, Porter, Malone and McCleary. It also provides EMS response by contract to the City or Elma and McCleary. According to the release, staff stationed at the Elma station are closer to State Routes 12 and 8 on and off ramps, providing easier, safer and quicker response routes. They will also be closer to the Satsop Development Park.
“I see this working great for all parties,” said Elma Fire Chief Tyson Boling. “The citizens of the city will get better ambulance response and have better access to fire personnel at the station to answer questions and do things like blood pressure checks. Elma firefighters will get much-needed assistance from District 5 career staff in daily equipment checks, pre-fire plans and business fire code checks.”
Changes are currently under way to the facilities at the Elma Fire Station to accommodate the Fire District staff, with expected completion in March. In the meantime members of the public may see some construction work in and around the station.
History of the agreement
In January 2017 the fire district started staffing an office at the Elma station with Battalion Chief Adam Fulbright to establish a single paramedic rapid intervention non-transport response as well as a joint Fire/EMS training program that involved the Elma Fire Department. This then combined several areas of training programs and joint recruitment for volunteers and staff between the two agencies in 2018, according to the release.
Throughout 2018, City of Elma officials, along with the Fire District 5 leadership, discussed looking at the feasibility and sustainability of bringing the Fire District 5 staff back to the Elma Fire Station facilities. Items discussed included things such as crew quarters, ambulances and fire suppression response vehicles and financial responsibilities.
According to the District 5 press release, those instrumental in bringing the two entities together include Elma Mayor Jim Sorenson; Boling; Fulbright; Elma City Councilmembers Pat Miller, David Blackett, Tom Boling, Charles Butterfield and Jim Taylor; Fire District 5 Commissioners Eric Patton, Jim Crisp and Tyrone Green; and Prater.
