Whatcom County fire chief resigns after 10 years leading district
Whatcom County Fire District 1 Chief Mel Blankers resigned after 10 years in the position, and his former assistant chief, Rachel Carlson, has been named as his interim replacement.
Carlson confirmed that the District 1 Board of Commissioners approved Blankers’ resignation, effective Monday, June 21, in an email to The Bellingham Herald Wednesday evening, June 22. No formal replacement decision has been made, Carlson wrote.
Blankers served as a volunteer with the fire district for 20 years and as chief the past 10, according to Carlson.
Carlson, meanwhile, said she was hired at District 1 as the assistant fire chief in 2019.
“It is an honor to have the interim appointment and to continue to serve our community alongside our dedicated professional career and volunteer staff,” Carlson wrote.
The Herald was unsuccessful in reaching Blankers to inquire about the reason for his decision to resign.
District 1 first formed in 1913, according to the district’s website, and provides fire, rescue and emergency medical services for a 75-square mile area of Whatcom County that includes Everson, Nooksack, Deming and the Nooksack Indian Tribe. The district has two stations — one in Everson (Station 81) and one just north of Nugents Corner (Station 82) — and includes three engines, two tenders and two aid units.
The district hired its first full-time chief in 2007 and if first full-time firefighter in 2013, according to the website, and it has since added a second full-time firefighter and an assistant chief in 2019. The district also has approximately 30 volunteers that either work day or night shifts, respond to calls from home or both.
Last year, District 1 reported it received 1,139 calls, including 784 for Station 81, 320 for Station 82 and 35 mutual aid calls from outside the district. That was nearly a 16% increase from the 985 calls received in 2020, which was down slightly from the 1,014 calls in 2019.
A big part of the reason for the increase, data on the district’s website shows, was due to 59 water-related calls after none were listed from 2020 or 2019. Many of the water-related calls were likely associated with the November floods caused by a series of soaking weather systems that caused the Nooksack River to overrun its banks and spill into a large area of northern Whatcom County.
Medical calls also were substantially up in 2021, the data shows, with 788 medical-related calls reported last year eclipsing the 688 reported in 2020.
Overall in 2021, the district responded to 11 structure fires, seven vehicle fires and 40 other types of fire, the website shows.
