Bellingham hopes to save money by forming a regional fire authority
Bellingham City Council members agreed to form a committee that will look at creating a regional fire authority with Whatcom County Fire District 8, which provides firefighting and emergency medical services to Lummi Nation and the Marietta area west of Bellingham.
Such a move could save the city about $24 million annually — but the Fire Department would no longer be part of the city, Deputy City Administrator Forrest Longman told the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Monday. Instead, the new fire authority would become a separate agency with its own board of commissioners and an ability to levy taxes for fire and ambulance services.
Council members voted 5-0-1 Monday to invite Fire District 8 commissioners to join them in exploratory efforts. Councilman Michael Lilliquist was absent, and Councilwoman Lisa Anderson abstained.
“I’m going to have some serious questions because I hate losing local control,” Anderson said.
Fire Chief Bill Hewett told the City Council that District 8 commissioners have discussed the formation of a fire authority, and they could vote at their meeting April if they want to join the City Council’s exploratory committee.
Forming a fire authority would take a supermajority approval of 60% of the voters in Bellingham and District 8, Longman said. Bellingham considered such a fire authority in 2017, but the plan didn’t advance.
Bellingham Fire has been providing fire and EMS to the residents of District 8 under a cooperative agreement since 2016. Bellingham firefighters staff District 8’s Station 31 in Marietta and Station 34 at Gooseberry Point on the Lummi Peninsula. Hewett is also District 8 chief and wears patches for each department on his uniform. District 8 firefighters sometimes respond to alarms within the Bellingham city limits.
Discussion about the possibility of forming a fire authority came during a presentation on the rising cost of police and fire services in Bellingham. Both the police and fire departments are struggling with rising costs and an ever-increasing number of calls to 911, Longman told the council.
Other fundraising options included a fee for ambulance services, a fire department surcharge, or a new property tax. The City Council could enact an ambulance fee, but the fire surcharge or property tax would require voter approval.
The concept of a fire authority is a relatively recent idea as cities cope with the rising cost of firefighting vehicles, equipment and training. Shoreline Fire Department Regional Fire Authority was established 2024 and includes King County Fire District Nos. 4 and 16. Valley Regional Fire Authority was formed in 2007 and includes Auburn, Pacific and Algona.
Voters in 2008 approved formation of South Whatcom Fire Authority, which combined four all-volunteer fire districts into a single agency that has career firefighters, along with volunteers and part-time personnel. It serves Sudden Valley, Geneva, Yew Street Road, Lake Samish and Chuckanut Drive.
“We believe that (a fire authority) is really the only sustainable solution in the long term,” Longman said.
