WA Fire Districts Mulling Merger Under One Chief

Feb. 19—EAST WENATCHEE, WA — Wenatchee Valley's two fire districts are expected to be run by the same chief over the next year, during which time they'll explore the feasibility of a merger.

Douglas County Fire District 2 commissioners signed an authorization Thursday that allows the district to negotiate with Chelan County Fire District 1 in hopes that its chief, Brian Brett, will lead both districts.

"It's pretty much in the attorney's hands to draft up a contract," said Commissioner Dave Fennell while discussing the next step of the process in an interview. He added, "I would definitely say we're moving forward."

The eastside fire district is in a transitional phase after the commission fired Chief Dave Baker in late November for an unspecified difference in philosophies in regard to the district's future. The district is currently led by interim Chief John Glenn.

Brett was an assistant chief with Douglas County Fire District 2 before crossing the Columbia River in 2018 to join fire Chelan County Fire District 1 as its heir apparent to retiring Chief Mike Burnett. He was named chief in 2019.

"We want a district that dominates every incident we respond to and however this turns out that is the kind of attitude and preparedness level we aspire to for both districts to have the capabilities to accomplish," Brett said at the meeting.

He said he was honored to potentially help lead his former employer and that he could help lead administrative work.

"All I can offer you is to work on budgeting, planning and forecasting in the near term and to build a team," Brett. "Operationally, things are going to be static or improve slowly."

Douglas County Fire District 2's territory roughly runs from East Wenatchee to Rock Island, while its counterpart Chelan County Fire District 2 covers Sunnyslope to Malaga and into Wenatchee Heights.

Brett, presuming the motion will be approved, asked for patience in the near-term future as firefighters adapt to change and added that some will have a heavier workload, particularly if commissioners want combine the districts into a regional fire authority (RFA).

"If you want to examine the feasibility of an RFA, these are the short-term sacrifices we have to make," Brett said. "At any point during this process we can stop with the feasibility, rebuild your administration and I can return to Chelan County 1. We are here to assist and help, not to impose."

Wenatchee Valley fire officials last discussed a regional fire authority in 2012 but costs were deemed too high for the would-be merger of Douglas County Fire District 2, Chelan County Fire District 1 and the Wenatchee Fire Department. The Wenatchee Fire Department was annexed into Chelan County Fire District 1 in 2015.

Fennell, cautioning that he didn't live in the area in 2012, said the districts are financially more stable now to make a merger realistic. And the districts often respond together to the same incident.

"I think the overall feeling across the valley is we run so many calls together, it just makes sense," Fennell said.

Fennell wasn't sure when the agreement to bring in Brett would be finalized, but he hoped it would be done soon.

When asked if the potential was part of the differing philosophies that led to Baker's termination, Fennell said it "certainly was not part of any decision that had to do with him."

___

Visit The Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, Wash.) at www.wenatcheeworld.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.