Mercer Island residents can gain a deeper understanding of the city’s Jan. 1 transition to a regional fire services model with Eastside Fire & Rescue (EF&R) at a pair of upcoming local open houses at fire stations 91 and 92.
At the Town Center Station 91 and south end Station 92, firefighters, EF&R Chief Ben Lane and city staffers will be present to answer questions and ease any worries residents might have about changes in service, said Catherine Breault, EF&R public information officer.
“They actually shouldn’t notice any change. We haven’t moved any apparatus. We haven’t changed any staffing. They’re staffed exactly the same with the same exact apparatus. And a lot of the legacy employees opted to stay in Mercer Island,” Breault added. “I think everybody’s kind of united in making sure that this is a smooth transition.”
Along with the meet and greet, Islanders can explore the stations and check out the equipment from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 at Station 91 (3030 78th Ave. SE) and from 10 a.m. to noon on Jan. 13 at Fire Station 92 (8473 SE 68th St.).
In July, the city finalized its regional fire services agreement with EF&R after city council passed a resolution to adopt an interlocal agreement with the agency. Both Island fire stations will remain open and operational with the same level of service, according to a press release.
Under the 10-year regional arrangement, EF&R — which has partnered with the city for interim fire leadership since 2021 — will maintain or enhance current service levels while balancing the shared responsibility for long-term, cost-effective fire and emergency medical service delivery, according to a previous Reporter article.
“As always, the best service and highest level of safety for Islanders have remained paramount throughout all of the discussions and negotiations thus far, and that will remain the case,” City Manager Jessi Bon wrote in a letter to the community on June 30.
“EF&R is honored to serve the Mercer Island community and we look forward to continuing to build on our well-established relationship. I am confident our regional fire services model will continue to bring excellent service to the community now and in the future,” said Chief Lane, who previously served as the Island’s interim fire chief for about two and a half years.
Fourteen Mercer Island firefighters were pinned during a promotional ceremony at the Dec. 5 city council meeting and some of them will be working on-Island and others at stations in neighboring cities. Breault noted that each local station will have three firefighters on staff at all times along with a battalion chief leading the charge.
“We made sure that every shift had legacy Mercer Island firefighters, so that there was inherent knowledge that was captured and kept there,” she added.
During extensive training, local firefighters became familiar with new equipment such as water-tender apparatus (for wildland and non-hydrogen areas) and brush trucks (to be utilized in large parks and densely-forested areas), and they received instruction in confined space rescues and more, Breault said. A city report noted that firefighters have been issued new uniforms with the EF&R patch, and the agency has completed coordination work with 911 dispatch agency NORCOM.
For more information, visit https://letstalk.mercergov.org/consideration-of-a-regional-fire-services-model
