DARRINGTON — Fire Chief Dennis Fenstermaker continues to lead Fire District 24.
In response to a petition by more than 500 district residents who called for the chief’s removal, the fire commission sent out a letter Monday stating that it sees no reason to terminate the chief.
“I am d
isappointed that 512 signatures don’t matter to the board,” said Judy O’Connor, of the Committee of Concerned Taxpayers, which asked that Fenstermaker be fired. “They mean nothing.”
A contentious disagreement about the operation of emergency medical services in the Darrington area has split the town in two.
Those who signed the petition are angry about the fire district’s decision to stop funding the Darrington Ambulance Association and return to providing the district’s emergency medical services.
“Chief Fenstermaker is likely the most experienced, dedicated and supportive fire chief that Darrington and District 24 has ever had,” said the letter by commissioners Dennis Vincent, Steve Ekstrand and Richard Dahl, who was appointed last week to fill the unexpired term of the late Holley Ross.
O’Connor, who is an unopposed candidate for town council, and the committee also asked that the ambulance association be reinstated, with the continued help of EMS property tax levy funds.
The fire commission said it would not return to its decision to fold emergency medical services into the operations of Fire District 24, as recommended and mandated by state and county fire officials and the state Auditor’s office, commissioners said. Most of the people who volunteered with the ambulance association already are fire department volunteers, they said in their letter.
An unusual 20-year-old cooperative agreement between the volunteer fire department and the volunteer ambulance association ended in April when fire officials asked ambulance crews to again become part of the fire district for financial reasons, liability issues and state code compliance.
The well-respected association members wanted to retain their autonomy, established in the 1990s when the group broke away from the town fire department.
At its May meeting, however, the ambulance association voted to dissolve, sell its new aid car and use the proceeds to fund a scholarship at Darrington High School.
The Committee of Concerned Taxpayers did get satisfaction in one of its three requests to fire commissioners.
The petitioners asked that the commissioners consider adding two more seats on the board.
At its July 11 meeting, the commissioners plan to act on a resolution calling for an increased board membership, from three seats to five. If approved, the matter would be placed on the November ballot. If voters want a bigger fire commission, then two more people would be appointed in January.
Currently, there are eight people running for the two open positions on the fire commission. Ekstrand is not running for re-election and Dahl must run to keep his appointed position.
Those on the primary election ballot are Dahl, Michael Fink, Diane Holz and Dale Hamlin for the 4-year unexpired position; and Judy Nations, Shari Brewer, Dale Coggins and Daren Wagner for the 6-year position.
No other fire district in Snohomish County has garnered such interest.
“People in Darrington are waking up and beginning to step up to the plate,” O’Connor said. “We want to make sure that never again will our leaders take our trust and then abuse it.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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