Port Townsend: Proposal to combine firefighting operations given to City Council

PORT TOWNSEND — When an early morning fire broke out in the McCurdy building on Water Street last June, Fire Chief Ed Edwards was the first on the scene along with another Port Townsend firefighter.

He couldn’t go into the building until at least four firefighters were there.

Waiting for additional manpower to arrive cost precious minutes.

“We could have lost that whole building,” Edwards said.

More paid firefighters on duty would have meant battling the blaze more quickly, Edwards said.

Edwards, and commissioners for Cape George-based Jefferson County Fire District No. 6 are pushing a plan to combine firefighting operations.

The move would consolidate administrative functions and allow both districts to hire more full-time firefighters, increasing service without adding new taxes, they said.

That could mean a contract to share firefighting duties first, with a possible merger or annexation later.

Edwards and District No. 6 Commissioner Rich Stapf presented the plan for the first time to the Port Townsend City Council on Monday night.

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The rest of this story appears in the Tuesday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.

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