Note: this Letter to the Editor was published in Shoreline Area News.

YES ON PROPOSITION 1:

A Regional Fire Authority for Shoreline, Kenmore & Lake Forest Park

As firefighters and first responders serving Shoreline, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park, we strongly support Proposition 1, a measure on the February 11, 2025 special election ballot to create a Regional Fire Authority (RFA). This proposition ensures that the successful partnership between the Shoreline and Northshore Fire Departments continues, bringing enhanced emergency services and cost savings to our communities for decades to come.

Since 2022, our firefighters and departments have been collaborating under an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to share resources and personnel. This partnership has already resulted in significant improvements, including enhanced technical and water rescue capabilities, strengthened fire prevention services, expanded Mobile Integrated Health teams, and increased aid car availability. Additionally, Kenmore and Lake Forest Park residents now receive emergency medical transport from their own firefighters, rather than relying on a third-party service.

The RFA would make these improvements permanent, ensuring continued efficiency, stability, and security for our community's emergency services. Without the RFA, there’s a risk that changes in leadership could dissolve the current partnership, leading to costly disruptions in our emergency response systems, and level of services provided. Such a separation would force both departments to restructure, reallocating resources in a way that would ultimately burden taxpayers.

We’ve spent the past two years working side by side, training together, responding to emergencies, and building shared protocols. This collaboration has strengthened our team, directly benefiting our communities. Dissolving this integrated system would not only break apart our firefighter family but also jeopardize the high standard of service that our residents expect and deserve.

We urge voters to support the RFA to help secure the future of these vital services. Proposition 1 will preserve and expand upon the improvements we've made, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. This is a critical step in ensuring the long-term sustainability of our fire and emergency medical services.

A broad and diverse group of community members agree: the Regional Fire Authority will create a safer, stronger future for us all.

Endorsers: Shoreline Professional Firefighters Local 1760; City Councils of Shoreline, Kenmore, and Lake Forest Park; State Senators Jesse Salomon and Derek Stanford; State Representatives Lauren Davis, Cindy Ryu, Shelly Kloba and Davina Duerr; King County Councilmembers Rod Dembowski and Sarah Perry; Former Lake Forest Park Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover; Former Kenmore City Councilmember Corina Pfeil; Kenmore Planning Commission Chair Tracy Banaszynski; Kenmore Planning Commissioner David Dorrian; People for an Environmentally Responsible Kenmore (PERK) Board Member Peter Lance; Evergreen Health Board of Directors; and the 1st Legislative District Democrats.

For more information, please visit the Shoreline Fire Department's Regional Fire Authority page: https://shorelinefire.com/rfa/, and the Firefighters for Shoreline Northshore RFA website https://yesrfa.org/

Shoreline Professional Firefighters Local 1760
YesforShorelineRFA@gmail.com