Anacortes Fire Department reports rising call volume and urges comp‑plan planning for staffing and facilities

Fire Chief Harris told the Anacortes City Council on March 17 that the Anacortes Fire Department’s total call volume in 2024 was 4,767, up about 3.5% from 2023, and that EMS continues to dominate the workload.

Harris said about 80% of calls are EMS-related and that about 47% of EMS calls resulted in hospital transports in 2024 — 2,057 transports in total — with roughly 63% of those at the paramedic (advanced life support) level. Non‑EMS responses included eight structure fires, ten vehicle fires, one recorded boat fire, 12 wildland/vegetation fires, 32 hazmat incidents and 14 water/rescue incidents. The department responded to an average of about 400 calls a month — roughly 13 calls a day.

The statistics matter because the department projects steady growth that will increase demand on crews and facilities. “If that continues, in 2031 we’ll be at around 7,000 calls,” Harris said during his presentation, adding that the city could see about 8,700 calls by 2035 and about 15,000 by 2045 if the 5% annual growth trend holds. Harris told council that those projections mean the city should set trigger points now for future staffing and facility choices rather than wait until demand becomes urgent.

Harris reviewed 2024 budget and operational highlights. The department’s 2024 appropriation was roughly $9.6 million; expenditures ran to about 96% of that total. Personnel costs were roughly 67% of the budget, write‑offs about 15%, and interfund transfers about 8%, leaving roughly 9% of the budget available for supplies and equipment. Harris said EMS levy revenue and ambulance billing fund between $4.4 million and $5.0 million of the department’s operating budget.

The department also described program investments and recent deployments. Voters approved Proposition 1, adding eight firefighters; the department ran a 16‑week in‑house academy in 2024 to train new recruits. A new ladder truck went into service in July 2024, and the department marked the centennial of its 1924 American LaFrance apparatus the same day. Brush 29 was deployed under the state mobilization plan to the Bighorn Fire in Yakima County in July 2024; Harris said the state reimburses personnel and most costs for such deployments.

Harris highlighted the community paramedic program. He said the 2024 report showed 108 patients served (106 new to the program that year) and a roughly 70% reduction in 9‑1‑1 calls among enrolled patients, a metric the department plans to review further with program staff.

On prevention and planning, Harris said the department is revising inspection and level‑of‑service standards to inform the city’s comprehensive plan and capital facilities element. He described draft service benchmarks that mirror national standards while recognizing Anacortes’s local constraints: targets that isolate initial engine arrival and minimum personnel on scene for imminent rescue, and a longer full first‑alarm assembly target consistent with NFPA guidance for a total effective response force. Harris also said the department will push to complete a citywide inspection database in 2025 and return in 2026 with a plan to reach 100% initial inspection coverage annually.

Councilmembers and the mayor pressed on particulars: Councilmember Walters and others asked for incremental approaches to staffing and facilities so the city can “bite off small pieces” rather than face a large one‑time increase; Harris said staffing is most effective in platoon‑level increments (roughly three personnel per shift) and that standing up a reliably staffed unit requires hiring multiple firefighters to cover vacations and time off.

Harris requested that council consider funding and policy triggers in upcoming retreats and budget planning to stagger future growth in a way that aligns staffing, facilities and revenue. “We have no control over call volume,” he said. “So we need to decide: are we comfortable with the level of service we will have 10 years from now?”

Chief Harris and council members said they would follow up with more detailed proposals during budget season and in comp‑plan conversations.