Fire chief says South Station nearly turnkey; city insurance rating cited as driver for staffing

Fire Chief Bridal Ritter told the Ocean Shores Public Safety Committee on Feb. 17 that the South Station construction is nearing completion and the facility is "almost turnkey." Ritter said the city is awaiting a generator and propane hookup and that dispatch (CAD) system installation has begun.

Ritter said he hopes to staff the South Station by April, placing a medic and a lieutenant at the south end to improve response times. "I'm hoping that we can get this staffed by the April, I'm hoping," he said. He added that a number of small items remain to be finished but that, overall, construction and installation appear on schedule.

Ritter reported a recent insurance-rating review: the rating bureau gave the city an overall 5 and listed the South End as a 9. He said staff are working on documentation and staffing measures to lower that rating, with a target of reaching a 4. "We actually trying to get it down to a 4," he said, and noted staffing is a key factor in the bureau's evaluation.

When asked about boundaries, Ritter described the city's response quadrants and said the South End was being treated as anything 'south of Taurus' (boundary not finalized). He said a heat map shows calls come more often from the North End, with roughly 25% of calls in the South End, and described current on-duty staffing as five personnel total split between stations with one medic at each location.

The committee did not take formal action; Ritter said he will continue work on staffing and documentation needed by the rating bureau to lower the community's insurance classification.