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Consultants say Moses Lake should keep city fire department, recommend planning and reimbursement changes
Summary
Burke Consulting told the City Council an RFA with Grant County Fire District 5 is not currently feasible and recommended the city retain its career fire department while pursuing strategic planning, operational changes, and better EMS reimbursement practices to improve long-term sustainability.
Burke Consulting presented its fire service delivery feasibility study to the Moses Lake City Council and recommended that the city maintain Moses Lake Fire as a municipal department rather than pursuing a regional fire authority (RFA) with neighboring Fire District 5.
The consultants, led by project manager Catherine Getz, told the council they evaluated three delivery options — maintain the city department, form a single-jurisdiction fire protection district, or pursue an RFA — and concluded an RFA is impractical in the near term because of differences in funding, staffing models and response-time expectations between the city and District 5.
"The RFA structure is most like a fire district," Getz said. "The only difference is there's ability to change governance, and you would…
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