Firefighters in South Thurston County may soon be running around in helmets and engines affixed with a brand new logo.
One proposal currently being put to the petition test would merge Fire District 12 and Fire District 16 together into one unit. The other proposal would annex the city of Tenino into the resultant joint district, or old Fire District 12 if that merger fails to pass. Currently, the city of Tenino contracts with Fire District 12 for full fire and EMS services, while Fire District 12 and Fire District 16 provide each other mutual aid and work together for training exercises.
District 12 encircles Tenino and stretches in all directions, while District 16 surrounds, but does not include, the city of Bucoda, all the way down to the Lewis County line.
Districts 12 and 16 have been providing each other mutual aid and conducting joint training exercises for the past three years. Currently, though, District 16, which is sparsely populated and consists mostly of timberlands and the old coal mine area, is dependent on volunteer firefighters with no daytime presence, while District 12 has a fulltime, paid station presence.
According to Andrew Schaffran, fire chief of District 16 and joint fire chief of District 12, if passed, the merger would ensure even services are provided to all areas.