Fire Dept’s Town Hall Describes Rescue Boat Grant

Dave Halloran, Sheriff Rob Nou and Orcas Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin O’Brien field questions from those gathered at the Town Hall to discuss the Marine Operations User’s Group participation in funding a new, all-services emergency vessel

Sheriff obtains $785,000 grant for “all-hazards public safety” vessel.

By Margie Doyle

(Updated Jan. 13 at 11:45 a.m.)

Emergency services are particularly valued in the San Juan Islands because we are isolated by our situation at the crossroads of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Salish Sea.

Two developments in recent months have changed the islands’ ability to respond to emergencies:

• the opening of Peace Health Hospital on San Juan Island last November
• the award of up to $785,000 (with a 25 percent match) from the Department of Homeland Security  to the San Juan County Sheriff’s department for an emergency response and transport boat.

On Wednesday, Jan. 9, Orcas Island Fire and Rescue District (OIFR) held a “Town Hall” meeting to present the grant opportunity and to receive citizen comment about Orcas Fire and Rescue’s participation in the Marine Operations User’s Group (MOUG) for the boat’s use.

Presenting at the meeting were Sheriff Rob Nou, who sought and obtained the grant,  Deputy Sheriff Bruce Distler, Dave Halloran of the County’s Department of Emergency Management, Lindsay Schirmer, OIFR minutes and correspondence recorder, OIFR Assistant Chief Mik Preysz and OFRD Chief/CEO Kevin O’Brien. In attendance were the OIFR Commissioners Barbara Bedell, Jim Coffin and Clyde Duke, and about two dozen members of the public.

O’Brien opened the meeting by announcing the “vital need to frame the future”  in both responding to the homeland security grant and to the fire and rescue district’s strategic plan update.

He reviewed:

• the OFRD’s medical response history, including transport, of the last five years (of the 184 transports in 2012, 144 involved flights by AirLift NW and Air Ambulance of Friday Harbor, and four involved use by the Sheriff’s emergency boat, the Guardian. 2011 saw the lowest instance of Sheriff’s boat use (3) and 2008 saw the highest instance in the last five years (13). (It was noted later in the meeting that the low instance in 2012 bore a relation to the fact that the Guardian was out of service in the fall of 2012);
• conditions affecting transport decisions — weather, patient disposition, mode availability, topography and responder availability;
• the agencies county-wide that have been asked to participate in the MOUG

Sheriff Nou discussed the grant from Homeland Security to replace an emergency vessel.  The grant allows for up to one million dollars for an emergency vessel; that amount includes a 25 percent match, which Chief O’Brien noted could be met through “soft funding” such as accounting for the time and effort of meetings such as the “Town Hall.” The grant requires that the vessel be in service by August, 2014.

The MOUG would retain the Guardian, which would probably be home-based on Orcas Island. Nou spoke to the deteriorating condition of the Sheriff’s boat moored at the Orcas ferry landing, noting particularly that the saturation of the boat’s foam liner creates strain on the engine.

Nou said that the MOUG partnership in the purchase of a new boat could “best address the needs of public safety for the community and services provided.

“I was sunned that we got [the full amount] that we asked for –$785,000 fo an all-hazards, public safety vessel that can operate in all weather.”

A fee schedule, based on historical usage, was developed for participation in the MOUG’s use of the new boat. The fee schedule places two options before partners’ that would make use of the emergency boat:

• a financial “partner” cost of $25,430 annually to OFRD (based on 5 transports per year) each member agreeing to be a partner)
• a per-use cost of $6,500.

Calculations of five transports costs showed that the per-use cost would be $32,500, vs the partner cost of $25,430. It was also noted that the cost for partners would change depending upon buy-in by all “partners” rather than “per use” participation.

Dave Halloran described the $140,000 on-going annual budget for the boat’s operation, divided by its use by separate agencies. Halloran noted, “If an agency opts for the ‘pay as you go’ option, their percentage of hte annual cost would be absorbed those agencies that opt in as full partners.”  He also said, “A major part of the MOUG is to develop guidelines for the use of the new boat.”

Nou spoke of the the grant as “truly an opportunity for a shared asset.”

Lindsay Schirmer then read seven letters commenting on the proposal, from Pierrette Guimond, Jack Hart, Irmgard Conley, Richard Evans, Lee Goodwin, Kim Secunda and Toby Brown. The thrust of most letters was to seek reimbursement for the costs of transport where available.

Members of the public spoke of their concerns, among them Brian Ehrmantraut who advised participation as a “full partner to provide predictable funding to the operation.”

Jim McCorison asked about the level of control in monitoring maintenance costs. Chief O’Brien responded that the agreement would include “governance of the program,” including “establishing an operations officer.”

The concept of passing costs on to individuals as a “membership” option was discussed, citing the example of AirLift NW.

It was noted that experienced navigation officers and accounting personnel would add to the workload of MOUG participants.

Peggi Groundwater asked about priorities, should multiple calls for using the vessel come simultaneously. O’Brien said that currently, 25 percent of all OIFR calls are multiple calls, and that a leadership team cooperates in establishing triage for multiple calls. A Mutual Aid agreement has been enforced among interisland agencies since 2005.

The group also discussed the issue of seeking reimbursement for medical transport. Several spoke to the rationale of providing a subscription bases for use of the emergency vessel; but such “membership” requires accreditation, which is “a huge expense to obtain and maintain,” said Halloran. He also noted that the “final delivery” entity is the one that can bill insurance. Sheriff Nou suggested that transport to Peace Hospital in Friday Harbor may make cost reimbursement by insurance companies more streamlined.

Both Lopez and San Juan Islands’ Fire and Rescue seek reimbursement for transport and services and OIFR Chief Preysz said that Lopez recoups some $50,000  in the past year for some 350 calls, using a billing company that charges a percentage for their services. Both Lopez and San Juan Island Fire Departments both seek reimbursement from insurance companies, but if a client doesn’t have insurance, they don’t seek reimbursement. Also, if an insurance company doesn’t provide reimbursement, neither Fire/Rescue department contact the patient for billing.

That may be different for out-of-county visitors who make use of the transport/rescue vessel, it was suggested.

Nou spoke to the timeline for implementing a new all services emergency boat: the grant requires that the boat be in service by August 2014.