Your Safety Matters!

The Camas-Washougal Fire Department would like to form a Regional Fire Authority (RFA). The RFA allows for a fair, sustainable, and transparent funding model which will allow Fire and EMS services to match growth in the East Clark County area for the foreseeable future. The RFA is a well-researched governing option that has been recommended separately by three different outside consulting companies.

Currently, your fire department operates under an interlocal agreement (ILA) between Camas and Washougal. As part of this arrangement, the City of Camas manages the fire department, and its costs are covered by the Camas general fund. The revenue collected from both Washougal and Camas residents, which is meant to support fire services, is all deposited into the same general fund. Unfortunately, this structure offers limited transparency about how many of the dollars you pay actually go toward the fire services you expect. By transitioning to a Regional Fire Authority (RFA), you can ensure that all revenue is directly allocated to the services that keep your community safe.

HOW WILL THE RFA BE FUNDED?WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE NEWLY APPROVED FIRE STATIONS IN BOTH CITIES?WHY IS AN RFA BETTER THAN OUR CURRENT FIRE/EMS GOVERNENCE?

Previous Next

The RFA will collect funding at a rate of $1.05 per $1000 assessed property value for the residents of both Compared to other RFAs in the state this amount is similar or cheaper, especially among RFAs that provide ambulance transport.

Washougal Residents

Washougal will offset the cost of the RFA by reducing their tax rate by $0.81 per $1000. A net increase of $0.24 per $1000. For the average home in Washougal this will cost an additional $11.66 per month. The City of Washougal plans to further lower this amount in 2027 by $0.17 per $1000, reducing the cost to an additional $8.26 per month.

Camas Residents

Camas plans to offset the cost of the RFA by lowering their tax rate by $0.60 per $1000, a net increase of $0.45 per $1000. For an average home value of $650,000 this would mean an additional $24.38 per month.

Each city will maintain responsibility for its own bond and continue paying for the bonds of their respective stations. Ownership, maintenance, and upkeep of the stations will be transferred to the RFA. Residents will not lose any funds, as the RFA will continue to serve those who are contributing to the respective bonds.

Currently taxes are gathered for EMS and Fire services but not all of those funds actually go toward the Fire/EMS budget. Under an RFA you can be assured that every dollar will be used for your fire department.
Under the RFA Camas and Washougal residents will have no out-of-pocket expense for ambulance treatment and transport.
The RFA funding model will allow for increased staffing on fire engines. Currently a fire engine may have only two firefighters. Having less than three firefighters on a fire engine can restrict life-saving operations due to state and federal laws that prevent firefighters from entering a burning house to rescue occupants without at least one firefighter outside as backup. Currently your Fire Dept only has a minimum of two per engine. The National Fire Protection Agency recommends a minimum of 4. Even with a minimum increased to 3 there are huge benefits such as, more medically trained personnel on critical EMS calls such as cardiac arrest and severe trauma, more hands for lifting patients to the ambulance, reducing injuries, ability to comply with Washington state labor and industry rules on minimum firefighters needed to perform a rescue, decreased need for mutual aid from neighboring departments
The RFA funding model accounts for fire engine and ambulance replacements without the need for additional bonds.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The current Interlocal Agreement (ILA) is set to expire in 2026, and neither Camas nor Washougal intends to reach a new agreement. As a result, the fire department would be divided along city boundaries. Currently, Camas provides Fire and EMS services to Washougal, but this split would force Washougal to find an alternative provider, while Camas would have to scale back its operations due to the reduced service area. Both cities would face challenges in terms of service quality and increased costs.

Each city would need to establish a fire department, including hiring new leadership such as chiefs and administrative staff. Additionally, they would need to decide whether to continue/apply for their own EMS service or contract with a for-profit private ambulance provider. All of these options would incur higher costs.

For Camas, scaling back operations could lead to potential layoffs and a loss of experienced firefighters who may seek more stable employment opportunities. An RFA (Regional Fire Authority) would provide an efficient, cost-effective solution with higher service levels, ensuring quality service for all residents of Camas and Washougal in the foreseeable future.

Need more information?

Use the links below.

More Details from “Engage Camas”

RFA presentation from the Camas/Washougal Fire Chief

Paid for by Yes for RFA Prop 1 (Sponsored by IAFF Local 2444)

PO Box 922, Camas, WA 98607