Valley Fire Incurs Extra Costs Due To Kaiser Strike

Spokane Valley Fire District has spent $12,300 to pay for extra manpower since the Kaiser strike began on Oct. 1, but it got help buying an extra fire rig for special spills.

Fire Chief Pat Humphries said that in preparation of the Kaiser strike the department moved two more firefighters to its Sullivan Road station just south of the Kaiser plant. Valley Fire has spent $4,100 a month staffing those positions.

Humphries said the money will come out of the department’s general fund.

“I think what we were preparing for was if something significant would have happened,” he said. “We probably wouldn’t be responding as much if the strike wasn’t occurring.”

Humphries said typically firefighters and paramedics respond to Kaiser 12 to 15 times a year for medical or fire calls. Since the strike began, Valley Fire has responded to at least 30 calls at Kaiser’s Trentwood plant.

Response to those calls has not affected Valley Fire’s service to other areas, he said.

“I don’t think any of us thought the strike would last this long,” said Valley Fire commissioner Tom Gregory.“We have an obligation not only to protect that plant they pay for but also the people that work there and the people on the (picket) line.”

Meanwhile a new fire truck specially designed to fight petroleum fires will go into service soon. The $60,000 truck will be housed at Station No. 5 on Sullivan Road and will be aimed at helping any Kaiser emergencies.

Kaiser kicked in $15,000 to help pay for the rig.

Kaiser and Valley Fire had been talking about purchasing a new vehicle since the company disbanded its volunteer fire brigade in early 1998.

But the new truck won’t be used exclusively for Kaiser, Humphries said.

Humphries said he’s heard rumors that some believe Kaiser’s donation was hush money.

“That’s bogus,” he said. “Kaiser is about one-tenth of our assessed value, so it’s important for us to protect that.”

Company spokeswoman Susan Ashe agrees.

“We’ve been a corporate citizen for 52 years,” Ashe said. She said Kaiser has not been much of a burden on county resources because the company is self-contained, much like an Air Force or Army base. The company generates its own electricity and natural gas and until last year had its own fire brigade.

She said the company decided to help pay for the new fire truck because it would help in emergencies at the Trentwood plant.

Kaiser was trying to save money and increase service when it cut the fire brigade, she said. “So it seems appropriate to help defray any costs.”