Millwood Will Use Valley Fire

The Millwood city council approved a plan this week that would require the town to pay Spokane Valley Fire District for emergency services.

The contract would require Millwood to pay Valley Fire at least $17,000 a year for three years for fire training and emergency response.

“It’s an added insurance policy,” said Millwood city council member Richard Schoen, who voted for the contract. “I think we’ll get our money’s worth.”

The final agreement, which passed by a vote of 3-2, comes after months of negotiations between Valley Fire and Millwood.

For years, Valley Fire and Millwood had a mutual aid agreement. That agreement meant either agency would respond to an emergency first in the other’s service area if the other couldn’t respond in time.

But Valley Fire officials cancelled that agreement earlier this year, saying they were giving more than they were receiving.

Millwood officials said, indeed, their 21-member volunteer fire department has responded to emergencies in the Valley. And all they wanted was Valley Fire’s help training their volunteers.

“That’s all we wanted,” said Millwood Mayor Jeanne Batson, who opposed the contract, saying it cost too much. City council member Frank Cook voted against the agreement.

“I’m willing to pay for training, but I don’t want to be ripped off,” he said.

Cook said he disagreed with paying $2,500 a year for an arson investigator.

“We’ve had one arson investigation in the past 10 years. We hired a guy from the city and paid him $40 for one time,” he said. “If we need someone for an arson investigation, we’ll hire them, but that may be another 10 years.”

He also added that Millwood has gotten a bad rap. He said the volunteers have responded to emergencies in Valley Fire’s area, especially during fire storm. In fact, Valley Fire responded to only about 4 percent of Millwood’s total calls last year, he said.

Last month, Valley Fire commissioners voted unanimously for the contract. They said they have to have something in place to ensure things were fair.

“We’re not trying to annex them.

We’re not trying to rip them off. We just don’t want the citizens of Fire District 1 subsidizing other areas,” said commissioner Tom Gregory.

Fire commissioners asked Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries to track how much the department truly responds to Millwood during the next three years.

“Really, they’re getting a bargain, I think,” Gregory said. “It’s mutually beneficial to the Valley and to Millwood.”