2 longtime volunteer firefighters vie for West Plains fire commissioner seat

There’s a confusing twist in a race for a West Plains fire commissioner.

One of the candidates for a Spokane County Fire District 3 fire commissioner seat has since been appointed to fill a different vacant seat on the board but is continuing his run for the seat for which he filed.

Tim Flock and Mike Meyer were two of three candidates who filed in May for the seat currently held by Sharon Colby, who has served on the board for 34 years. Colby did not file for re-election. But later that same month, Commissioner Bob Harris stepped down from his seat.

Flock, Meyer and their other opponent, Kent Reitmeier, were all considered for Harris’ seat after the remaining commissioners asked the trio if they would be interested.

“The three of us interviewed, plus three other community members,” Flock said. “It was kind of unexpected. The three of us were sitting in the meeting when it was announced it was Bob’s last meeting.”

Flock was appointed to fill the remaining two years of Harris’s term, but said if he wins the election for Colby’s seat, he will resign from Harris’ seat, and the commission will appoint someone else to serve the remainder of that term. Flock said the circumstances have been a little confusing for some residents.

“It’s been hard to explain that to people,” he said.

In the August primary, Flock won 56% of the vote. Meyer also advanced to the November election by coming in second with 33%.

Flock, who served for 28 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard before retiring, has also been a volunteer firefighter for decades. He volunteered with District 3 for the last 12 years, most recently as a battalion chief. Flock said he resigned from that position two weeks after he was appointed to the board of commissioners.

“It was kind of a conflict of interest being on the command staff and on the board,” he said.

Meyer, who also retired from the Air National Guard after a lengthy career and has been a volunteer firefighter with District 3 since 2010, said he’s running for Colby’s seat because he wants to make a difference.

“It’s one thing to sit on the sidelines and say things,” he said. “It’s another thing to enter the fray and try to do things.”

Now 71, Meyer said being a volunteer is getting more difficult and serving on the board will allow him to still contribute.

“My noggin is working just fine,” he said. “I just can’t carry a 200-pound person out of a burning house anymore.”

Meyer said he hopes to create strong relationships with firefighters and the public.

“Relationships are important to me,” he said. “It’s firefighters who get the job done, not equipment.”

District 3 is experiencing a lot of growth, and Meyer said the district needs to concentrate on staffing and training, particularly for medical calls. He would like to see the district hire more advanced emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

“More than 70% of our calls are medical,” he said. “We need to put our emphasis where the need is. That’s only going to get worse as the West Plains gets more and more populated.”

Flock said staffing is an issue in District 3, just like it is in many districts. District 3 is a combination district, using 36 paid career firefighters and dozens of volunteers.

“We have been seeing a decline in volunteerism nationwide,” Flock said. “Of course, the call volume has been spiking.”

In response, the district has been changing how it recruits volunteers, he said. Firefighters usually have training in EMS, structure fires and wildland fires. But in the last couple of years, the district no longer has required volunteers to have training in all three areas. People can now volunteer even if they only have training in one or two of those areas, and they only respond to the calls they have training for.

“We take volunteers now in any one of those positions,” he said. “We’ve come a long way, in that respect.”

Flock said he also wants the district to add more paramedics. There are three paid firefighters who are also paramedics and four or five volunteer paramedics. That is not enough to cover all 11 stations in the district, which sprawls out more than 570 square miles.

“Ninety percent of the time we have a paramedic on duty at the station in Medical Lake,” Flock said. “It’s significantly higher than it used to be.”

The district is working toward a four-corner model, which would involve staffing in the four corners of the district, Flock said. Currently there are crews staffing the stations in Medical Lake and Four Lakes, while Station 31 in Cheney is typically staffed by a battalion chief.

“Eventually, we hope to have Station 36 in Spangle staffed,” Flock said. “We’re working toward getting more staffing. The biggest challenge I see is staying in touch with the taxpayers and what they want.”

While more staffing is the goal, the district has yet to identify funding for more firefighters, Flock said.

“There’s not a clear path forward to manage this,” he said. “It’ll be a conversation we have to have with the community.”

Flock, who received 883 more votes than Meyer in the primary, said he hopes voters will elect him so he can have a full six-year term to fully settle into his new role.

“Two years isn’t long to get my feet underneath me, even with my time as a battalion chief,” he said. “It’s a different perspective.”

Flock said that while he knows most of the firefighters in the district, he has been working to introduce himself to community members, as well as maintaining his relationships with district staff. He has been visiting stations regularly.

“My goal is to go in and see them twice a month and make sure I’m available to them,” he said.

Meyer said he believes he has the leadership and financial skills necessary to serve on the board.

“I have a heart for my neighbors,” he said. “As a commissioner, that love I have for my neighbors I will take to the next level all across the district.”