With the impending retirement of Hoquiam Fire Chief Paul Dean Oct. 1 and now a letter of support from the presidents of both the Aberdeen and Hoquiam firefighters unions, discussions between the two cities about consolidating fire and EMS services seems to be picking up steam.
The letter was presented to the Hoquiam City Council Monday. “With the upcoming retirement of Hoquiam Fire Chief Paul Dean on Oct. 1, 2018, Aberdeen Firefighters Local 2639 and Hoquiam Firefighters Local 315 have come together to jointly support researching consolidation efforts,” the letter began. “We recognize these efforts have stalled in the past, however, we believe this is a good time to renew those efforts.” The letter was signed by Brad Frafjord, president of the Aberdeen union and Andy Polmateer, president of Hoquiam union, and further urged the cities to consider "putting forth funding to support a consolidation feasibility study by an emergency services consulting firm."