Fred Hertel, joint chief of the Sheridan and West Valley fire districts, recently authored a guest opinion headlined, “Not your father’s fire service.” And that, in a nutshell, explains why McMinnville, Amity, Carlton, Lafayette, Dayton and Dundee are beginning to explore creation of a cooperative firefighting force.
If they do connect in some fashion, they would be following the lead of Sheridan and Willamina, which may ultimately join Dallas-based Southwest Polk as well, and Newberg, which began contracting with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue in 2016. Already, Carlton and Lafayette are sharing a fire chief, and Amity plans to begin contracting with McMinnville on July 1.
Further consolidation is virtually inevitable. So count us in full support of the process outlined by McMinnville Chief Rich Leipfert, aimed at determining what form such consolidation might take.