Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) and Western Lane Ambulance District (WLAD) voted to move forward with a resolution to start the process for creating the new Western Lane Fire and EMS Authority (WLFEA), an organization that will employ administrative personnel from SVFR and WLAD, while also allowing both boards to work more closely together.
“I want everyone to understand that this doesn’t create a third entity,” Interim Chief Director Steve Abel said about the resolution. “All this does, should it be approved, is gives us direction to go down that path. We have to create the ins and outs of what that agency will be doing, and then it would have to be adopted. It’s going to take three to four months, and we should be able to get this started by July 1, which makes the most sense. It’s the beginning of the fiscal year.”
WLAD Board President Rick Yecny, who presented the resolution to both boards in a joint meeting on March 7, described the reason for WLFEA.