PORT ANGELES — It’s been about a year since Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue, and the Port Angeles Fire Department put a new automatic mutual aid agreement into place — and both agencies say it’s paying off.
The setup means that when a structure fire call comes in, both departments are dispatched at the same time. Port Angeles Fire Chief Derrell Sharp says that extra manpower is critical.
“It definitely helps us move closer to meeting NFPA 1710 standards. For a 2,000-square-foot residential structure, the recommendation is 14 first-alarm responders. Having District 2 automatically toned and responding with us brings us much closer to that standard,” said Sharp.
Clallam 2 Fire Rescue 2 Chief Jake Patterson notes the geography that makes cooperation almost unavoidable. His district surrounds the city on all sides, meaning crews often travel through Port Angeles to reach emergencies.
“It’s a unique situation. Fire District 2 actually surrounds the city of Port Angeles, so we often joke—lightheartedly—that we have to travel through the city just to get from one side of the district to the other. That’s why you’ll often see our crews moving back and forth,” said Patterson
Both chiefs agree when people call 911, they’re not so much interested in what agency shows up, just that help is there.
In the past year, the two agencies have responded to each other’s calls at least 85 times. They’ve also strengthened ties with a shared duty chief rotation — ensuring a commander is always on call — and merged volunteer training programs so firefighters know each other’s equipment and procedures before arriving on scene.
A full merger of the two agencies has been discussed before and could resurface, though different funding models remain a challenge.
For now, both departments say the past year has proven that automatic aid works — providing faster, stronger responses no matter where the call comes in.