Camas Council OKs placing regional fire authority issue before voters

The Camas City Council voted unanimously Monday to place a regional fire authority proposal on the April 22, 2025 ballot.

Creating a Camas-Washougal regional fire authority (RFA) would relieve financial pressures on both cities’ general funds and, according to Fire Chief Cliff Free, enhance local fire and emergency medical services.

During a Nov. 6 joint session of the Camas and Washougal city councils, Free said that, if voters approve the formation of the RFA, he would be able to staff three-person fire engines in 2027, and that the RFA would have no out-of-pocket ambulance costs for local residents.

Free told city officials Nov. 6 that having a three-person engine is a fire safety issue and warned that, “if a two-person engine rolls up to a fire and a person is in that structure, we are not permitted to rescue them.”

The RFA planning committee has recommended that the initial levy rate be set at $1.05 per $1,000 assessed property value.

“The financial piece was very comprehensive and very complex,” Washougal City Councilwoman Molly Coston said during the Nov. 4 joint meeting. “It was an essential piece of the plan to make sure (the RFA would be) solvent from day one.”