Fire Commissioner Campaign Heats Up
A dispute that has been ongoing since late 2022 is coming to a head with a local campaign.
Pre-COVID, Mason 17 and Brinnon Fire Department (BFD) began training together. They updated their mutual aid agreements and began working together more closely. Mason 17, which is not equipped with an ambulance, asked BFD to start responding to calls. After COVID began, Mason 17 asked BFD to start responding to ALL calls to help with the elderly population and staff shortages.
Talks of a merger that would bring a 24/7 ambulance to Mason 17 began. Meetings were held over the next year with Chief Manly, the Brinnon Fire and Mason 17 Commissioners, and Board Chairman in their homes. Chief Manly attended a Mason 17 commissioner meeting in September 2022 to present the merger. Mason 17 Commissioners attended a BFD meeting afterward and asked for things to slow down. That November, BFD received a letter to no longer respond to their calls, and they are no longer on the run card as automatic mutual aid.
Brinnon Fire Department released a letter to the public informing them of the change, and turmoil ensued. Claims of bullying and harassment were made toward BFD, but no specifics were made public.
Jenni Glasco, a resident of Mason County Fire District 17 who works at Brinnon Fire, decided to take action. She took to social media to share with her community why she was uncomfortable with Mason 17 decision to have BFD stop responding to mutual aid calls. A central point of concern for Jenni, who lives with her child and an elderly relative, is the ambulance response time becoming a 30+ minute wait.
Chief Brown responded on social media to Jenni stating, “Brinnon Fire is NOT an Advanced Life Support (ALS) agency and the nearest ALS provider is Central Mason Fire & EMS (CMFE)” This is not the case; Brinnon has a fully equipped BLS and ALS ambulance and is authorized to operate ALS when staffed with a paramedic. BFD is a mere 9 miles from Jenni’s home at Beacon Point.
In an article from the Shelton-Mason County Journal, Jenni claimed, “The dispute has become personal as opposed to being about the needs of the community.” In 2023, when the Fire Commissioner position became open for election, Jenni knew she had to run.
Jenni made a career change in January 2020 and decided to become a volunteer EMT for the Brinnon Fire Department. Her role as an EMT involves offering basic life support response, providing necessary care, and ensuring safe transport for all 911 calls. Later, in 2020, she also became a firefighter for the same department.
When Jenni was off duty, she helped a man at Eldon Store who had been cut by a chainsaw and was bleeding badly. She called 911 and asked for Brinnon to be sent because they were closer. Jenni was told by the dispatcher that they were not allowed to send Brinnon for any calls in Mason 17, and the dispatcher had to contact someone from District 17 and get permission. Delaying the care of the injured man.
The letter from Mason 17 states, “JCFD 4 is requested to respond automatically with MCFD 17 as described in the Mutual Aid Contract on file. Structure fires or significant brush fires, major EMS incidents, Cardiac Arrest, Multiple Patients, Serious MVC, Entrapment, Rescue. This response is automatic based on MCFD 17 Run Cards.” But the letter from MACECOM Clearly states that Brinnon has been removed from Active 911 and is not to be toned from their system. Instead, Brinnon must be specifically requested by Mason 17 before they contact the BFD dispatch.
“It is unacceptable to have over 30-minute response times when there are options to bring 24-hour ambulance services to our community. They have never asked the community what they want,” stated Jenni Glasco.
Another point of concern in the merger was that Mason 17 taxes would have to rise to Jefferson County rates. One citizen took the news, sharing what that really looks like, “Mason County District 17 EMS: $0.3670 Fire: $0.2499; Brinnon Jefferson County District 4 EMS: $0.3633 Fire: $0.9391 Fire bond (2019): $0.3384. That is a difference of $1.03 per thousand dollars assessed.”
In an interview, Jenni responded to the tax concerns, “Having a low tax rate doesn’t matter if you’re dying. None of that matters if something serious is happening. And saying that our tax has been low since 1972, well, our population has grown since then. Things have changed, we need that coverage.”