Fire chief resigns in Coulee Dam

When you make a 911 call to report a fire in Coulee Dam you expect a town fire engine and crew to respond.

Don’t count on it.

Last week, Coulee Dam fire chief Robert Jackson resigned after 12 years as chief. When reached he refused to comment on his resignation.

The issue came up at the Coulee Dam Town Council meeting last Wednesday night, and shortly after announcing it to the council, Councilmember Ben Alling, who has been a member of the fire department for 38 years, announced his resignation from it. Since then, Mayor Greg Wilder stated, a third fire department member has resigned.

“As a point, the town didn’t request any of the resignations,” Wilder stated later, adding, “We clearly have an opportunity for change” and to “reshape the department.”

Alling proceeded to deliver to the mayor Jackson’s gear and his own. He gave no reason for resigning.

There have been differences between Wilder and the fire department, especially with the ambulance operation, which has faced charges of harassment of one member.

Wilder has said that emergency personnel were making decisions on whether they were going to respond to calls based on who else in the department was responding because some didn’t want to work with others.

The mayor has asked for indpendent assessments from insurance companies and others and learned that the ambulance did not have all the basic supplies needed and it often set without being cleaned out, with candy wrappers and soda pop cans left behind.

At the council meeting, resident Keith St. Jeor asked the mayor if the town still had a fire department. He requested a “yes or no” answer.

The issue bounced around, with Councilmember Shawn Derrick asking Alling how many volunteer firefighters remained. Alling said maybe 12, but that they were not all active.

St. Jeor asked if an engine would respond should the town get a fire call, a question that was not really answered. St. Jeor said he was afraid local fire insurance rates would go up if the town fire system isn’t responding to fires.

Coulee Dam has a mutual-aid response agreement with both Grand Coulee and the Bureau of Reclamation.

“The town and the broader community will still live on,” Wilder stated.