A couple of hundred years ago, fire departments in New York City used to be privately funded as a form of insurance. If you subscribed to fire insurance, a sign would be placed upon your home, detailing to which fire service you were subscribed.

If your home suffered a fire, you would shout for the fire brigade. If there was a fire station next-door, and you were subscribed to that fire station, you were in luck.

But if you were subscribed to some other service, the next-door crew would refuse to fight your fire, and you had to wait until your own service showed up – from perhaps 20 blocks away.

We Orcas Islanders pay taxes in order to receive, among other things, emergency services. Off-islanders also pay taxes in order to receive, among other things, emergency services.

If an Orcas Islander happens to be in Mount Vernon and needs emergency services, will Mount Vernon’s fire service bill him because he isn’t subscribed to Mount Vernon’s fire brigade? I bet not.

There is unstated reciprocity to that Orcasian, just as there should be reciprocity to a resident of Mount Vernon who finds himself needing emergency services on Orcas.

The Orcas Fire Commissioners are foolishly repeating the ancient New York experience, which turned out not to work particularly well when a large, city-wide fire resulted from inattention to a small household fire because the wrong fire brigade responded. Our modern, mobile life has no room for local, non-reciprocal emergency services.

As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Steve Henigson

Eastsound