Firefighters tell commissioners: Reach a contract with paramedics

Give the paramedics more money.

That’s what about 20 Orcas islanders told fire commissioners at a workshop meeting of the commission on Jan. 21.

What prompted their demand was the resignation of paramedic Mike Damoth, who read a letter at the meeting in which he stated that paramedics’ pay of $11 an hour was not only unacceptable, it also wasn’t enough so somebody could afford to live on Orcas Island.

Several speakers charged that paramedics’ wages were less than what people get for menial jobs. Jessica McKeever contended that people on the island get $15 to pull weeds, while Joanne Simmons said, “I pay high school kids more to carry fire wood.”

But fire commissioners not only were unwilling to make any promises, they were also reluctant to comment about their most recent offer to paramedics. All the negotiations between the department and the paramedics have taken place in closed session. They have gone on for two years, and for the past 12 months paramedics have been working without a contract.

The commissioners acknowledged that paramedics are making about $11 an hour, but Commissioner Bob Phalan pointed out that one has to pay attention to the fine print, which shows that the trio is making an average of about $40,000 a year.

The fire department’s current arrangement calls for three paramedics, each of working three 24-hour shifts every nine days. They get paid for every hour they are on duty, whether they get a call or not. Paramedics on Orcas answered an average of one call per day in 2003, Emergency Medical Services Coordinator Garth Eimers said.

Fire commissioners have proposed a two-paramedic system, with the pair splitting $128,000, Phalan said. Orcas has the only department in San Juan County with three paramedics. Lopez and San Juan have two. Lopez paramedics aren’t required to have 24/7 emergency coverage. Orcas and San Juan are.

Orcas paramedics are allowed to work at other jobs while on duty, the only conditions being that the work take place on Orcas Island, and that they be in their vehicles and on their way to a call within four minutes of being notified. Damoth worked for a contractor for several years at Eagle Lake while on duty on the island.

It remains to be seen if the new contract will allow paramedics to keep other jobs on the island while on duty. Fire commissioners and staff have expressed concern about an arrangement that would allow a paramedic to be located at least an hour away from a possible call. They would like to require paramedics to be at the Eastsound Fire Hall when on duty.

Several in the audience said they were deeply troubled that so much money was spent for a new fire hall, but not enough for the paramedics. Simmons described the building as a “Taj Mahal,” and characterized the paramedics’ wages as “shameful.” Another speaker said, “The public wants to spend more for people, and less for the plant.”

Gunther Eschenbrenner found it incredible that nothing was settled after two years of negotiations. “I was in industry,” he said. “If the boss tells me to settle, you settled. There are no excuses, or you’re out a job.”

Several firefighters proposed ways of coming up with more money to pay the paramedics. Doug Schliebus proposed charging for ambulance calls. Noting that there is nothing more valuable than a human life, Doug Schliebus continued, “Most people would pay whatever is reasonable.”

San Juan Island charges about $300 for each ambulance call, according to paramedic Jim Ricks. Interestingly, the amount doesn’t even cover a third of the approximately $1,000 it costs Orcas and San Juan every time each department makes an ambulance call. Ricks said the main reason for charging a fee is “to eliminate nuisance, or band-aid calls.”

Some worry that such a policy will prevent poor people from using the ambulance even in life-and-death situations. This isn’t a problem on San Juan, however. “We get plenty of calls from poor people,” Ricks said.

Firefighter Julie Remington offered to give up the $9 she receives per call and “donate it to the paramedics so they can get better wages.”

Negotiations between the department and the union representing the paramedics, the San Juan Paramedics Association, will resume in closed session on Feb. 10. A professional mediator will be there, attempting to bring the two parties together.

Paramedics’ wages in San Juan County:

Lopez (2) $48,540 each

Orcas (3) $40,174 (on average)

San Juan (2) $59,715 (on average)

* Figures furnished by the San Juan County Auditor

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