Chief Mike Harris asked for and received approval from the commissioners to proceed with the creation of two new staff positions during the fire commissioners meeting: deputy fire marshal and fire mechanic.

The deputy fire marshal position is an expanded position with the person taking on the responsibility for some duties now being handled by the San Juan County Fire Marshal, to whom the deputy reports.

In a separate but related action, Harris received approval to renegotiate Orcas expenses with the county fire marshal based on the creation of the expanded position.

The deputy marshal would take on all commercial fire inspections on Orcas. Harris told the commissioners that the lowering of fees paid to the county would offset the expense of the new position. He also felt that the position would help with fire pre-incident planning and offer “value added” services to the Orcas community including the use of the thermal imaging camera to determine which electrical breakers were about to fail and fire extinguisher training.

“We are talking about changing this program, taking responsibility for it, making sure our part time position continues, and that the program is more affordable and more dedicated to our own fire protection,” Harris said.

The position would be a salaried position with no vacation or sick time but have retirement benefits. The cost would be $2,000 per month.

The fire mechanic position would change from a current contract position to a salaried fire mechanic and responder position. The current contract mechanic lives in Las Vegas and comes to Orcas every month for a week or more. The new position would give the mechanic a training role with the fire department. He would work with staff to help them get the most out of the fire equipment. Financial Officer Rick Anda backed out all the expenses currently being paid to the position to come up with a salary.

“We will be getting more and paying the same amount,” Anda said. “He will be paying less out of his own pocket and getting medical benefits he needs. It’s a win-win situation.”

The total contract cost is $54,000 and his gross salary would be $36,000 a year.

Harris told the commissioners that the school district had discussed using the fire department’s fire mechanic as the mechanic on their school buses too.