CHAPTER 19. WHITMAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT #1 ANNEX 19.1 HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN POINT OF CONTACT Ron McHargue, Fire Commissioner 4941 Lone Pine Road Tekoa, Washington 99033 Phone: (509) 284-7541 E-mail address: None available 19.2 DISTRICT PROFILE Fire District #1 is a junior taxing authority. Three elected commissioners decide how tax funding is appropriated. This Board will assume the responsibility for the adoption and implementation of this plan. The District works in conjunction with the fire department of the City of Tekoa. The purpose of the district is to provide fire protection services to the people of the district and the City of Tekoa. Operations are funded by property taxes. The firemen are volunteers. There are 15 volunteers. Approximately 70 people live in the district and 800 people live in Tekoa. Land Area Owned The fire station is located on two lots in Tekoa at 109 West Poplar Street. Land Area Served 61 square miles List of Critical Infrastructure/Equipment 81 Chevy. Fire Truck $55,000 75 Dodge Fire Truck $50,000 73 International $75,500 75 Chevy Water Tanker $45,000 Value of Critical Infrastructure/Equipment $225,500 List of Critical Facilities (Owned by District) Fire station $115,900 Fire fighting equipment $50,000 Value of Critical Facilities: $165,900 Value of Area Served $28,484,806 19.3 OUTLINE OF AREA SERVED Fire District #1 is located in the northeast corner of Whitman County. The east border extends from the northeast corner of the county along the Washington-Idaho border south for 8-¼ miles. It then goes west 19-1
Whitman County Natural Mitigation Plan; Volume 2 Planning Partner Annexes for 7-¼ miles, north for 6 miles, west for 2 miles, north for 1 mile, west for 1 mile, north for 1-¼ miles, and east for 10 ¼ miles (border between Whitman and Spokane Counties). 19.4 CURRENT AND ANTICIPATED SERVICE TRENDS Based on data from the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Tekoa, and its surrounding areas have experienced a relatively flat rate of growth. The overall population in Tekoa increased at a rate of 0.97 percent per year between 1990 and 2000 and has increased by 2.25 percent from 2000 to 2005. With this rate of growth, the anticipated development trends for Tekoa and surrounding areas are low to moderate, consisting primarily of residential development. Based on these population trends, it is anticipated that Fire District #1 will not see significant increases in serviced population in the immediate future. 19.5 NATURAL HAZARD EVENT HISTORY Type of Event NATURAL HAZARD EVENTS FEMA Disaster # (if applicable) Date Preliminary Damage Assessment Drought n/a 2001- present Information not available Flood 1100 1/26/96 $1.6 Million for entire county High Winds n/a Oct. 1991 Information not available Volcanic Ash 623 5/21/1980 Information not available Drought n/a March 1977 Information not available 19.6 NATURAL HAZARD RISK/VULNERABILITY RISK RANKING Rank # Hazard type NATURAL HAZARD RISK RANKING Estimate of Potential Dollar Losses to Structures Vulnerable to the Hazarda Probability of Occurrenceb 1 Severe Weather $3,915 High 2 Wildfire $156,560 Medium 3 Earthquake $23,484 Low 4 Volcano $391.40 Low 5 Flood No measurable impact on structures High 6 Drought No measurable impact on structures c High a. Building damage ratio estimates based on FEMA 386-2 (August 2001) b. High = Hazard event is likely to occur within 25 years; Medium = Hazard event is likely to occur within 100 years; Low = Hazard event is not likely to occur within 100 years c. Although this event would not impact structures, it could have an economic impact related to drought s impact on farming. 19-2
19. WHITMAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT #1 ANNEX 19.7 EXISTING APPLICABLE NATURAL HAZARD MITIGATION CODES, ORDINANCES OR POLICIES None applicable. 19.8 EXISTING APPLICABLE NATURAL HAZARDS MITIGATION ASSOCIATED PLANS AND/OR DOCUMENTS None applicable 19.9 COMMUNITY CLASSIFICATIONS The classifications in the following table address capabilities in all phases of emergency management (preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation). They are used in determining costs for various forms of insurance. The Public Protection classifications apply to standard property insurance. Classifications are on a scale of 1 to 10, with Class 1 being the best possible classification, and Class 10 representing no classification benefit. Criteria for classification credits are outlined in the Community Rating System Coordinators Manual, the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule, and the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. The Firewise program outlines ways for participating communities to promote land uses that reduce fire risk in wildland/urban interface areas. COMMUNITY CLASSIFICATIONS Program Classification Date Classified Public Protection 9 As of 11/1/2005 Firewise Not Participating n/a 19.10 PROPOSED NATURAL HAZARD MITIGATION INITIATIVES MITIGATION INITIATIVES/ACTION PLAN Mitigation Initiative Initiative Addresses Administrating Agency Funding Sources Time Linea Goalsb Objectivesb 1.) Implement outreach program that promotes property protection techniques from the impacts of wildfire. Wildfire General Fund. Possible cost sharing with County Outreach programs Short Term 1, 2, 3 2, 4, 6, 7 2.) Work with the City of Tekoa to update/retrofit water distribution system to include: main looping, main upsizing, increase fire hydrant spacing/distribution, and seismic retrofit of vulnerable mains. All Tekoa City Council Tekoa CIP Public Works Trust Fund Grant Funding: PDM/HMGP Long Term DOF 1, 2 3, 4, 5 19-3
Whitman County Natural Mitigation Plan; Volume 2 Planning Partner Annexes MITIGATION INITIATIVES/ACTION PLAN Mitigation Initiative 3.) Structural seismic retrofit of fire station. 4.) Non-structural seismic retrofit of fire station 5.) Support countywide initiatives that promote the education of the public on the impacts of natural hazards within Whitman County, and the preparedness for and the mitigation of those impacts. This support will be in the form of dissemination of appropriate information to the residents of Whitman County Fire District #1 service area and continuing support/participation in the Whitman County Natural Mitigation Planning Partnership. 6.) Consider voluntary participation in Firewise programs that will provide benefits/incentives to the Citizens of Whitman County Fire District #1 service area for hazard mitigation. 7.) Continue to coordinate and work with Whitman County Emergency Management in disaster response and preparedness. This level of coordination should include: updates to the Emergency response plan, development of a post disaster action plan, training and support. Initiative Addresses Administrating Agency Funding Sources Earthquake Fire District #1 Bond issue Grant Funding: PDM/HMGP Earthquake All Wildfire All Bond issue Grant Funding: PDM/HMGP Time Linea Goalsb Objectivesb Long Term DOF 1, 2 3, 4, 5 Short term 1, 2 3, 4, 5 General Fund 1, 2, 3 2, 6, 7 General Fund Short term 1, 2, 3 2, 6, 7, 8 General Fund Short term OG 1, 2, 3 2, 4, 6 a. Short term = 1 to 5 years; Long term = 5 years or greater, OG = Ongoing program, DOF=Depending on Funding b. See Volume 1, Chapter 5, Section 5.3.1 and Table 5-1. 19-4
19. WHITMAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT #1 ANNEX 19.11 PRIORITIZATION OF MITIGATION INITIATIVES Initiative # PRIORITIZATION OF MITIGATION INITIATIVES # of Objectives Met Benefits Costs Do benefits equal or exceed costs? Is project grant eligible? Can project be funded under existing programs/ budgets? Priority (High, Med., Low) 1 4 Low Low Yes No Yes High 2 3 High High Yes Yes No Medium 3 3 High High Yes Yes No Medium 4 3 High Medium Yes Yes No High 5 3 Low Low Yes No Yes High 6 4 Low Low Yes No Yes High 7 3 Low Low Yes No Yes High 19.11.1 Explanation of Priorities High Priority A project that meets multiple objectives (i.e., multiple hazards), has benefits that exceed cost, has funding secured or is an ongoing project and meets eligibility requirements for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) or Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM). High priority projects can be completed in the short term (1 to 5 years). Medium Priority A project that meets goals and objectives, that has benefits that exceed costs, and for which funding has not been secured but project is grant eligible under HMGP, PDM or other grant programs. Project can be completed in the short term, once funding is secured. Medium priority projects will become high priority projects once funding is secured. Low Priority A project that will mitigate the risk of a hazard, that has benefits that do not exceed the costs or are difficult to quantify, for which funding has not been secured, that is not eligible for HMGP or PDM grant funding, and for which the time line for completion is long term (1 to 10 years). Low priority projects may be eligible for other sources of grant funding from other programs. Prioritization of initiatives was based on above definitions X Prioritization of initiatives was based on parameters other than stated above: X 19.12 FUTURE NEEDS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND RISK/VULNERABILITY Updated HIVA Grant assistance Help in benefit analysis 19.13 ADDITIONAL COMMENTS None at this time. 19-5