By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle
YACHATS — The Yachats Rural Fire Protection District board Monday set a deadline of March 31, 2026 to reach a decision on whether it wants to continue its current staffing agreement with South Lincoln Ambulance.
The deadline will need to be agreed upon by the three-member board of the nonprofit ambulance service before taking effect. The current agreement, signed in 2023, has no termination date.
The fire district board will also need to decide whether it wants to assume operations of the ambulance service, whose primary purpose is service within the borders of the fire district. And if it does take over service, whether it will continue to transport patients to nearby hospitals or rely on Pacific West Ambulance for transport.
South Lincoln board member Frankie Petrick, who is also the fire district administrator and volunteer chief, has made clear the ambulance service cannot operate independently without fire district staff. The ambulance currently provides about $35,000 in annual revenue to the fire district, which does not cover the cost incurred by the district to staff it.
The fire district board has been wrestling for months on a decision — or how — to take over the ambulance operation or drop its service.
In other business, the board elected Doug Myers as board president and Drew Tracy as vice president. Myers replaces Katherine Guenther. Ed Hallahan remains secretary/treasurer. Guenther did not attend the meeting for health reasons.
Myers, who has led the charge in resolving the interconnected relationship between the district and the ambulance service, said it was time to stop “kicking the can down the road” and resolve the issue. He had asked for a Dec. 31 decision deadline before the board agreed upon the March deadline.
“If we can’t get it done by then, shame on us,” board member Stan Wagaman said.
Yachats needs to contract with Firemed. They operate all along the coast except for Yachats right now. The way it works is you have a yearly ( $140 a year) or multi year subscription for both air /life flight and ground ambulance coverage. The fees help cover the ambulance service. I have retained my Lane County membership because I drive back coastal roads to and from the valley.