After a remarkable two-and-a-half-year tenure, Vashon Fire Chief Matt Vinci will head east next week to become chief of Spokane County Fire District #9.
Vashon owes a deep debt of gratitude to Vinci, who is leaving VIFR in far better shape than he found it. Vinci turned a floundering fire district into one much better equipped to serve our island.
At the time of Vinci’s hire as fire chief, in July of 2022, the district’s career staff had shrunk to only nine firefighters, due to retirements, resignations and moves to jobs in other districts by local first responders. Now, the district employs 24 firefighters, with six each serving in four revolving shifts.
Vinci also mandated modernizing Vashon’s dangerously aging fleet, and within the past year, that, too, has been accomplished, with the purchase of a new fire engine and two new ambulances, as well as the replacement of several staff vehicles.
Another game-changer under Vinci’s watch was the reopening of Burton Fire Station 56, leading to significantly improved response times to Vashon’s south end and on Maury Island. Currently, a long-overdue renovation to Vashon’s Fire Station 55 is well underway.
All of this has been accomplished with the public’s buy-in — largely financed by the passage, in Aug. 2023, of a six-year levy “lid lift” for the district. But Vinci’s capable staff has also obtained millions in federal funding that has bolstered VIFR’s coffers in the past two years.
If all that wasn’t enough, Vinci also launched VIFR’s Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) program, which provides home care to islanders with a variety of healthcare needs. Financed completely by VIFR and another King County EMS levy — making it free of additional cost to islanders — MIH is set for expansion this month to three days a week, staffed by a physician’s assistant, registered nurses and firefighters.
All of these improvements to our fire district — now to be overseen by deputy chief and veteran VIFR firefighter Ben Davidson during VIFR’s search for a new chief — come at a time when we need them most.
In the past week, we have followed the horrific news of the wildfires in Los Angeles. The fires — still being fought by first responders — are terrifying and epic in their destructiveness to a major metropolitan city. But they also touch many of us in a deeply personal way as well. So many of us have lived in the Los Angeles area, and have friends, family members, business associates, and deep memories there.
Vashon residents know that human-fueled global climate change — a major contributor to the increasing frequency and devastation of these wildfires — does not politely limit itself behind state lines or geographic boundaries, and its effects will continue to be felt long after the developed nations of the world get our act together to finally address it.
So across the United States, communities are asking themselves: “What must we do to prepare for fires in our own front yard?” And given the still-unfolding scale of the wildfires’ fury, practical concerns about wildfire risks on Vashon, in conversations on social media and in the grocery store, are understandable.
The Beachcomber has diligently covered times of high fire danger on Vashon, and published articles detailing the wildland fire threats that exist on the island, while also explaining the differences in our marine climate with the locations of other places threatened by wildfires — a mitigating fact that doesn’t mean we should be any less prepared.
This week, through our highly valued partnership with VashonBePrepared, The Beachcomber again includes an article that we hope will help our readers learn more about fire danger in our specific location, and how to prepare for it. We’ve got more to come in future weeks, too.
In an age of fires such as the ones Los Angeles is now experiencing, being prepared and having the facts has never been more important.
And it’s also never been more necessary to have a fully equipped and staffed, well-financed, and expertly run fire department on our ferry-dependent island.
Again, we thank Matt Vinci for making this so during his tenure. We have supreme confidence in Ben Davidson — a 16-year VIFR veteran who has shown grit, courage, steadfastness and deep compassion over his years of service — to step into Vinci’s boots for at least the time being.
That said, we’ll keep watching our fire district closely and regularly report back to you.