The response period for a North Whidbey Fire and Rescue survey has been extended in the hopes that higher participation will foster public awareness about the fire department’s needs.

The survey includes charts, maps, questions and staffing information intended to educate respondents about the level of service the district is able to provide with its current staffing levels. According to Fire Chief John Clark, the department is staffed largely by volunteers, and of the district’s seven stations, only one is “full-time-staffed,” meaning there is a crew of at least two certified firefighters on duty at all times.

“The survey is meant to open people’s eyes, for the district to be transparent with the public in what services we provide,” Clark said.

Up until 2021, the district maintained two full-time-staffed stations. A graph included in the survey shows how average response times to calls have increased since the downsize to one staffed station.

The survey asks district residents to consider whether these response times are acceptable, and if not, whether they as taxpayers are willing to provide the funds necessary to expand the district’s service capacity.

“We’re at a limit of what we can provide, and this is the limit,” Clark said.

Funding enough positions to staff more stations is a difficult task in the public sector. Whereas private companies can increase the price of their goods or services to offer more competitive wages or employment packages to attract workers, a public entity such as the fire department is funded largely at the public’s discretion, Clark said. State laws strictly limit how much the department can tax the public or increase its levies.

The department can still seek funding from other sources. Clark said the district has applied for a grant that would provide money to increase staffing, but even if the district is awarded the money, the grant only funds the new positions for a few years. At that point, the public would have to decide to continue funding the increased level of service, he said.

District residents can take the survey online at nwfr.org. It will be open through Sept. 30.