In its annual awards ceremony held Wednesday, the Oak Harbor Fire Department recognized the work and sacrifices made by firefighters. For some, it was a bittersweet good-bye as the department phased out its paid-on-call volunteer program.

In November 2022, a majority of voters in Oak Harbor voted to raise property taxes and support the fire department in hiring more staff, building a new fire station and purchasing new equipment.

In January 2024, the volunteer paid-on-call firefighters received a letter from the City of Oak Harbor, informing them that the program would be phased out by the end of 2025 with the planned opening of Fire Station 82. In October, a new letter informed volunteers that the program would end effective Jan. 31 instead, “due to staffing and the 2025 budget.”

The paid-on-call crew, some of whom had other full-time jobs or were seniors, were given the choice to either pass a test to become full- or part-time employees, or be laid off. While a number of them became career firefighters, others quit or stayed until the very last day.

Rich Rodgers, who devoted 50 years serving as a paid-on-call firefighter for the department, stayed until he had to put down his helmet on Jan. 31. Although he trusts the current and future career staff will do the job right, he wishes the department had kept him and his peers as back-up.

While it was initially presumed that the paid-on-call firefighters would continue to support the main staff after getting more career hires on board, Rodgers said that changed with the new city administration.

By working full-time as plumbers, electricians, Navy sailors, construction workers and so forth, the paid-on-call people brought useful expertise to the table, Rodgers said.

“They don’t realize the amount of experience that they are getting rid of,” he said.

Now, if the department finds itself dealing with multiple calls at once or experiences a staff shortage, he said, it would need support from North Whidbey Fire and Rescue or Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Fire Department.

Less than two months since his final day, the former captain already misses the job, which he started on Jan. 6, 1975.

The then 25-year-old was working at a furniture store in town when Fire Chief Jim Ronhaar proposed that he join as a volunteer.

“And I said, ‘Well, that sounds interesting,’” said Rodgers, who is now 75.

Little did he know he would eventually become the department’s first emergency medical technician and paramedic, as well as the city’s longest-serving firefighter and employee, responding to thousands of calls under seven mayors, seven fire chiefs and 68 council members, he said.

In his first years, he said, responding to a fire looked much more different than today.

There were four sirens placed in different locations around town, and whenever they would go off, the crew would go to the nearby police station to get a slip with all the information about the fire. At the time, the fire station was located in the building that currently houses ICOM-911, adjacent to the police station that still operates in the same location.

While he never felt particularly afraid, the job was much more dangerous as the firefighters did not have a breathing apparatus.

“You would literally go into the fire, hold your breath for as long as you could, run outside, get some gulps of air, go back in, fight the fire, and that’s the way you had to do it,” he recounted.

As the breathing apparatus, the pagers and the thermal imaging equipment were introduced into the job, it became much safer, especially when coupled with the training of Captain Craig Anderson, he said.

Like his other paid-on-call fellows, Rodgers kept himself busy with other jobs. He was in the furniture business for 43 years and, for 30 years, worked part-time teaching EMT, first-aid and safety at Skagit Valley College — a job he retired from this year.

On top of these, he would spend 160 to 180 hours per month helping people in a crisis.

While leaving a dinner or rushing out in the middle of the night to put out a fire or simply to change someone’s smoke detector batteries was often difficult on both him and his loved ones, people’s gratitude made it all worth it, and he is grateful to his family for supporting his lifestyle.

He is also grateful for his firefighting family, who voted him fireman of the year in 1978 and captain of the year in 2024.

With a lot of good memories and a passion for helping others, quitting was never in his plans.

He isn’t the only one. After serving for 29 years, Jon Roberts walked out of Fire Station 81 as a firefighter for the last time on Jan. 28.

“I’m not gonna lie. I was very disappointed by the way it all shook out. But now that a couple of months have gone by, I’ve sort of reassessed it,” he said. “I can’t stand in the way of progress. And if this is the right thing, then, you know, so be it.”

Chris Garden, a full-time deputy at the Island County Sheriff’s Office who served the fire department for 39 years, said a number of his peers quit last year when they learned the program would be phased out.

These include Robert Mirabal, who said he quit last March after 19 years of service because he was told paid-on-calls could only handle medical calls.

Garden’s understanding was that the paid-on-call firefighters would be kept, and believes the change happened when Mayor Ronnie Wright came into office. To Mirabal, the push came from the International Association of Firefighters.

On top of being more expensive, Garden said, ending the program was a mistake because it provided local back-up as volunteers were required to live around the city, whereas career firefighters can live anywhere, with some commuting from Bellingham or Everett.

In case of a disaster where the island happens to be cut off from the mainland, the department would lose that extra, local support.

Furthermore, he believes, career firefighters don’t have the same dedication as volunteer paid-on-call firefighters.

Ray Merrill, the former fire chief, and Anderson expressed their admiration for the volunteer paid-on-call firefighters and their gratitude for the service provided all these years. However, they explained the decision to end the program was simply the result of high costs and volunteer shortages.

“As with all organizations, volunteerism is faltering immensely,” said Merrill. While most fire departments around the county were started by volunteers, he said, the times have been changing and people have become busier.

When Anderson became chief last summer, many of the paid-on-call people had left. Of the nine who stayed, six were receiving a salary, benefits and employer-provided pension contributions, he said, adding that the program cost more than $500,000 to maintain.

“While several (paid-on-call) members regularly signed up for shifts Monday through Thursday, we were frequently left understaffed on Fridays through Sundays,” Anderson wrote in an email. “Transitioning to full-time positions provided more consistent staffing as well as crew continuity and consistent training.”

The department still welcomes former volunteers to stop by, catch up over some coffee and use the gym, Anderson said.

“Your sacrifices have made a lasting impact. You will always be part of our fire service family,” he said.

According to Oak Harbor Communications Officer Magi Aguilar, Anderson kept Wednesday’s award ceremony intimate “to make it solely about the fire department,” which is why it wasn’t held at City Hall and why the mayor and the council did not attend.

(Photo by Luisa Loi) Rich Rodgers served 50 years as a paid-on-call firefighter before the program was cut.

The Oak Harbor Fire Department in a photo taken in last summer. (Photo provided by Angela Braunstein)

A newspaper story featuring a young Rich Rodgers.