Calls for police, fire, and emergency medical services have increased in Bellingham, and the costs to provide these services have also risen significantly. Current budgets can’t keep up, and without changes, we risk falling behind in these essential services.
At the same time, the City of Bellingham has had to cut these and other services – like library hours and park and trail maintenance – because funding for these services competes with not only fire and EMS, but also with police, roads, and more.
Bellingham needs a sustainable, stable funding source for public safety and first responders so we don’t have to make trade-offs on the services our community expects.
A Regional Fire Authority (RFA) is a permanent and flexible way to provide reliable, high-quality fire and EMS services with dedicated funding. City of Bellingham leaders and Whatcom County Fire District 8 Commissioners agree this is the best funding solution for our community. In April 2026 they voted to form an RFA planning committee that created a plan for the structure and funding of an RFA.
Ultimately, the decision to form an RFA and what tax rate to set must be approved by voters.
Current Service Levels
Calls for fire and EMS have risen by 35% in the last decade, compared to only 17% in the decade before that. Today, crews are responding to about 9,000 more calls a year than they did 10 years ago. However, Bellingham has operated with the same core fire response resources since 1976.
A study by the City of Bellingham in 2025-26 showed that the rising demand and growing call complexity are stretching crews, reducing their availability to respond to other calls and leading to longer response times to critical incidents.
Over the next 10 years, it could cost up to $30 million more each year to fully catch up on staffing levels, specialty units, and equipment to meet the growing public safety needs in Bellingham.
We need a new way to pay for essential City services, including fire and EMS. Transitioning the fire department to a Regional Fire Authority provides the most flexible, stable solution, creating a dedicated funding source to maintain the high-quality fire and emergency medical services we all expect to receive and freeing up funds for other core City functions.
Read the City of Bellingham Public Safety Level of Service study to learn more.
Timeline
Service Area
The proposed RFA would cover more than 50 square miles within the boundaries of the Bellingham city limits and Whatcom County Fire District 8, serving a population of about 105,000. The RFA would include eight stations, shown below.
