Snohomish County Fire District #26

Each year the Sky Valley comes together to celebrate those residents who consistently go above and beyond in service to our community. The Mayor of Gold Bar, Crystal Hill, and the Mayor of Sultan, Carolyn Eslick, presented the award on Saturday, February 3, 2008. The Citizen of the Year was awarded to our Fire Chief, Eric Andrews.

Eric began volunteering for Snohomish County Fire District #26 (Gold Bar and the surrounding area.) on February 4, 1977. Before that, as local legend would tell, Eric could be found riding his bicycle around Sultan with playing cards clipping in the spokes and his young voice imitating a fire engine siren. It would seem that from a very early age he was destined to be a firefighter.

In 1978 he graduated Bates Technical Institute Fire Academy. Shortly after graduation he became a member of Snohomish County Fire District #7, where he is still a career firefighter and today holds the rank of Assistant Chief. It is not uncommon for someone to start in the fire service as a volunteer and then when they become a career firefighter, they quickly loose their interest in volunteering. Believing in the importance of volunteering and wanting to serve the citizens of our community, Eric has continued his work as a volunteer firefighter.

In thinking of the hours that he has invested in service to our community after thirty years of volunteering; the number of lives he has touched responding to fires, motor vehicle accidents, medical emergencies, rescues, and all the other type’s of calls the fire service responds to; and the firefighters he has trained to serve and the lives they have touched… The difference this man has made to our community is immeasurable.

Some of the programs that Eric’s leadership has brought to our community include: 60 volunteer firefighters, EMT-B’s, EMT-I’s and paramedics. Snohomish County Fire District 26 is staffed 24/7 with volunteer firefighter / EMT’s, enabling us to provide quicker service to our community. The district has paramedics on duty 24/7 helping to shorten response times to the critical ill or injured.

Eric’s efforts include writing and receiving of grants that have saved the taxpayers over $500,000.00. In 2002, the district received $81,000.00 for new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus’s (SCBA’s). In 2003, the district received $107,440.00 for radio’s, thermal imaging camera, and a portable SCBA refilling station / generator. In 2004, the district received $46,000.00 for new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In 2005, the district received a 4-year “Safer Grant”. This grant is used for various volunteer support and retention programs totaling over $276,000.00. Anyone who has ever written a federal grant knows how much work goes into this effort. In 2006 he wrote a grant for new fire hose, nozzles, and station exhaust totaling $102,000.00. And, in 2007 the district received $29,000.00 for portable radios. Eric has volunteered his time writing grants for the sole purpose of serving his community and saving the taxpayers money.