Seal Rock fire board member tries to mend fences with chief, but says “obsession” with Central Coast fire needs to end

 

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews

SEAL ROCK – While there was still some mopping up to do after a contentious Seal Rock Fire District board meeting last month – making amends and a fresh start was the overarching theme at its meeting last week.

At its Jan. 31 meeting, board member Mike Burt came under a blistering attack from a fellow board member, the district’s chief and many of its volunteers for allegedly colluding to undermine the department and its chief while also questioning the value of volunteers who live outside the district.

Volunteers threatened to start a recall of Burt if he did not resign by last Thursday’s meeting and there was a possible censure from the board.

Burt responded to the onslaught in January by saying his conscience was clear, that he would not resign or be intimidated, and that he would provide a formal response at the board’s February meeting.

On Thursday, Burt read from a prepared statement as he stood to address board members, chief Will Ewing, volunteers and a couple community members. While the tenor of the statement was in part conciliatory, Burt did not pull all his punches.

Burt began by saying Ewing had “broke decorum to deliver an attack on me and my integrity” at the January meeting and that the accusations were “merit-less.” He went on to say his questions to the chief before the January meeting, which had been used as an example of his “intention of impeaching chief Ewing,” were in fact questions any board member should be able to ask without hesitancy.

Those questions were: Is it the law in Oregon to offer virtual meetings? How many volunteers live in the district? Why is the budget not posted on the website?

Volunteers previously said it was more Burt’s accusatory tone and blindsiding of the chief in a public forum that was disconcerting.

Burt also questioned why he came under attack and cited his many years of volunteering with the department and his defense of it from outside critics.

“Seal Rock fire is vibrant and alive but there is also a cancer permeating through the culture,” Burt said. “The constant obsession with the district across the bridge is counter-productive to the long-term health of this organization. The sooner we focus our energy on just improving Seal Rock fire the better we will be going forward.”

Burt said while the previous two fire chiefs at Seal Rock failed to inspire him, Ewing has inspired him and he complimented Ewing on a “noble gesture” to protect a family member from embarrassment.

“I determined that action to be a mark of high moral character,” Burt said.

He then noted, without going into detail, the ongoing feud with board member Paul Rimola, who called Burt a sneak and a liar in January. The two came onto the board together in 2021 and once shared a friendship.

Burt also acknowledged that last year he questioned whether Ewing was “a man of his word,” which has led to a deterioration of their relationship. After the last board meeting he sent Ewing an email saying “performance is paramount” and that Ewing has performed.

“Will Ewing is a virtual legend in the fire service,” Bert said in closing his statement. “I am glad that he is key to Seal Rock fire’s rebirth. It would be a shame to see his legacy destroyed because of fragile egos.

“I am asking Will Ewing to take command, to chart our course,” Burt continued. “I am giving him a choice. He can continue this battle, with probably no winners, or end it right here. I hope he will choose to inspire me once again.”

Burt then walked to where Ewing was seated and extended his hand.

“We are ending it?” Ewing asked. Burt replied yes and the two shook hands.

The room erupted in applause. Burt then handed his typewritten statement to a YachatsNews reporter and said “Put that in your paper and smoke it.”

Board member Paul Rimola then made a statement to say he and Burt had come aboard to help fix the district “and we did.” And he addressed the volunteers to follow up on a letter he had sent them to ask that they not push to recall Burt.

“It’s time consuming and expensive,” Rimola said.

Jeff Mathia of Waldport, who is both a Seal Rock volunteer and a Yachats Rural Fire Protection District firefighter/paramedic, was one of those who asked for Burt’s resignation at the January meeting. He and Burt shook hands at Thursday’s meeting.

“If he does what he says, basically I took last night as an apology in a roundabout way, to the organization, I accept his apology and I look forward to working with him to better our organization,” Mathia told YachatsNews on Friday.

Ewing said he was “cautiously optimistic.”

“But I have to be,” he said. “I think it’s a step in the right direction. And it’s certainly what’s in the best interest of the district. I think if we all pull the rope in the same direction, we’ll be pretty well off.”

In other business the board heard that:

• The district received a $7,542 grant from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians for eight scholarships for Emergency Medical Technician school. There are 12 students enrolled. The cost of the additional four will be paid by one of the students, a business and the Newport Fire Department. If all graduate from the program there will be 12 new EMTs in south county by mid-June, Mathia said.
• A program started in August to track volunteer hours and shifts at Station 62 in Bayshore registered 1,848 volunteer hours in January with an average of 6.14 responders per call. The numbers pencil out to having two extra people on shift on average every day, said Ewing who said it “makes a huge difference.” Rimola said it was equivalent to $50,000 a month in salary and payroll, not counting medical and benefits for a paid staffer. The district currently claims just over 40 volunteers.
• Total response numbers: 61 in January with 13 out of district; 45 in December with six out of district; 40 in November with eight out of district; 51 in October with 10 out of district. Automatic aid out of district: 13 in January with seven in Yachats and six in Newport; eight in November to Yachats; 10 in October with seven to Yachats, one in Waldport and two in Newport.

 

• Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com