Hello Puget Sound Fire. Goodbye Kent Regional Fire Authority.
Starting Jan. 1, the Kent RFA will officially change its name to Puget Sound RFA, but use the name Puget Sound Fire.
The RFA board approved the change in July to give the department a name that reflects its regional reach. The fire authority serves Kent, Covington, SeaTac and Fire District 37.
“The name Kent Regional Fire Authority is no longer inclusive of whom we are or of the communities we serve,” according to a RFA website posting about the change. “Mergers, annexations and contracts for services have expanded our Regional Fire Authority far beyond the Kent community.”
The city of SeaTac signed a 20-year contract with the Kent RFA in 2014 to provide fire services. Voters in Kent, Covington and Fire District 37 approved the formation of the RFA in 2010 when the fire department split off from the city of Kent. The agency initially used the name of Kent Fire Department before later adding RFA.
A RFA committee came up with the new name, which Fire Chief Jim Schneider and the board approved.
“Please keep in mind that the change is in name only, so while it is a big deal from a branding standpoint, all of our operational side will still provide the same high level of service our community expects,” said RFA spokesman Kyle Ohashi in an email.
Fire department staff has started to spread word about the new name.
“We’ve been letting people know about the name change through social media, by word of mouth and in our newsletter,” Ohashi said.
The name Puget Sound Fire will be used on everything that has Kent RFA on it.
“Initially you’ll see it on uniforms,” Ohashi said. “Over the next few months we’ll make the transfer to the name on apparatus and stations.”
It has cost the RFA about $43,297 so far for the change.
The costs included $23,782 for new badges; $1,300 for a brochure design change; $750 for the logo/patch design; $5,267 for the new uniform patches; $2,914 for sewing on the patches; $8,563 for screen print shirts; and $720 for notification letters, stationery and postage, according to the RFA.
The RFA is funded by a property tax as well as a fire benefit charge against each property owner based on how much fire response it would take to combat a fire at a specific residence or business.
The RFA board includes three members of the Kent City Council (Bill Boyce, Les Thomas and Dennis Higgins) and three members of the Fire District 37 board. The cities of Covington and SeaTac each have a non-voting advisory board member.
Puget Sound Fire will serve a population of more than 175,000, second only in King County to the city of Seattle Fire Department. The RFA covers 60 square miles with 11 fire stations and employs about 260. Crews respond to more than 24,000 calls per year.
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