The approved Vashon Island Fire and Rescue fiscal year 2023 budget reflects an investment in the safety of Vashon residents, businesses, and visitors and, just as importantly, in the health, safety, and wellness of our staff and members.

I’m proud of our collaborative work to develop the priorities of your fire district and thankful for the support of our community, board, and excellent staff.

Our staff and members are the most vital resources at VIFR. It’s our VIFR team who ensures that we effectively and professionally respond to your calls for emergency services in a timely manner, to achieve the best possible outcomes across Vashon.

Our response will only improve as we increase the number of members on our team, both on-duty and on-call. We can have the best tools, equipment and facilities; however, in order to have favorable outcomes, we need highly qualified staff and members to carry out our mission, which is the protection of life and property.

The approval of the 2023 budget also means a busy year at VIFR as we implement plans that, when all combined, will reflect an increased level of service back to you, the taxpayers.

These 2023 plans include completing our Community-Based Fire and EMS Strategic Plan, hiring additional career firefighter/EMTs and launching a robust volunteer recruitment effort, appointing two division fire chiefs, re-developing a VIFR Chaplain program, actively leveraging grant funding for vehicles and equipment, implementing our comprehensive wellness and fitness program, and enhancing on and off-island training opportunities for all VIFR staff and members.

That’s just for the first half of 2023.

The second half of the year will keep us busy too, as we work to replace several vehicles, graduate new recruits, roll out our Mobile Integrated Health Program, expand our fire prevention and community risk reduction efforts, and continue our renovation and expansion project at Station 55 on Bank Road. We’ve been planning for the costs and development and are poised to permit our construction project in late 2023.

Our strategic planning process is critical to the long-term future of VIFR. That’s why you’ll soon see a community survey posted on our social media platforms and new website, VIFR.org. We encourage you to engage in our agency evaluation and planning process by completing this survey and attending the public meetings scheduled for Feb. 16 and 17.

Your feedback is critical to ensuring that we develop the future of VIFR to meet your needs.

Our 2023 agenda is ambitious; however, it is mission-driven to take care of our staff and provide the highest level of service possible to our island.

I’m thankful to live and work in this wonderful community and look forward to our future together. I’m your fire chief, so please call, text, or email me with any questions or suggestions. Check out our new website, VIFR.org, and tune into our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay on top of our activities.

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season. And know that VIFR is here for you and your family.

Matthew Vinci is the Fire Chief of Vashon Island Fire & Rescue.