Spokane County Fire District 9 encompasses an area of approximately 122 square miles with a population of about 39, 250. Located north of the city of Spokane, Washington the District stretches 25 miles from east to west. This area represents a variety of land uses. Within Fire District 9 are single family and multi-family residential dwellings, rural forested lands, agricultural areas, several schools, a university campus, commercial properties, industrial properties, major petroleum pipelines and storage facilities, railways, two dams and two major state highways. Providing emergency services within this growing and evolving suburban area is a complex and demanding business. A three-member Board of Fire Commissioners governs the District. This Board meets twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 7: 00 p.m. the Fire District's administration office located at 3801 E. Farwell Road in Mead, WA. The District's 170 personnel operate from nine fire stations. The District utilizes a combination of 60 career and 110 volunteer personnel to meet our staffing needs. The utilization of both career and volunteer staffing allows the District to provide high quality, cost effective emergency services to the area. The District has earned an ISO class-4 fire insurance rating which provides significant savings to District property owners and residents. In addition to our fire prevention and suppression services, Fire District 9 also provides emergency medical services including Advanced Life Support (Paramedic) care. The emergency medical services are delivered through a tiered response system using the response of the closest engine company backed up by the closest Paramedic engine company as necessary. EMS transport is provided by private company providers (air and ground transport available). Fire District 9 is home to several progressive programs including a technical rescue team, a fire investigation task force, public education and regional training opportunities. Fire District participates in an extensive mutual assistance program sharing resources (giving and receiving) across jurisdictional boundaries to maximize available resources and enhance the services available to our citizens. Fire District has mutual aid agreements with every fire agency within Spokane County, fire agencies in adjacent counties and participates in the Washington State Fire Resource Mobilization Plan. In addition, Fire District has intergovernmental assistance agreements with the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the federal fire agencies.