93% Of Eastside Fire & Rescue Vaccinated By Deadline

ISSAQUAH, WA — Eastside Fire & Rescue confirmed 93 percent of its employees were in compliance when Washington's deadline arrived late Monday evening for state employees, health care workers and educators to provide proof of vaccination, or secure a religious or medical exemption.

The agency's 188 sworn members provide fire and emergency medical services for several Eastside communities, including the cities of Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Carnation, Preston and Woodinville.

Since Gov. Jay Inslee announced Washington's vaccine mandate in August, Eastside Fire & Rescue said its internal vaccination rates increased by 18 percent. While a few firefighters departed the agency, officials said they were confident emergency response times would not suffer.

"Our staff worked to educate, counsel, and make accommodations for our nonvaccinated employees," said Jeff Clark, the fire chief. "This effort enabled us to plan for workforce changes and make staffing adjustments to ensure response times remain unaffected."

A spokesperson for Eastside Fire & Rescue told Patch six members were in the process of leaving the agency Tuesday morning, with seven others on "accommodated leave of absence," and three shifting to accommodated roles.

"We are saddened by the loss of some of our firefighters," said Ben Lane, an assistant fire chief. "We continue to prioritize safety for our employees and community through COVID-19 vaccination."

To help cover the losses, Eastside fire officials plan to expand their existing recruitment efforts.