Bellingham City Council Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity Committee

**Chief Hewitt, on the paramedic training program:** "This really is an apprenticeship program like any other trade apprenticeship program. So they go in, they spend half of their time in a classroom learning, but half of their time they're out on a rig, shadowing or working alongside that preceptor, and then over the course of that year-long program, they move away from shadowing that preceptor to being shadowed by the preceptor." **Council Member Lilliquist, on emergency preparedness:** "What level of emergency or community event and how likely are we to need to rely upon federal aid and authorities because our federal government is becoming somewhat inconsistent and unreliable, and so I'm wondering about how independent we can be for moderate-sized situations." **Jonah Stinson, on federal emergency assistance:** "We are still heavily reliant on state and federal resources for large-scale scenarios. I believe in the last decade we have had over 10 federally declared emergencies in

## Meeting Overview The Bellingham City Council's Public Health, Safety, Justice and Equity Committee convened for a brief but substantive session on November 17, 2025, at 3:25 PM in the Council Chambers. Committee Chair Daniel Hammill led the meeting, joined by members Edwin H. "Skip" Williams and Michael Lilliquist for what would prove to be a focused 16-minute session covering two important public safety matters. The committee had two items on its agenda: an interlocal agreement to fund paramedic training for 2026, and the adoption of the city's updated comprehensive emergency management plan. Both items involved partnerships beyond city boundaries — the paramedic training with Whatcom County, and the emergency management plan coordinated with state authorities. Despite the routine nature of the agenda, both items represented significant investments in the city's emergency response capabilities and long-term preparedness infrastructure. ## Paramedic Training Partnership with Whatcom County The first item brought Assistant Fire Chief Pathick and Fire Chief Hewitt before the committee to discuss the annual renewal of their paramedic training program funding agreement. The Fire Department operates what Chief Hewitt described as "an apprenticeship program like any other trade apprenticeship program," teaching current firefighters and EMTs to advance to Firefighter-Paramedic status. The program operates under a multi-year contract with Whatcom County (contract number C2301522), but requires annual interlocal agreements to cover specific per-student costs. This year's agreement would fund four Bellingham students in the 2026 cohort, plus supplies and precepting costs for several out-of-county students joining the class. Council Member Lilliquist raised questions about the financial scope of the program, noting that "the numbers are rather large for student wages and benefits." He wanted clarification on whether this constituted the students' full-time work for the 14-month program duration, and whether they performed other fire or EMS duties. Assistant Chief Pathick explained the intensive nature of the training: "This is their full-time job. They go work on, they do class time. And then there's a combination of writing on the medic unit and that time of writing on the medic unit transitions to more and more and as there's less and less class time throughout the year." The program structure emerged as genuinely comprehensive. Students complete anatomy and physiology coursework in August prior to the main program year. Starting in January, they ride full-time on ambulances while averaging about three days of classroom instruction per week for the first five months. Throughout the program, they work as a third person alongside two paramedic partners, receiving hands-on mentoring. "We don't count them towards minimum staffing, but they're working and learning the skills," Pathick clarified, addressing the question of whether the city was getting value from the student wages. When Chair Hammill asked for clarification of the term "preceptors" for public understanding, Chief Pathick provided a detailed explanation: "When we talk about preceptors, we're talking about mentorship throughout the program. So each student is assigned a preceptor who is, there's a preceptin application process. So interested paramedics, we've been a paramedic for a certain amount of time and apply, interview, and then get supporting training and adult education and mentorship and how to guide these young EMTs to become paramedics." The preceptor relationship proved central to the program's effectiveness. As Pathick described it: "The preceptor is someone that's with them throughout the entirety of the program from day one and they evaluate them on every call they go on, giving them pros or identifying their gaps and showing them where they can grow and just meeting up with them to help them get through the class." Chief Hewitt reinforced the apprenticeship model, explaining how students progress from shadowing their preceptor to being shadowed by the preceptor as they gain competency. "That's why they don't count towards the minimum staffing throughout the year," he noted. "It really is that student and the preceptor really equate to one paramedic on the rig." With no further questions, Council Member Williams moved to approve the interlocal agreement. The motion carried unanimously, sending the item forward to the evening's regular council meeting. ## 2025 Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan The committee's second item involved adopting the city's updated comprehensive emergency management plan, a document required by Washington Administrative Code 118-30. Jonah Stinson, Emergency Management Plans Coordinator for the Bellingham Fire Department's Office of Emergency Management, presented the plan that had been in development throughout 2025. Stinson explained that comprehensive emergency management plans (CEMPs) are mandatory for all Washington jurisdictions and serve as the framework for coordinating emergency functions "to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from any scenario emergency or disaster that exceeds our daily capacities." The plans help jurisdictions identify vulnerabilities and plan for resource allocation under "all hazards" scenarios. The 2025 plan replaced the city's 2018 version and incorporated significant updates. "This new plan incorporates updated guidance from both Washington State and federal planning frameworks, resources, new legal requirements, and new census data," Stinson reported. The census data proved particularly important for communication and translation needs in the diverse community. The plan's structure reflects the complexity of modern emergency management. Stinson outlined three main sections: a basic plan providing high-level overview, appendices covering authorities and references, and detailed annexes with city-specific operational information. The annexes themselves divide into three categories: population protection (covering hazardous materials response, mass care, sheltering, animal care, public health, public information, and evacuation), resource management (logistics, resource support, information planning, and government continuity), and critical infrastructure (transportation, communications, energy, utilities, public works, water, and engineering). Beyond structural updates, the plan incorporated hard-won experience from recent emergencies. "Incorporated pandemic lessons learned, seeing disasters impacting a citywide, regardless of specific geographic areas," Stinson noted, acknowledging COVID-19's unique challenges that affected the entire city simultaneously rather than specific geographic zones. The plan had completed the mandatory state review process with the Washington State Military Department's Emergency Management Division and was ready for local adoption. Once approved, Stinson planned to distribute it to all city departments and post it on the Office of Emergency Management website. Looking ahead, Stinson outlined the plan's integration into broader emergency preparedness efforts: "Looking into January and starting in 2026, remaining staff in the department will need to incorporate this plan into the 2026 Natural Hazardous Mitigation Plan, which needs to be written next calendar year." Additionally, the city would need to exercise plan components, test essential functions, and conduct annual reviews for programmatic updates and legislative changes. Council Member Lilliquist asked probing questions about the plan's practical application. Despite calling the document "impressive" and appreciating the glossary that helped navigate extensive acronyms, he wanted to understand activation frequency and scale: "Aside from what happened during COVID where I think we activated some emergency responses, how often and what scale do we activate things in this level of plan?" Stinson explained that plan elements are used whenever daily emergency capacity is overwhelmed, not just for major disasters. "For instance, if we had severe weather situation that brought in a lot of spontaneous volunteers, donation management, components like that, we'd be able to utilize elements of the planning framework for that." Lilliquist's follow-up question proved more pointed, touching on federal reliability concerns: "What level of emergency or community event and how likely are we to need to rely upon federal aid and authorities because our federal government is becoming somewhat inconsistent and unreliable, and so I'm wondering about how independent we can be for moderate-sized situations." Stinson's response highlighted ongoing federal dependence: "We are still heavily reliant on state and federal resources for large-scale scenarios. I believe in the last decade we have had over 10 federally declared emergencies in Wacom County and especially for individual assistance and public assistance. That money goes directly to our citizens for individual assistance that all rolls from the federal government to the state and then to us locally." Council Member Anderson, drawing on Forest Service emergency experience, praised the plan as essential infrastructure: "A good plan is more than prevention. It's kind of a lifeboat for us to be able to pull out and implement, and I did a fantastic job with this. I really appreciate the work." Chair Hammill noted the nature of emergency events as "low frequency but high impact," referencing recent floods and COVID-19 as examples of the type of scenarios requiring comprehensive planning. Before the vote, Fire Chief Hewitt expanded on the plan's regular application, addressing Lilliquist's earlier questions about activation frequency. He highlighted COVID-19 as the most extensive deployment, with the Emergency Operations Center running "for over a year with lots of people pitching in from lots of different departments across the city and the county." But Hewitt emphasized that plan elements are used regularly in smaller scenarios: "On a regular basis, we're using parts of these plans. I think of our response to Camp 210. There was definitely pieces of that that were we're using different framework from these plans to help organize what our response is. Even something as small as when we stood up the daytime emergency cold weather shelter there's portions of that that we you know we're able to use portions of this plan to help with the logistical support." The Office of Emergency Management's involvement extends across various city responses, providing both planning frameworks and logistical support. While floods represent the most common large-scale emergency in Whatcom County (though less frequently affecting Bellingham proper), the plan's value lies in its modular application to various scales of emergency response. Council Member Williams moved to adopt the 2025 comprehensive emergency management plan, and the motion carried unanimously. ## Closing & What's Ahead With both items approved unanimously and no further business, Chair Hammill adjourned the brief but productive committee session. Both the paramedic training agreement and emergency management plan would move forward to the evening's regular council meeting for final approval. The meeting highlighted the ongoing partnerships essential to public safety in Bellingham — from the regional paramedic training collaboration with Whatcom County to the multi-level coordination required for effective emergency management. Despite the routine procedural nature of both items, they represented significant ongoing investments in the city's emergency response capabilities and preparedness for an uncertain future.

### Meeting Overview The City of Bellingham's Public Health, Safety, Justice and Equity Committee met on November 17, 2025, to review two items: funding for paramedic training in 2026 and adoption of the city's updated comprehensive emergency management plan. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Interlocal Agreement (ILA):** A legal contract between local government entities (like cities and counties) to share costs, services, or responsibilities. In this meeting, it covers the specific costs for training Bellingham firefighters to become paramedics. **Preceptor:** An experienced paramedic who serves as a mentor and supervisor for students in the paramedic training program, evaluating them on every call and helping guide their development throughout the entire program. **Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP):** A required document that outlines how the city will coordinate response to disasters and emergencies that exceed normal daily capacity, covering mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery. **EOC (Emergency Operations Center):** A central command facility used during emergencies to coordinate response activities. Bellingham ran an EOC for over a year during COVID-19. **Minimum Staffing:** The required number of firefighters/paramedics that must be available for emergency response. Paramedic students don't count toward this requirement because they're still learning. **Federal Declaration:** When the federal government officially declares a disaster, making communities eligible for federal aid and assistance. Whatcom County has had over 10 federal declarations in the past decade. **Apprenticeship Model:** The paramedic training program follows this approach, where students spend half their time in classrooms and half working alongside experienced paramedics, gradually taking on more responsibility. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Daniel Hammill | Committee Chair, City Council Member | | Edwin "Skip" Williams | City Council Member | | Michael Lilliquist | City Council Member | | Assistant Chief Pathick | Bellingham Fire Department | | Chief Hewitt | Bellingham Fire Department | | Jonah Stinson | Emergency Management Plans Coordinator, Bellingham Fire Department | ### Background Context The paramedic training program represents a partnership between the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County, where the fire department trains current firefighters and EMTs to become full paramedics. This is critical for maintaining emergency medical services as the region grows. The program operates like a traditional apprenticeship, combining classroom learning with hands-on experience under mentor supervision. Each year requires a separate funding agreement to cover student costs, supplies, and mentor compensation. The emergency management plan update is equally important but less visible to the public. State law requires every jurisdiction to maintain current disaster response plans, and Bellingham's previous plan dated from 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic provided real-world lessons about citywide emergencies that needed to be incorporated. The new plan also reflects updated census data, new state and federal guidance, and lessons learned from other recent emergencies like flooding and severe weather events. ### What Happened — The Short Version The committee approved both items unanimously. For the paramedic training, they learned that four Bellingham students will participate in the 2026 program, which costs significant money because students work full-time for 14 months while learning. The fire chiefs explained this is like any apprenticeship program where students gradually take on more responsibility while being closely supervised. For the emergency management plan, the committee heard that staff spent all of 2025 updating the city's disaster response plan, which the state has already approved. The plan covers everything from hazardous materials response to mass sheltering to communication systems. Council members were impressed by the comprehensive nature of the document and praised the staff's work. ### What to Watch Next - The paramedic training agreement and emergency management plan will go to the full City Council for final approval at their evening meeting - In 2026, the city will need to update its Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan to incorporate elements from this emergency management plan - The emergency management plan requires annual reviews and updates to stay current with changing conditions and new requirements ---

**Q:** How long does Bellingham's paramedic training program last? **A:** 14 months, with students working full-time combining classroom instruction and hands-on experience with mentors. **Q:** What is a preceptor in the paramedic training program? **A:** An experienced paramedic who mentors students throughout the entire program, evaluating them on every call and helping guide their development. **Q:** Who pays for the paramedic training program? **A:** The City of Bellingham and Whatcom County share costs through annual interlocal agreements that cover student wages, supplies, and preceptor compensation. **Q:** Do paramedic students count toward minimum fire department staffing? **A:** No, because they're still learning and work as a third person with two paramedic partners, so the student plus preceptor equals one effective paramedic. **Q:** How often is Bellingham's emergency management plan updated? **A:** The comprehensive plan is updated every few years (the previous version was from 2018), but it requires annual reviews and edits. **Q:** What does CEMP stand for? **A:** Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan - a state-required document outlining how the city coordinates disaster response. **Q:** Who must approve Bellingham's emergency management plan? **A:** The Washington State Military Department's Emergency Management Division reviews and approves the plan before local adoption. **Q:** How many federally declared emergencies has Whatcom County had in the past decade? **A:** Over 10 federal emergency declarations, which make communities eligible for federal disaster aid and assistance. **Q:** What happened during COVID-19 regarding emergency management? **A:** Bellingham ran an Emergency Operations Center for over a year, representing the city's biggest emergency response effort in recent memory. **Q:** How does the paramedic training program work like other trades? **A:** It follows an apprenticeship model where students start by shadowing experienced paramedics and gradually transition to being shadowed themselves. **Q:** What are the three main sections of the emergency management plan? **A:** Basic plan (high-level overview), appendices (authorities and references), and annexes (city-specific operational information). **Q:** What emergency events does Bellingham commonly respond to? **A:** Flooding is most common in Whatcom County, plus severe weather, and smaller events like emergency cold weather shelters. **Q:** What committee approved both agenda items? **A:** The Public Health, Safety, Justice and Equity Committee, chaired by Daniel Hammill. **Q:** What happens after committee approval? **A:** Both items advance to the full City Council for final approval at their evening meeting. **Q:** How does the emergency management plan help with smaller events? **A:** Even for non-major disasters, pieces of the plan can be used for logistical support and organizing responses to events that exceed daily capacity. ---