Emergency service vehicles and equipment costs increase at an average of six percent each year, MFD chief Vince Stafford said.

“People don’t know that a fire truck costs $400,000,” Stafford said.

Two of the district’s engines are 22 years old, nearing retirement age.

“We’re getting to the point on some where we can’t buy parts for them,” Stafford said.

Last year, MFD responded to 2,086 calls and volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians logged 25,000 hours of service.

Unlike the police department, MFD is not funded by the city of Molalla. They are funded by separate property taxes, currently at a rate of 78 cents per thousand of a home’s assessed value.

The numbers break down to about $156 per year or 43 cents per day for homes with a $200,000 assessed value.

“We collect less than half of everyone else in Clackamas County,” Stafford said.

The next lowest is Canby Fire District at $1.83 per thousand. Clackamas County Fire District is the highest, with each station collecting more than $2.50 per thousand in property taxes.

“We just can’t keep up with the costs,” Stafford said. “We can’t afford to replace equipment or hire paramedics.”

MFD currently has five paid, full-time staff, allowing them to have only one paramedic on duty at night and over the weekends.

The district would like to hire three more paramedics, enabling them to have at least two paramedics on duty at all times.

Additional paramedics would also allow MFD to offer more CPR classes, community education and other services.

The fire district board may attempt to add a tax levy to November’s ballot to increase funding, but that decision has not been made yet, Stafford said.

“The people have said no twice before on levies,” Stafford said. “Nobody wants to pay more on taxes, but this is kind of important.”

For now, the district continues to make do with what they have, supplementing their funding with grants when available to purchase new equipment to improve safety and efficiency.

“We’re very frugal with our money and make it work, but we can’t offer the same services as a neighboring district,” Stafford said.

The lack of services and outdated equipment cause Molalla area home insurance rates to run higher than neighboring areas, Stafford said. Although he can’t guarantee that a tax levy would allow the district to make all the needed improvements to lower insurance rates, he said it would be a likely benefit.

MFD is hosting a community open house on May 17 at 4 p.m. at the district’s main station on Molalla Avenue.

Visitors are invited to meet the staff and volunteers and ask questions.