FD 13 Open House names units to honor Larry Kibbee

Contributions to local firefighting by retired Skagit County Fire District 13 Commissioner Larry Kibbee won’t soon – if ever – be forgotten.

That is because Kibbee’s name will be associated with improvements at the district’s Snee-Oosh Road firehall.

The district’s new firefighter and EMT residential units will be dedicated in honor of Kibbee’s service and showcased during a Sept. 13 public open house 12-2 p.m. at the Snee-Oosh station.

“It will be a two-hour event,” district fire chief Wood Weiss said, and will include building tours, information booths, distribution of bicycle safety helmets by Swinomish Tribal Police, smoke alarm demonstrations by American Red Cross representatives and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The day comes amid what has been a busy year for the fire district, whose coverage area includes Swinomish Reservation and rural La Conner.

Weiss said district emergency crews are on pace to respond to about 1,500 service calls in 2023.

“We’re a very busy district,” Weiss told fire commissioners during their monthly hybrid meeting last Thursday.

District 13 rolled on 130 calls in August. The district logged 945 incident responses from January through August this year, up from 910 a year ago and 810 over the same eight-month period in 2021.

Weiss and Assistant Chief Jamie Jurdi themselves were busy throughout the Sept. 14 session as they administered several oaths of office, including the promotion to captain of medical officer Drew Farrell.

The commissioners’ meeting was held at 8 a.m., one hour earlier than usual, so district staff could attend the funeral of Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Chief Joe Bailey.

The commissioners, who regularly convene on the second Thursday of each month, will meet Oct. 5 at 9 a.m.