Published: January 10,2024
Alan Torres
Eugene Register-Guard
Lane County Commissioners unanimously agreed to send a new fire district to cover the Row River area to the ballot this May after receiving a petition supporting its creation.
The unincorporated communities, which have 889 registered voters in South Lane County, currently lack a district for fire and emergency medical services. Residents can receive EMS from South Lane Fire & Rescue and fire protection from them for a fee, but both have long response times.
Row River Fire Response is a volunteer-staffed nonprofit that acts as an unofficial fire district for the area, but the group wants to be promoted. Dozens of people from the Row River area came to the two public hearings and all who spoke were in favor of the district.
“Thousands of people are unprotected. Hundreds of homes are vulnerable. And land that millions have enjoyed is at risk,” said Bryan Stump, a volunteer with Row River Fire who highlighted the work of the group’s other volunteers. “As a collective, they’re in the thousands of hours of training to protect their community from the dangers of fire. … Our community deserves to be given the ability to have a fire department voted on.”
If formed by majority “yes” votes in the May election, the district will levy taxes of $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres.
