The Kent Regional Fire Authority plans to have a new name by next year.
“No longer will we be called the Kent Regional Fire Authority, we will be called the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority,” said Les Thomas, a Kent City Councilman and member of the RFA board, at the July 5 City Council meeting.
But the new name isn’t a done deal yet.
The RFA board will vote on the proposed name at its 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, meeting at Fire Station 78, 17820 SE 256th St., said Capt. Kyle Ohashi, Kent RFA spokesman. Ohashi said Puget Sound had been tentatively selected by a renaming committee but another name could emerge.
“As we continue to grow regionally, the (Kent) name no longer fully represents who we are,” Ohashi said about the reason for a change.
Thomas said a new name would more accurately reflect the RFA’s service area.
“We have taken in the city of SeaTac as part of our RFA and possibly are going to include the city of Tukwila,” Thomas said.
The city of SeaTac signed a 20-year contract with the Kent RFA in 2014 to provide fire services. The Tukwila City Council earlier this year put aside a decision about whether to join the Kent RFA.
“The process has been a long one with a renaming committee made up of the different areas within the KRFA, both uniform and civilian,” Ohashi said. “Two of the board members were also on the committee as well as several personnel from neighboring fire departments.”
As many as 150 names were considered by the committee, Thomas said.
“I know our administration was very proud of how much effort our people put into their submissions and the number of responses,” Ohashi said.
The fire agency has kicked around a name change for a couple of years.
“I don’t think any one person came up with the need to change the name,” Ohashi said. “It’s something that many people have talked about in recent years.”
Voters in Kent, Covington and Fire District 37 approved the formation of the RFA in 2010 when it split off from the city of Kent.
The RFA is funded by a property tax as well as a fire benefit charge against each property owner based on how much fire response it would take to combat a fire at a specific residence or business.
The agency initially used the name of Kent Fire Department before later adding Regional Fire Authority and then going with Kent RFA.
Specific details about whether the new name would be used on vehicles in Kent and SeaTac has yet to be decided. Kent and SeaTac each use city names on the vehicles despite being part of the RFA.
The RFA board includes three members of the Kent City Council and three members of the Fire District 37 board.
The cities of Covington and SeaTac each have a non-voting advisory board member. Thomas, Bill Boyce and Dennis Higgins represent the Kent City Council.
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