Bishop - Tribe, fire dept. secure response services

2-28-2008

Heeding the expression “where there’s smoke there’s fire,” any such signs on the Bishop Paiute Reservation will have sirens wailing and trucks rolling on West Line Street.

The Bishop Paiute Tribe has announced that a Fire Suppression Services Agreement between the tribe and the Bishop Fire Department has recently been renewed.
According to the Bishop Tribal Council, the Bishop Fire Department had been “providing fire suppression and other related services” to the Bishop Paiute Reservation under an existing five-year agreement which expired at the end of last year.

Bishop Paiute Tribal Chairman Tilford Denver (l) presents Bishop Fire Chief Ray Seguine with a check as the initial payment under a renewed fire suppression agreement. The new five-year pact follows the conclusion of a previous five-year agreement between the Bishop Paiute Tribe and the Bishop Fire Department. The new agreement runs through December, 2012. Photo by Gene Burke

“To me, renewing this agreement with the Bishop Fire Department is another sign of our Tribe’s growth and of our involvement and contribution to the community,” Bishop Paiute Tribal Chairman Tilford Denver said. “Plus, the Tribe has a lot of confidence in Chief Seguine.”
Prior to the previous five-year agreement coming to an end, the “parties conferred during the fall of 2007 to discuss issues and mutual concerns that could form the basis of a renewed agreement. Those meetings resulted in the renewal of the fire suppression agreement for another five years, through December of 2012, according to the council.”
“I think that this is good for the Tribe and good for my department. We have enjoyed our close relationship with the Bishop Paiute Tribe these last five years,” Bishop Fire Chief Ray Seguine said, “and we are looking forward to continuing to work with them for the next five. We’ve had good relations with tribal members and staff, and I’m confident that we will build on those.”
As is the case with all tribal reservations, surrounding communities do not collect property taxes from those living on reservation lands. Typically, tribal governments will therefore enter into “service agreements” with adjacent agencies to supply special needs, such as fire suppression.
“The Bishop Tribal Council approved a mutually-agreed upon contract that we all believe is fair to both sides,” said Seguine. “In the first year of the agreement, the Bishop Fire Department will receive $42,000 under the terms; then it will increase by $2,000 in each of the subsequent years through 2012.”
While there is never a way to predict the level of activity any fire department may face in a given year, Seguine explained, “there were multiple years of experience to draw on as both sides in the discussions worked toward this final agreement.”