The former Douglas County Fire District 2 and the Winston-Dillard Fire District have combined under one organization.
Serving the outskirts of Roseburg and Winston, the two districts are now jointly known as the Central Douglas Fire and Rescue Authority.
The unification, which was effective July 1, comes after years of collaboration between the two departments.
According to the Training Officer for the department, Nick Wecks, the two districts had shared administration and chief officers for ten years.
“With this merger, it pretty much just puts everything under one umbrella,” said Wecks.
Prior to unifying, each department only had access to funds allocated for their individual districts. This prevented more holistic response packages for the region from being utilized.
Wecks says the merger will allow the districts to pool funding and allocate revenue for enhanced services, all without increasing tax rates or cutting jobs.
“With the merger, nobody lost their jobs, everybody came over with their same rank, same seniority,” said Wecks.
The new authority will oversee seven fire stations—six in the former Fire District 2 and one in the former Winston-Dillard district—with personnel from both of the old districts interchanging between the locations.
The newly combined department plans to celebrate with an open house on Saturday, July 6, following the City of Winston’s Fourth of July Parade.
The open house will be held at the Winston Fire Station at 250 SE Main St from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
