Some big decisions are coming up for voters in next week's primaries, issues that could truly be matters of life and death.
Seven fire districts in Snohomish County are asking voters to raise their property taxes to better fund emergency services.
But that won't be an easy sell in today's anti-tax political climate.
Tim Ziesemer is one of 20 volunteers at Darrington's Fire District 24.
He is also a pastor in town and wants to care for his people in spirit and body.
"It's definitely really cool to have an impact on your community and it's something that's worthwhile doing," he said.
Darrington has just three paid firefighters and they only work part-time. They've all taken pay cuts to stretch the budget.
Their department's water truck is 30-years-old.
An ambulance sits out of service because it can't afford to be fixed.
Another aid car has 235,000 miles on it.
The number of calls in the popular mountain town continues to grow, however. They are up more than 60 percent since 2011.
Officials now want to nearly double the fire levy to about $145 per year for a $250,000. It would be the first fire levy increase in three decades.
Without it, Capt. Drew Bono fears things will continue to deteriorate, staff could be cut and response times could get longer.
"The bottom line is the more people we can get on the scene quicker, the better the outcome is going to be," said Bono.
Darrington isn't alone. Fire departments in Lynnwood, Lake Stevens, Lake Roesiger, Mukilteo, rural Arlington and Silvana are asking taxpayers to approve tax increases on next Tuesday's ballot. All of them cite rising fuel costs and the need to update equipment and training.
The last attempted hike in Darrington failed by just 20 votes.
Tim Ziesemer hopes this time taxpayers will come to the rescue of firefighters.
