In the late 1990's Yelm and the surrounding communities began to see steady growth. Increased population and development in urban and rural settings resulted in greater demands on area fire districts; Yelm Fire District #2, which included City of Yelm residents, and Thurston County Fire District #4 (Rainier). The City of Yelm has no city fire department and has been contracting with the Yelm Fire District #2 for the provision of fire and emergency medical services for many years. Fire service and emergency medical services, which were provided by predominately volunteer fire departments, struggled to keep pace with the increase in emergency calls.

Changes in the laws governing firefighter health and safety and increased difficulties in recruitment and retention of qualified volunteers required a more consistent staffing plan. This led to the hiring of three (3) career firefighters by Yelm Fire District #2 in February 2002.

In 2001, Thurston County Fire District #4 (Rainier), contracted with Yelm Fire District #2 to improve emergency response capabilities. The two (2) districts share personnel, equipment, and apparatus as a condition of the contract. This arrangement improved service and administrative efficiency in both districts. The combination of districts is called "S.E. Thurston Fire & EMS" and includes City of Yelm residents regarding emergency responses. Each fire district maintains its own Board of Fire Commissioners, which meet together on a monthly basis. City of Yelm citizens are unable to vote on or participate in fire department issues under this arrangement.

In 2008, the districts signed an Interlocal Agreement. With this agreement the two (2) Boards of Fire Commissioners, Yelm and Rainier, agreed to operate jointly and to pursue the formation of a Regional Fire Protection Authority (RFA) in conjunction with the City of Yelm.

The RFA Planning Committee was established and is comprised of three (3) fire commissioners from Thurston County Fire District #4, three (3) fire commissioners from Yelm Fire District #2, and three (3) appointed Yelm City Council members.

The challenges and needs of all citizens in the S.E. Thurston Fire & EMS area were assessed and addressed by the RFA Planning Committee through a series of meetings. This plan is the result.