This fire needs to be put out before it spreads.

The Marysville City Council got into a heated discussion Tuesday night about who should represent the city in talks with Arlington regarding a Regional Fire Authority.

A line was drawn in the sand between council members who recently were involved in similar discussions with Fire District 12, and council members who represent the city on the fire board.

Some things were said that touched off some sparks. It resulted in what can only be called a power play. But as a community we need cooler heads to prevail.

Our council normally works well together, and that needs to continue. We do not want the gridlock that is Democrats vs. Republicans in our nation’s capitol to plague our city. Such divisiveness leads to nowhere.

Once the participants calm down, the solution is not complicated.

Council Member Michael Stevens raises an excellent point that as a fire board member he could make a valuable contribution to the talks that weren’t there when the city was discussing an RFA with District 12.

Council president Kamille Norton and members Stephen Muller and Jeff Vaughan all got a taste of the process in their discussions with District 12.

This community deserves a compromise. Remember when governments compromised for the good of the community to get things done?

The bigger picture here is that one of the three should show true leadership, get beyond the emotion, forget the power play, break up the cliques, and do what’s best for the city. That is to balance out this latest RFA panel with a member of the fire board, preferably Stevens because of his passion.