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Ham it up all day in Lincoln City for an extremely good cause – your own safety!

Feb 162013

A Lincoln City tradition since 1958, North Lincoln Fire Rescue, its annual Ham Dinner on Sunday lays out a spread of all-you-can-eat ham dinners that feature mash potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, dinner rolls, dessert and beverage. But more than that, they lay out a presentation on fire safety around homes and businesses, how to prepare and cope with a tsunami and how to intelligently have a great safe time at the beach. They might even convince you to sign up to become a Community Emergency Response Team member!

Proceeds from Sunday’s Ham Dinner go for a variety of things firefighters need to keep us all safe and to better serve the community, including equipment for the fire trucks like “Jaws of Life” gear to get people out of wrecks if the doors don’t work, and thermal imaging devices to track down the last vestiges of a fire to make sure they’re dead, dead out.

Ham Dinner to benefit the community! All day Sunday at Taft High.

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Integrating Lincoln County’s far-flung fire departments gets off to a bumpy start – but they all agree it’s a start

Fire Departments No Responses »

Jan 252013

A gathering of Lincoln County Fire Departments
looking to reduce rising costs while improving service

Seeking better coordination between Newport,
Depoe Bay and Central Coast Fire Departments

Interagency discussion leader Barbara Leff
Depoe Bay Fire District Board member

Newport Fire Chief Phil Paige
Outlines “Central Coast Fire Authority”

Newport Firefighters
Opposed to tight coordination – for now

A long time in coming and maybe requiring even more time in arriving, appeared to be the temporary verdict on plans to “semi” coordinate firefighting operations among a few of Lincoln County’s far flung fire departments. The proposal is called the Central Coast Fire Authority.

Fire Board members from Depoe Bay, Newport Rural and Central Coast Fire Departments along with city councilors from Newport, got a big splash of fire fighting consolidation information Thursday night, with everyone in the same room, all at the same time.

Up until last night, they were all learning about this in their own home offices – discussing how all fire department budgets are stressed while demands for service continue to rise. One firefighter mentioned that what worked twenty years ago will soon no longer work today – “We’ve got nine fire chiefs and their departments in a county of 45,000 people. That’s inefficient.” Discussion leader and Depoe Bay Fire Department Board member Barbara Leff outed the “elephant in the room” by saying that if local departments don’t find a way to run more efficiently, the state is likely to come in and do it for them.

Most everyone agreed with that, but were not in complete agreement on exactly how to move forward with better coordination and cooperation between departments.

The proposed Central Coast Fire Authority would be jointly funded by participating departments which would jointly share their top administrators. The status of all firefighters and their duties would remain the same. But coordination of administration, training, fire marshall duties, fire inspections, equipment purchases and the like would be handled by chiefs and assistant chiefs as they devote their time between the four departments. The annual budget of $50,000 would be proportionately shared between them.

Central Coast Fire Chief Derek Clawson and Depoe Bay FireJoshua Williams, along with their firefighters, strongly supported moving forward with a formal contract between the four agencies. However, the other two were hesitant – troubled by questions about insurance liabilities as well as suggestions that the Newport Fire Department’s effectiveness may be diluted with so much “cooperating” going on.

In a lengthy critique, Newport firefighters complained that after a long period of turmoil, a new administration ushered in by recently hired Fire Chief Phil Paige, has raised the bar and the morale of department personnel and they want to hold on to it. On a unanimous vote, Newport firefighters claimed that enhanced mutual aid agreements between departments, continued deployment of the recently created county-wide rope rescue team, sharing fire investigation teams and a training officers association could tide everything over while department chiefs determine how inter-agency coordination can be best organized. Newport firefighters were quick to point out that they are not opposed to working closely with their surrounding fire districts. They want enough time to work it all out to everyone’s benefit.

Discussion leader Barbara Leff said there is no rush but agreed with Chief Paige that it might be possible to move forward if everyone gets their questions answered properly, quickly and to everyone’s satisfaction. If that could happen, she said, the new Central Coast Fire Authority could become official July 1st. But toward the end of the discussion, it appeared that the July 1st goal might be too ambitious. There were still too many unanswered questions circling the room.

So Leff suggested that everyone write down their questions and meet with their respective boards to get them answered and then move the Fire Authority forward. Chiefs from Seal Rock Fire and North Lincoln County Fire/Rescue (Lincoln City) were also on hand to monitor the discussions. Both said the idea of a Central Coast Fire Authority sounds intriguing and that they want to see if their own departments might benefit from joining.

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Newport Firefighters get promotions

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Jan 232013

Promotions of Newport Firefighters
Newport City Council, Tuesday Evening
(Left to right)
Firefighter Tom Jackson, Capt. Brian Haggerty, Capt. Doyle Helmricks, Capt. Richard Giles, Capt. Tracy Cole

Newport Clerk Recorder Peggy Hawker swears in five firefighters with new duties Tuesday night before the city council. Fire Chief Phil Paige has been reorganizing the department since taking over the reins recently. Chief Paige says the redistribution of Newport firefighter responsibilities is part of a plan to improve emergency response times while integrating department resources with other central coast fire agencies. Paige and his fellow fire chiefs in Depoe Bay and Waldport are seeking to raise service levels while keeping costs down for taxpayers. Discussions between the agencies are ongoing with oversight from their city councilors and district boards.

All captains sworn in are paid firefighters with the exception of Capt. Brian Haggerty who is a long-time volunteer firefighter.

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Toledo City Council approves buying a big new fire truck

Fire Departments, Toledo No Responses »

Dec 052012

Similar to what Toledo has purchased
KME Kovatch photo

The Toledo City Council Wednesday evening approved the purchase of a nearly $400,000 structure fire engine, to be custom built at KME Kovatch operations 90 miles north of Philadelphia, PA. The engine will replace an aging engine that needs to be replaced, according Fire Chief Will Ewing. Chief Ewing said there is a good chance that a federal grant for $60,000 may help in the purchase. Chief Ewing explained that although the city is prepared to pay the full price, the federal agency said since Toledo still has another $1.5 Million in equipment in need of replacing, the town is eligible to apply for the grant.

The council wasted no time in authorizing Chief Ewing to apply for it. Chief Ewing said he should know within 60 days whether they got the money. He added that he expects the custom built fire engine to arrive ready for duty by late summer of next year. He said the custom features will ensure that the truck will perform well in Toledo’s steep terrain and challenging tight city and rural driving conditions. He said the truck can pump water at a rate of 1,500 gallons per minute.

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Newport City Council buys building for new north area fire station

Fire Departments, Newport No Responses »

Oct 012012

Building on NE 73rd (east of OSP) to become third fire station (north end)

The Newport City Council has followed through with their plan to improve fire protection to residents who live in the north end of town. The Newport City Council approved the purchase of a building at 225 NE 73rd Street to serve as the town’s third fire station.

Not only the third fire station, but more importantly, a station that will be in an area that has been substantially underserved for years based on response times on calls for service, and as a long unmet city council goal. Fire Chief Phil Paige says the building, which has been a construction company operations center, is in very good condition having been built just nine years ago. Its appraised fair market value is $275,000 and the city has agreed to pay that amount for it.

Paige said that residents of North Newport will benefit greatly by having a “neighborhood” fire station. Fire fighters leaving the building will have the same fast access to Highway 101 as the main fire station on NW 10th. The third picture shows the short distance that separates the station from Highway 101 (power lines).

The city council also approved a new automatic response agreement between Newport and Depoe Bay Fire Departments that will provide each other with even more resources more quickly for serious house, business and wildland fires as well as rescue calls on the beach and responding to severe motor vehicle accidents.

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Toledo Council planning to order new fire truck – delivery next year.

Fire Departments, Toledo No Responses »

Sep 052012

Toledo Fire Chief Will Ewing was given the green light Wednesday to call for proposals from companies that manufacture fire trucks. Ewing says the department needs a new structure fire class engine, one that can pump 1,500 gallons a minute and carry at least one thousand gallons in its tank. Ewing says it has to be nimble and able to easily navigate Toledo’s many up-and-down-twisty-turny streets. The council asked the price and Chief Ewing said around $380,000, but he added it could go up in price by as much as $20,000 more depending on how the specifications on the truck wind up costing. He predicted delivery of the new fire truck could be sometime in the Fall of next year if everything goes according to plan.

Ewing and the council got into a little Q & A with each other on what’s called “ISO” ratings…ratings that determine what property owners in Toledo are charged for fire insurance. Ewing said the town has an ISO rating of “4,” which he said is a very good rating. But whether the new fire truck will improve that rating enough to bring rates down is unknown. “We just need the fire truck,” Ewing exhorted. Ewing said that he doesn’t support anyone using ISO ratings as a primary ingredient in asking the city council to cough up more money for fire fighting equipment. But he added, “over time, as the fire department becomes more highly trained and experienced, the town’s rating will improve and residents will see savings on their property owner’s insurance bill; either going down or not going up or not going up as fast. The lowest rating is a 10, which would be for a house far from town at the end of a difficult-to-drive dirt road. A rating of one is usually a brick house across the street from a 24/7 staffed fire station.

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Newport City Council buys two used fire trucks from Bellevue Washington

Fire Departments, Newport No Responses »

Aug 202012

Two used, but extremely well maintained fire trucks and a rescue vehicle are expected to arrive in Newport within a month or so thanks to quick approval to buy them by the Newport City Council. City Fire Chief Phil Paige told the council that most of the equipment in the Newport Fire fleet needs replacing. He said he found two 1994 Spartan Gladiator Fire Engines and a rescue vehicle for sale by the city of Bellevue, Washington. He said although the rigs were fairly old they still have lots of service life left in them since they were maintained very well by high level emergency service vehicle technicians in a city with a well funded fire department.

Paige said of the two engines they’ll replace, one will be retained as a reserve engine. Paige said the Bellevue equipment opportunity comes at good time, compared to last year when he was eyeing the same equipment. Paige said last year Newport was broke and couldn’t afford to pay the asking price for the two engines and ambulance. He said Bellevue wanted nearly $90,000 apiece for the fire engines and $20,000 for the ambulance. This year, Paige said they got all three for $80,000. But Paige cautioned that the purchase won’t cure the city’s long-term equipment needs but it will buy the city time to get a plan in place and eventually funding to follow.

Paige also said that the rescue vehicle will come in handy since more volunteers will be able to drive it, as opposed to a fire truck which most volunteers can’t easily qualify to drive. He said the majority of calls for service are rescue calls that don’t really need a fire truck, at least on the initial call for service. Using a rescue rig will greatly increase the number of volunteers who can get to a rescue scene fast.

Lt. Kevin Nagley & Family

In addition to acquiring two fire trucks and a rescue unit, Newport Fire also acquired a new Volunteer Fire Lieutenant. He is department veteran Kevin Nagley who was sworn in to his new rank by Clerk Recorder Peggy Hawker as Nagley’s family looked on. Lieutenant Nagley’s daytime job is an IT specialist at Samaritan Hospital in Newport. Another new Lieutenant will be sworn in after he returns from training at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The department has already tested for new captain positions which will be assumed by already paid staffers, so there will be no major extra cost to the city according to Assistant Fire Chief Rob Murphy.

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Depoe Bay Fire District residents – meet the newest member of your family!

Depoe Bay, Fire Departments No Responses »

Aug 152012

Information provided by Barbara Leff, Depoe Bay City Councilor and member Board of Directors of DPFPD

Gleneden Beach, August 15 – Depoe Bay Fire District has approved the purchase of a 2010 Pierce fire engine at its August 14, 2012 meeting. The purchase price of $399,000 saves the District approximately $141,000 if the engine was new. The down payment will come from the District’s reserve fund. Future payments will be covered with a combination of (1) funds made available when the District was awarded a grant to fund the volunteer shift program for four years, (2) income from the sale of an old surplus fire engine, and (3) a four year low interest loan from the engine’s manufacturer. “We are pleased that—in these challenging economic times—we will not have to request any help from our citizens,” according to Fire Chief Joshua Williams.

The Board also adopted Depoe Bay Rural Fire Protection District Ordinance No. 2012-01 which authorizes the Fire Chief, under certain conditions, to respond to fires in areas outside the District and to collect fees from people who are not taxpayers of the District.

In other business* the Board approved an update to the District’s Standard of Cover and appointed Board members Barbara Leff and Gray Snipes to serve, respectively**, as District representative and alternate on a joint committee with Newport Fire District and Newport Rural Fire District. The committee—formed in response to the Collaborative Efforts Feasibility Study of most of the fire districts in Lincoln County—will explore potential collaboration efforts.

*Complete minutes of the Board meeting are available on the website: www.depoebayfire.com

**The complete text of the Opportunities for Collaborative Efforts Feasibility Study is also available on the website.

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Siletz Fire Department gets grant to demonstrate why home sprinklers are worth it

Fire Departments, Siletz No Responses »

Jul 272012

The Siletz Valley Fire District has received a federal fire prevention and safety grant to help demonstrate why residential and business fire sprinklers are well worth the investment. Especially in rural fire protection districts where fire department response times can be much longer than in urban areas.

Siletz Valley Fire Chief Dave Lapof says the demonstration platform, mounted on a trailer, will be able to demonstrate what happens when a non-sprinklered room catches fire versus what happens when a sprinklered room catches fire. The difference is stunning.

Chief Lapof also says the grant will also pay for the construction of a bright LED Reader Board on Siletz’s main drag, Gaither/Highway 229, to flash fire prevention tips and other life safety messages to the public. It will also be used to recruit more volunteer firefighters for the Siletz Valley Fire Department.

Both projects are expected to be ready for use by early October, according to Chief Lapof.

For more information on Residential Fire Sprinklers or becoming a Volunteer Firefighter contact the Siletz Fire District at 541-444-2043.

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A rather loud way to start a Sunday morning…

Fire Departments No Responses »

Jul 222012

Albany Fire Department Video

The Albany Fire Department began another work day today (even though it was Sunday) to monitor and respond to any “irregularities” that might have occurred from the destruction of a rather complicated-looking building at International Paper in Albany, right off I-5. The voice of the countdown person sounds a little like fingernails on a chalk board, but the rest is rather fun to watch. Click here.

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