2003 Annual Report ● Page 1

Stayton Fire District 2003 Annual Report ● Page 1

2003

"Volunteer Service With ANNUAL REPORT Pride"

Serving the Communities of Elkhorn, Marion, Mehama, and Stayton

and equipment to help minimize the dam- In April we grieved with the passing of age of the destructive fire. All crews re- From the one of our Support members and a com- turned safely with many new experiences munity icon, Fussy Fuson. Fussy will and valuable training. In December the Chief’s Desk long be remembered for his relentless Volunteers concluded several years of commitment to the community. In the work with the formal creation of a single 003 presented a wide range of month of June, Tony Becker, a volunteer District-wide Volunteer Association challenges to the volunteers and firefighter with the District, was involved called Stayton Volunteer Protection Com- staff of Stayton Fire District. In in a very serious motor vehicle accident pany #1. With a renewed spirit of coop- addition to responding to a record on Hwy. 22. At the time of the accident eration between stations and the forma- number2 of calls for service, the District Tony’s wife Yvonne was pregnant with tion of the Volunteer Association the Dis- also experienced a number of unique their second child. Tony received very trict is experiencing an increased level of events. serious head injuries and remained in a unity and camaraderie. coma for three months and to date is still The District started the year, like many battling day-to-day towards his recovery. On the operations side of the District, families, with one of our own volunteers We are happy to say that Yvonne gave through input from the Firefighters and serving in the war in Kuwait. Scott Vigil birth to a baby girl and mom and baby are Officers, a Strategic Plan was created to has stayed in touch with the District doing well. Our thoughts and prayers con- assess the needs and challenges of the throughout his tour of duty and we are tinue for Yvonne and Tony and his recov- District. The plan is also intended to set pleased to report the he is scheduled to be ery. goals and objectives for the District with home in April. Thank you Scott for your measurable results. The plan addresses commitment, dedication, and for the sac- August brought on the B&B Complex four specific topics: training, equipment, rifices you and your family have made for Fire and Stayton Fire along with other our country. local fire districts responded with crews (Continued on page 6)

the District was busy investigating Fire a series of small fires, all suspi- cious in nature. A task force was Investigations formed with the local police, State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Stay- The Stayton Fire District ran a re- ton Fire District to track down a cord number of calls in 2003: 933 possible arsonist. The suspect was calls for service. Fortunately, ma- apprehended and the fires stopped. jor fires involving extensive investigations and/or fire fatalities The District investigates every fire dropped from the previous year. that occurs in the District to dis- cover its origin and help prevent Firefighters Sisto, Martinka, Kintz & Still, during the summer months such fires in the future. Alley investigate possible arson fire on Fern Ridge Road. Page 2 ● 2003 Annual Report Stayton Fire District

TRAINING……..

Stayton Fire District takes great pride in providing quality training to our volunteer firefighters and other partnering agencies in the Santiam Canyon. Over the past several years the area agencies have joined forces to enhance the training opportunities for ALL levels of personnel. The partnerships formed on the training grounds have a direct affect on the standard of service provided to all the communities we serve. In today’s fire Exposure protection Jefferson St. live service we rely on our neighbors to assist fire exercise Live fire exercise—practicing sec- with maintaining a high level of service ond story exterior attack to those we serve and protect. ity is available to all local emergency service agencies for any training and is Firefighting is dangerous, but with the currently used by several fire districts for proper training we can reduce the risk various drills. The facility is maintained and prepare personnel to respond on and constructed with volunteer labor and emergency calls. To become a firefighter district funds for materials. it takes approximately 200 hours of classes on fire suppression, medical train- Stayton Fire District is committed to pro- ing, vehicle operations, Wildland classes, viding excellent training to our members and hazardous materials over a 6-month and those we work with. Our number one time period. After the basic training, goal is to train those who volunteer to skills are maintained by attending drills respond to calls efficiently, effectively, one night a week for two hours. The and safely. Practicing water streams commitment to training takes two: the district and the individual. It is our job to ensure members are properly trained to perform the job and return home to their families safely.

In 2003 the Stayton Fire District with its neighboring districts have provided the following training opportunities; Wild- land firefighting classes, Recruit Acad- emies for new firefighters, EMS training, First Aid/CPR classes to the public, and live fire training. Practice field burn Setting up water supply for pump One asset for providing training to per- operations sonnel in the Santiam Canyon is the Training Facility located behind the fire station in Stayton. The facility was de- signed to provide realistic conditions in a safe environment. Training props at the facility include a tower for laddering, rappelling, a smoke room for search and rescue of victims, a ventilation prop for cutting holes in a roof, a burn room for fire suppression, and live fire propane props for simulated vehicle, tank trailer, and propane tank fires. The training facil- Life Flight training Jefferson St. live fire exercise. Stayton Fire District 2003 Annual Report ● Page 3

………………TEACHING Fire Prevention Education

Twelve Volunteer Firefighters assisted with 5 station tours and visited 42 classrooms during fire prevention month. Our theme for 2003 was “Get Out! Stay Out!”. We focused on teaching kids to test smoke alarms and to properly maintain them. Also to practice escape routes, know- ing two ways out and having a meeting place outside. Each child received a ribbon and temporary tattoo with a fire safety message and a handout to take home to draw an escape route with their parents. We reached 1103 kids with this safety message: Children learn about being a firefighter 430 Preschool and Kindergarten, 338 First and Second through the “Junior Firefighter Challenge” Graders and 335 Third and Fourth Graders. Our annual Fire Safety Open House in October was a great success with 831 children and parents coming throughout the eve- ning. Betty Lackner chaired the event with help from 29 other Volunteer Firefighters.

Juvenile Firesetter Report

Public Education Coordinator, Deborah Gregson, received her DPSST Certification as a Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist I in September of 2003. With on- going training and involvement in JFS networks, she can keep up on the latest techniques and strategies for juvenile Prevention Education display on smoke detectors, escape plans, and fire safety. firesetters and their families. This results in a program that is beneficial to the community as well as the firesetter and their family. A decrease of 15% in reported juvenile fire- setting offenses over the last year proves that the system works when properly implemented. Nine interventions were done this year; all nine were males between 5—16 years of age. Ignition sources included matches, lighters and candles. Materials ignited were plastic, paper, grass fields, furniture and accelerants. Most sources were obtained from the homes of the juveniles. Four kids were referred to Marion County Health for further counseling. All juveniles and their families received fire and life safety education. Volunteer Shawn Forsythe helps senior citizens keep on top of their blood pressure. Page 4 ● 2003 Annual Report Stayton Fire District

Stayton Firefighters Respond to

Central Oregon Conflagration

In August the Governor invoked the thousands of acres, closed down Methodist Youth Camp. Conflagration Act for two fires burn- highways and required the help of ing in Central Oregon; the Booth firefighters from all over the state. Five firefighters from the Stayton Fire (on Hwy. 20) and the Butte Fire Structural task forces were placed at Fire District were able to assist by (near Warm Springs) that were burn- Suttle Lake Camp Ground, Santiam protecting structures at Camp ing in the Deschutes National Forest. Lodge, Hoodoo, Blue Lake, Camp Sherman and Hoodoo Lodge: Ron Tamarack at Dark Lake, Suttle Lake Tegen, Barbara Nelson, Brad Weller, The fires, spreading over tens of Resort, Black Butte Ranch and the Ken Rowling and Riley Martinka .

2003 Annual Awards Banquet

The District recognized the and to George Crosiar for 30 and Dan Overman with Keith exceptional service of its volun- years of service at the Marion Kreger taking the honors. teers at its annual awards ban- Station. quet held at Cascade Hall at the Jim Nelson was chosen as Sup- Oregon State Fairgrounds this Howard Stroble, with the Ore- port Person of the Year. Other year. gon Department of Forestry, nominees were Beth Gregson presented Assistant Chief Alley and Pat Clokey. Several people received Years with a special award, for his of Service awards: John Lack- work promoting the common Ruben Sisto was chosen as Assistant Chief Alley recognizes ner, 5 years; Dunnell Cole and goals of the Stayton Fire Dis- Medic of the Year. Brad 30 Years of Service by Captain Riley Martinka, 7 years; trict and ODF and for his ef- George Crosiar McKenzie and Troy Gulstrom Sherry Bensema, Troy Gul- forts in seeking interagency were also nominated. strom, Gene Coles and Ron cooperation.

Bemrose, 10 years. Kevin Ax- Jeff Harris and Allen Kibbe helm received Exempt Fire- The “Volunteer Service With Pride” award went to Troy Gul- shared the honor of Out- fighter status for retiring with standing Firefighters of the more than 17 years of service. strom. Year for the Stayton Fire Dis- Special recognition was given Nominees for Rookie of the trict. Dan Houston and Barbara to Bonnie Reid for 20 years of Year were Keith Kreger, Nelson were also nominated. Shawn Forsythe, Les Peterson Firefighter Bonnie Reid proudly service at the Mehama Station dons her leather fire helmet for 20 years of service.

Firefighters Allen Kibbe and Jeff Harris share the honor of Out- standing Fire- fighters of the Year. Support Person of the Medic of the Year, Officer of the Year, Year, Jim Nelson Ruben Sisto George Crosiar Stayton Fire District 2003 Annual Report ● Page 5

Volunteer Associations Unite FIREHOUSE Stayton Fire District has four stations located in Mehama, Software Marion, Elkhorn and Stayton. Each station had its own Volun- teer organization with a member that sat on a Volunteer Coun- A Challeng- cil. The Council met once a quarter to coordinate fundraisers, to assist each station with help on any function, and to pro- ing But mote participation in community affairs. Even though the in- Progressive dividual associations worked well together, a more unified organization was desired. Change The process of uniting all the Volunteer Firefighters into one FIREHOUSE is an integrated database that cov- organization has finally come about after nearly two years of ers incident entry, personnel, inventory and work. As with any group that wishes to come together in this maintenance, hydrant testing and training re- way, it takes cooperation from all sides. There were many cords. Once fully implemented, the program committee meetings to develop bylaws, discuss funding, de- will eliminate duplicate entry of data into multi- cide on meeting locations and address other issues and con- ple software programs and enable easy access to statistical data. cerns of the individual stations. Then there was the task of naming the organization. Keeping with tradition, the name of The program is broken up into modules so we the organization became “Stayton Volunteer Protection Com- are implementing one module at a time. We pany #1”. There’s still more work to do but we’re well on have been using the program for incident entry our way. to begin with. This is a huge change because all of our firefighters will eventually be entering “There is no surer tie among people than when they are and accessing information rather than one person. united in spirit and purpose. “

Support Team Revived Successful Grant Projects There are a lot of opportunities for the public to volunteer their time with the Fire District and one We were successful in applying for two grants to purchase equipment for way is to join the department’s Support Team. Emergency Medical Services this year. Although we’ve had many people assisting over the years, it was decided to create a formal group. In May, we received a grant from the Office of Rural Health EMS En- hancement Grant Program for $1,858. The grant funds helped us replace The Support members help with administrative our wooden backboards with plastic boards that meet current OSHA regu- chores such as large mailings, assembling manu- lations and purchase equipment for mass casualty incidents. The back- als, filing and organizing. Some also help with boards were in need of replacement and we did not have enough for large photography, scrap booking, food preparation, on- incidents. The mass casualty equipment will improve efficiency by clearly scene rehab, childcare, fundraisers, assisting with identifying the patients that need immediate care. prevention presentations and other District events. In December, we were awarded $3,800 to purchase two Automated Exter- At this time the team meets every other month to nal Defibrillators (AEDs) and provide CPR and AED training for Stayton work on projects and to plan events and fundrais- Police Officers. One of the AEDs will be given to the Stayton Police De- ers. They are currently working on ways to raise partment for one of their patrol cars and the other one will be used as a money for smoke detectors for citizens and for back-up unit at the Stayton Fire Station. The addition of the AEDs will burn victim barrels (cans filled with needed sup- increase the odds that an AED will be available in the first four minutes of plies for victims of house fires). a heart attack. The grant was awarded from the 2003 Rural Access to Emergency Devices Grant Program. Volunteers are a vital part of the Fire Service and invaluable to our communities. These grants will increase safety for our firefighters and the patients that they help. Page 6 ● 2003 Annual Report Stayton Fire District

(Continued from page 1) years old. These trucks are no longer capable of fully providing the support or specialized tasks required by our com- facilities, and apparatus, and includes a fifth miscellaneous munities growing emergency service needs. The shortfall category. The plan identifies and prioritizes the needs of the lies in our ability to fund the purchase of this very expen- District in each category, and has proven to be a very effec- sive equipment, approximately 1.6 million dollars. With an tive tool for keeping us focused on our long-range plans. annual operating budget of $860,000 it is clear the District will need additional support to provide for the future safety Although we have been effective with the purchase of small of our volunteers and community. equipment, repairs to facilities, and advances in training through the plan, we have also identified challenges and Overall it has been a challenging but successful year for very serious shortfalls facing the District. The two largest Stayton Fire District, and through it all the volunteers and challenges are the safety of our volunteer firefighters and staff have stayed committed to providing excellent service our ability to provide service. The safety of our volunteers to our community and those who pass through it. is our number one priority. The planning process identified the age of our SCBAs, many which are 15 to 20 years old, and their reliability as a growing safety concern. With several SCBAs experiencing failures during training sessions Cold spell grips the and during actual calls it is imperative that we replace our Santiam Canyon keep- SCBAs. Our ability to provide service is directly related to ing Volunteers busy and the equipment needed to perform given tasks. making responding to calls dangerous. Like our SCBAs, several of our trucks are aging, 23 to 44

933 Calls For Service

Fire Responses Motor Vehicle Accidents

160 100% 140 80% 120 100 60% 125 113 102 80 157 125 135 60 40%

40 20% 20 0 0% 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003

Others Responses Emergency Medical Calls

250 500 245 400 240 235 300 230 249 384 425 225 200 330 220 226 229 100 215 210 0 2001 2002 2003 200120022003 Stayton Fire District 2003 Annual Report ● Page 7

Volunteer Activities

Besides responding to a record number of calls in 2003 (933 calls for service) and contributing over 5364 volunteer hours on calls, drills and special training, the Volunteers were also involved in a variety of other District and community events.

State Sponsored: Grand Safety Station (OR State Fair)

Community & Joint Agency Sponsored: Firefighter Allen Kibbe prepares eggs at the Bike Rodeo Fireman’s Annual Breakfast. Safety School Trade Fair 4th of July Parade Summerfest Covered Bridge Festival Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting Community Easter Egg Hunt Back to School Fair Gregory Scott Swim Party (donated funds to Rescue Equipment Fund) Car Seat Clinic

Sarah Nelson, daughter of firefighter Barbara Fire District Sponsored: Nelson, proudly shows off her handmade Halloween Safety Open House Christmas ornament. Santa Cruise In Toys for Joy Program Fireman’s Breakfast in Stayton Sweetheart Breakfast and Bingo in Mehama School Carnival in Marion Road Cleanup - Elkhorn area Monthly Blood pressure checks at the Community Center Christmas Tree Recycling

Christmas Ornament Contest Volunteer firefighter, Nick Rowling, shops for Volunteer Family Christmas Party just the right gift for the Toys for Joy Program. Page 8 ● 2003 Annual Report Stayton Fire District

2003 Stayton Fire District Roster

Stayton Station Stayton Support Clokey, Pat Marion Sta- Fitzgerald, Elizabeth tion Fuson, Fuzzy (-) Gregson, Beth (+) Jantz, Steven (+) Parker, April Tegen, Ron Vaughn, Roberta (+) Alley, Taunie Axhelm, Kevin Chaplains Beaman, Noah Berg, Bob Becker, Tony Fisher, Dick Chrisman, Gary Cathcart, Doug Crosiar, George Classen, Brian Mehama Station Harris, Jeff Cupp, Gary (-) Kimball, Dan Fery, Eric Kimball, Jim (-) Forsythe, Shawn (+) Kreger, Keith (+) Gregson, Deborah Overman, Dan Grumbo, Leon Peterson, Les (+) Hill, Vince (-) Wooldridge, Andy Houston, Dan Jones, Paul Marion Support Kibbe, Allen Bemrose, Ron Dotter, Don Kintz, Doug Griffith, Craig (-) Lackner, John Gulstrom, Troy McFadden, Kevin Hansen, Doug Elkhorn Sta- McLain, Jered (+)(-) Hueller, Kurt (+) tion McKenzie, Brad Lennig, Jereme (-) Nelson, Barbara Potter, Jim Oliver, Kelly Reid, Bonnie Peevy, Greg Pietrok, Matt Mehama Support Priddy, Joel Bell, Brittney (+) Riordan, Matt Robinson, Jennifer (+) Resident Volunteers Rowling, Ken Cooper, Ben (-) Bensema, Sherry Sisto, Ruben Flick, Jacob (-) Cole, Dunnell Tinney, Jeremy (-) Rowling, Nick (+) Cole, Tim Underwood, Evan (-) Stephens, Jack Hazen, Carla Vigil, Scott Walker, Ryan (-) Johnson, Sandy Vaughn, Brad Weller, Brad Williams, Thomas Weitman, Eric Weitman, Terry

PERSONNEL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Fire Chief Jack Carriger Assistant Chief Jay Alley Ray Porter Gene Coles Office Administrator Maintenance Officer L. Jay Myers Rhonda Grant Ken Smith Richard Morley Michael Odenthal FF/EMT/IMS Laura Houston FF/EMT Riley Martinka