2A ܂ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2018 ܂ APPEAL TRIBUNE Controlled field burn is complete south of Silverton Wildfires Continued from Page 1A critical need across the state for what I would call a combat firefighter, some- one who can go in a burning house and put it out.” Olivia Heersink Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Role of volunteer fire departments today Decades ago when a fire bell rang in any small town, the town’s barber, gro- cery store owner and dozens of other citizens would drop what they were do- ing and run to the fire station. Volunteer firefighters were vital to the survival of the community, and nearly every able-bodied man took part. The percentage of paid full-time fire- fighters has increased in major metro- politan areas, but in rural areas the role of a volunteer firefighter is not as well known as was a century ago. “My next-door neighbors assume all you guys are paid,” said Nic Schrock, who has volunteered at the Aumsville Rural Fire District for six years. “This whole area, Salem is about your only all- paid spot.” According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, volunteers make up about 70 percent of firefighters in the United States. Cities such as Stayton and Silverton have a mix of volunteers and paid staff to fight fires. The volunteers can go from eating dinner at home to knocking down a front door to put out a fire in five min- utes. “The common thing we heard was we don’t know you guys needed us,” said Roy Hari, fire chief for the Aumsville Ru- ral Fire District. “The volunteer fire ser- vice across the nation is struggling right now.” When Odis Coleman started as a vol- unteer firefighter in Aumsville in 2003, the staff of volunteers was so large – 35 – it was almost a competition among the volunteers to make it to the first engine out of the fire department. He lives five blocks from the station and couldn’t make it on the first engine out to most fires. “We had volunteers who lived in that house, that house, we had Mark and we had two who lived in the apartments right there,” Coleman said, pointing to locations immediately around the Aumsville Rural Fire Department build- ing. “They would just be gone. Now it’s a little different.” Role in wildfires As wildfires blaze across the state, volunteer firefighters play significant roles. As most large fires are in remote areas, rural fire departments are often the first on the scene in the critical early moments of a fire when it can grow ex- Aumsville Rural Fire Department volunteers Odas Coleman, Nic Schrock and Ryan Stevens are among the 10 volunteers who staff the department. The department has one paid firefighter. BILL POEHLER/STATESMAN JOURNAL ponentially in minutes. Aumsville and many other rural fire departments sent engines and crews to help fight the Substation Fire outside of The Dalles last week. They fought the fire alongside full- time firefighters from other agencies and private firefighters. “Really, you look at this and when those firefighters responded to Sher- man and Wasco county last week, no- body looked at them and said, ‘You’re getting 10 bucks an hour and you’re get- ting 25 bucks an hour,’” Dunkel said. “They look at what you can do to help us mitigate this. The volunteers play a huge role. They are what we call boots on the ground.” Dunkel said while many larger mu- nicipalities will send fire engines to help with fires such as the Silver Creek Fire or the Substation Fire, their engines are not capable of going on the remote, hard-to-access land. Many of the rural fire districts have fire engines that can. What it takes to be a volunteer firefighter Most fire stations, such as Aumsville, offer introductory classes for people in- terested in volunteering. But the training is rigorous and re- quires long hours and sacrifice. “We got to do the same thing that Sa- lem Fire does, we got to have the same standards, same training,” Coleman said. “We pick our training up as volun- teers.” The fire departments pay for the training of their volunteers, and once they get in the fire engine headed to a call, they are fully insured as any em- ployee of the department would be. Some volunteers leave shortly after the training is over, and many have oth- er pursuits that require their time. Around 389 acres were torched Fri- day afternoon during a field burn south of Silverton permitted by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. John Byers, head of the depart- ment's Smoke Management Program, said seven or eight fields were set on fire at 2 p.m. Despite Marion County's burn ban, Byers said, these types of controlled fires are permitted because of the "in- ordinate" amount of safety precautions set in place by those involved, who only have an hour to light the targeted area. Several meteorological factors come into play when issuing a permit, Byers said. Officials look at wind speed and direction, as well as the potential height of the smoke. Byers said field burning is not al- lowed if two of the following three con- ditions are present: temperatures 95 “We have people that are here every single call and man, I’d put those guys up against anybody out there,” Hari said. “It’s all about how often you get down to the calls. “The best thing that can happen to a new recruit firefighter is to have a few fires, because that always hooks them.” Being a firefighter isn’t only about fighting fires, either. There’s also a sense of commitment to the community. “There’s so much more than what I ever thought than just doing fires,” Schrock said. “If you’re helping some- one and you’re doing CPR or someone’s kid got hurt, there’s a lot more to appre- ciate as life goes on.” Pilot program in Aumsville A year ago, there was a fire not far from Coleman’s business, Transformer Technologies, on Turner Road on the edge of Salem. Four of the employees, including Coleman, are volunteers with the Aums- ville Rural Fire District. As soon as they got the call, Schrock and Brad Buchholz drove their cars the eight minutes to Aumsville to get a fire engine then drove back to fight the fire. It sparked something. Buchholz and Schrock came up with the idea of stopping in Shaw at Aums- Field burning takes place at a grass seed field in the Lyons area in 2011. Field burning started Aug. 1 that year. STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE degrees or higher, humidity 30 percent or less and wind speeds 15 mph or greater. Contact reporter Olivia Heersink at oheersink@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6657 or follow her on Twitter @heersinkolivia. ville’s substation every day they’re working and driving one of the fire trucks to the Transformer Technologies shop. “We would have been like the first en- gine on scene,” Coleman said. The Aumsville Rural Fire District en- compasses 32 square miles and in 2017, the fire district responded to 813 calls. They will be three minutes from the boundary of Aumsville’s district — and closer to the Turner Fire District — but their response time will be significantly quicker for any call in Aumsville Some volunteer firefighters don’t have employers who would let them go to fight a fire in the middle of a work shift. Coleman certainly does: His employ- ees are still paid their regular hourly wage when they go fight a fire. “I think that’s probably the most im- portant part about this is that the em- ployer supports it,” said Hari, formerly with Marion County Fire District 1. “In any other community, the taxpayer is paying that firefighter. “Here it’s a private employer paying that firefighter. That’s something that you can’t replace. That’s an absolutely incredible offer for a company to do that. I truly believe that the return comes back.” bpoehler@Statesman Journal.com or Twitter. com/bpoehler Address: P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309 To Place an Ad Lake History of 2018 health advisories at Detroit Lake Phone: 503-399-6773 Classifieds: call 503-399-6789 Retail: call 503-399-6602 Legal: call 503-399-6789 Continued from Page 1A May 23: Tests show high levels of tox- ins, alert issued Web site: www.SilvertonAppeal.com June 8: Tests show safe levels of tox- ins, alert lifted News Director Don Currie 503-399-6655 dcurrie@statesmanjournal.com Advertising Terri McArthur 503-399-6630 tmcarthur@Salem.gannett.com June 13:Tests show high levels of tox- ins, alert issued June 14: Tests show safe levels of tox- ins, alert lifted June 15:Tests show high levels of tox- ins, alert issued June 25:Three days of tests show safe levels of toxins, alert lifted June 28:Tests show high levels of tox- ins, alert issued Email: sanews@salem.gannett.com Staff Deadlines News: 4 p.m. Thursday Letters: 4 p.m. Thursday Obituaries: 11 a.m. Friday Display Advertising: 4 p.m. Wednesday Legals: 3 p.m. Wednesday Classifieds: 4 p.m. Friday News Tips The Appeal Tribune encourages suggestions for local stories. Email the newsroom, submit letters to the editor and send announcements to sanews@salem.gannett.com or call 503-399-6773. Missed Delivery? Call: 800-452-2511 Hours: until 7 p.m. Wednesdays; until 3 p.m. other weekdays To Subscribe Call: 800-452-2511 $21 per year for home delivery $22 per year for motor delivery $30.10 per year mail delivery in Oregon $38.13 per year mail delivery outside Oregon Main Statesman Journal publication Suggested monthly rates: Monday-Sunday: $22, $20 with EZ Pay Monday-Saturday: $17.50, $16 with EZ Pay Wednesday-Sunday: $18, $16 with EZ Pay Monday-Friday: $17.50, $16 with EZ Pay Sunday and Wednesday: $14, $12 with EZ Pay Sunday only: $14, $12 with EZ Pay To report delivery problems or subscribe, call 800-452-2511 Published every Wednesday by the Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309. USPS 469-860, Postmaster: Send address changes to Appeal Tribune, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID: Salem, OR and additional offices. Send letters to the editor and news releases to sanews@salem.gannett.com. Silverton High School Scholarship Fundraiser 20th Annual Friday, August 3 rd , 2018 Place: Festhalle, 500 S. Wilco Hwy. Mt. Angel, OR 97362 The no host bar and social starts at 5:00 pm along with the Silent Auction and 50/50 Raffl e. The Wooden Nickel will start serving buff et dinner at 6:30 pm. Tickets cost $30 when purchased in advance at Silverton Realty or $35 if purchased on the day of the event. Dress casual and comfortable and enjoy the friendships – new and old – while supporting SHS scholarships. All ages are welcome OR-0000397875 cologist with the OHA's harmful algae bloom surveillance program. “When kids swim in water, they tend to swallow more water than adults swallow." Those who eat fish from waters where the blooms are present are rec- ommended to remove fat, skin and or- gans and rinse the fillets with clean wa- ter before cooking. The current health advisory for De- troit Lake issued by the Oregon Health Authority has been in place since June 28, its fourth advisory since May 23. bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler' Fax: 503-399-6706 More info: mason@silvertonrealty.com or 503-873-3545