8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2015
Local
What it’s like to be a …
Presidential
debate
Baker City Fire Chief
With college students
choosing majors and high
school students deciding
between college or the
workforce, this series will
highlight one career path
each week in August and
September.
This week, we introduce
you to Mark John, Baker
City Fire Chief.
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The BCP: How long
have you filled the role of
Fire Chief?
Chief John: This par-
ticular role I’ve been in
for seven going on eight
months. Before I came
here, I was a battalion
chief for the city of Ana-
heim in southern Califor-
nia. I have been in this
field for 30 years though.
The BCP: How does
your day start? What is a
typical day like for you?
Chief John: (Laughing.)
Quickly. The role I serve
is more administrative, it
is much different than the
others in the department.
As a fire chief most of my
responsibilities are ad-
ministrative. My primary
function as a department
head is to oversee the total
operations of the depart-
ment. My day generally
starts with administrative
work, meetings, and other
administrative duties, like
for example on Tuesdays
I have to do payroll. A lot
of the things I have are
time-sensitive. My day
is different than their day
(motioning to the firefig -
ers) to a large degree.
As firefighters they hav
basic responsibilities—a
typical day for them will
begin with a basic briefing,
an exchange information.
Then they do station
maintenance, equipment
maintenance, personal
protective equipment
maintenance.
They have to make sure
their air tanks are full and
ready to go, make sure
the vehicles are fueled,
have oil and are ready to
go. Make sure all medical
equipment on the Ambu-
lance gets checked and
stocked, the fire engine
equipment gets checked
and all of those things get
done every day.
Once a week the engine
gets pumped and a more
thorough check of the
equipment gets done. It’s
a constant process. When
the bell goes off —they go.
And you never know when
that’s going to happen so
all those things get done
while they are in between
running calls.
Then blood pressure
checks are done every
Tuesday at the Senior
Center at 11 a.m. and they
will do Fire Prevention
Inspections also.
The BCP: What was
it like when you assumed
your role?
Chief John: It’s really
very similar to what I was
doing already as a Bat-
talion Chief. As Fire Chief
I still respond to certain
calls, so with larger inci-
dents I’ll go just because
we don’t have a lot of staff.
In that respect it is very
different to where I came
from as far as the number
of resources available. We
are the only full-time paid
department in the county,
so that means we’re the
only ones who are here
24/7, 365 days a year. We
are the only responders in
the whole county on the
fire side and eme gency
services that is staffed
to that level, and that is
largely driven by call vol-
ume. We are getting busier
and busier all the time.
As a battalion chief in
Anaheim, I had half of
the city—nine engine and
truck companies to manage
every day and that depart-
ment ran 100 calls a day
every day. That is a lot of
activity. Here we run about
5-7 calls a day, occasion-
ally upward of 12-13 calls
a day and that’s pretty busy
for a one-station depart-
ment.
In our department the
emergency medical piece
is integrated into our
department and that is not
the case everywhere. De-
pending on the structure,
the county and the state
sometimes the paramedic
service is separated from
the fire service.
The BCP: What skills,
qualifications and or ed -
cation does one need?
Chief John: It depends
on the types of services
a department offers. We
are not big enough for
many specialized services
but this department has
evolved into an all risk
agency.
If there is a big accident
on the freeway we will go
to that. If a train derails
today, we will go to that.
If there is a fire, a flood
we will go to that. Now
we may not, because of
the types of resources we
have, be able to contain the
situation and may require
specialized help.
For example, we don’t
have a Hazmat team. We
don’t have a water rescue
team or an urban search
and rescue team. Larger
departments like say Port-
land, Bend, Seattle—they
will have more of those
specialty personnel that
have that training. The
department I came from
had all of those things. The
one thing we do have is we
have two paramedics who
are on the SWAT team.
They are considered tacti-
cal paramedics and they
have to go through special
training to be involved in
those types of operations.
The BCP: How does
one become a fire chief,
how long does it take?
Chief John: Well, it
took me 30 years. It can
certainly be done faster but
for me it was just a very
natural progression. I was
a firefighter/paramedi
then I promoted through
the ranks. In larger depart-
ments the rank structure
goes from firefighter t
firefighter/paramedic to -
gineer or driver to officer
Lieutenant or Captain then
to chief officer ranks like
battalion chief to deputy or
assistant chief and the fire
chief.
The BCP: What is your
background?
Chief John: I was for-
tunate in that I found this
pretty early. I was about
21-22.
I began as an EMT. I
got my EMT and did ride-
alongs with ambulance
services. I took a liking to
it early. Once I got started,
I knew right away. I was
interested in going to para-
medic school so I inquired
about that and beyond that
I found, at least for me,
the best option was the fire
service.
There are other av-
enues once you have your
paramedics license. You
can work for a private
company or emergency
departments. You can
fly—Don Taggart does that
for Life Flight. There are
a lot of opportunities. So
after I went to EMT school
I worked for a private
ambulance service, tried to
get into paramedic school
as quickly as I possibly
could, and once I got out
of paramedic school I went
back to the private service
for maybe a year, 15
months. Then I got hired
by a fire department and
the rest is history. That was
my path. It is a calling and
it’s difficult when you’re
younger to know that,
but it becomes apparent
quickly.
The BCP: What hap-
pens when a call comes in?
Chief John: Depending
on type of call, that will
dictate the type of equip-
ment we take. If we get a
fire call we will likely still
take, depending on how
many people we have here,
an engine and an ambu-
lance. We respond with as
many people as we have in
the station.
Then depending on the
circumstances, if say, we
had an active fire much
like the one we had a few
weeks ago on Valley, I
would go because then
one of the officers doesn t
have to get involved in the
direction of the incident. I
would provide the com-
mand and control and
then they would perform
whatever functions are
necessary and we would
call for help. Something
like a working structure
fire or a brush fire takes
lot of resources.
We get there, do as much
as we can early on, and
wait for resources to arrive
to do what’s necessary.
Now if it is a medical
call, we send two people
on the ambulance and one
if not both of them are
paramedic trained.
The BCP: What is your
favorite thing about being
Chief?
Chief John: For me as
a fire chief, I get to just
determine the direction of
the department. But I don’t
know that much changes
a whole lot from the time
you start at the entry level.
This profession is one
where you are truly mak-
ing a difference in people’s
lives. Every day. I mean
really call after call you are
having a direct impact on
people’s lives in one way
or another.
The BCP: What is your
least favorite thing?
Chief John: I think the
fact that it is dangerous—
it’s very, very dangerous.
In fact I believe just in the
last two weeks the For-
est Service has had two
people killed. That part of
it is very stressful. I have a
pretty significant respo -
sibility to ensure that our
people are well trained and
are kept safe.
They were out on the
freeway last week working
a fire and not only was the
fire a danger but the traffi
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Submitted Photo.
Baker City Fire Chief
Mark John.
as well. We are all aware
of the amount of truck
traffic that is on I-84 and
having to operate on the
side of the road—it is just
really very difficult.
The BCP: What advice
would you give to for any-
one looking at this career
path?
Chief John: First of all,
I’d recommend it because
there is just nothing like it.
It is very unique what we
do and how we do it. There
is the dynamic of actually
living together, that’s the
thing about the fire service,
unlike a lot of other profes-
sions you’re rarely ever
operating alone so those
interpersonal skills are re-
ally critical.
Explore it see if you like
it, you will realize that
there are just very few
things like it. It is unusual
for people to leave the fire
service once they are here.
We do offer volunteer op-
portunities, if they are old
enough (18) they can apply
to be paid call.
The BCP: What have
been your biggest chal-
lenges?
Chief John: I think in
any of these roles most of
the really significant cha -
lenges I’ve had typically
have to do with person-
nel issues. I’ve been very
lucky here—I’ve had none.
The BCP: Parting
thoughts?
Chief John: It is very
much a calling— it takes a
certain type of individual
to do this type of work.
When it gets right down
to it, this is very difficult.
It’s very dirty and it’s very
dangerous. I don’t know
that a lot of people realize
that. It depends on their
experiences. If they have
had a firsthand experience
with us with a fire or an
emergency medical call,
generally their perception
of us changes significantly
because they have firs -
hand knowledge of what
goes on.
I think it is still often the
case that people think that
firefighters are just sittin
around here waiting for a
call, and that could not be
farther from the truth.
There is so much going
on that any given day we
really work diligently
just to keep up with those
things and manage them—
and then there is training
in addition to all of those
other things mentioned.
Mandatory training
that has to go on in order
to keep your paramedic
or EMT license. Then as
a firefighter you want t
stay well trained on all of
the skills that come with
that— pulling hose, tying
knots, throwing ladder—
things like that.
Needless to say the days
fill up very quickl .
Bottom line: It’s just an
amazing career.
Yue said, “We still had 10 candidates on the stage. In an
ideal world, we want to see four candidates on the stage
so each would have more time to go beyond sound bites
and talk about philosophy and experience behind their
answers. It will take some time to get there.”
“Fox News even hosted a no-audience debate for the
second tier candidates,” Yue said.
Those seven second tier candidates who polled lower
and were invited to participate in the earlier forum were
Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Lindsey Gra-
ham, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, and George Pataki. The
moderators for the earlier debate were Bill Hemmer and
Martha McCallum.
The debate, including its moderators, encountered a tid-
al wave of criticism from the public. Comments flooded
major conservative sites such as Breitbart.com, Glenn
Beck’s Facebook feed, and well as Mark Levin’s feed.
Nearly across the board, viewers felt that modera-
tor Megyn Kelly was out to discredit Trump, and were
unhappy that air time was not distributed equally. Many
viewers expressed perceived favoritism during the debate
for more establishment candidates such as Christie and
Bush.
Behind the scenes in production, where the national
television viewing audience couldn’t see, Yue said, “The
debate was electrifying.”
He went on to add, “When Fox News cut to commer-
cials, candidates formed their three to four people little
groups to converse. During the debate they went after
each other on issues, not waging personal attacks like
what happened in the 2012 presidential debate cycle. I
could not help to notice how deep is our bench in com-
parison to the DNC presumptive nominee—Hillary who
is afraid debating her second-tier candidates.”
As to the criticism of the moderators, Yue said, “Fox
News moderators are tough and fair. Megyn Kelly should
not allow Trump to make her defensive.”
Yue said, “I am hoping for a battle-seasoned nominee
who can connect with voting public, can offer solutions to
our national challenges, and can articulate philosophical
reasons to support the solutions to emerge.”
To that end he encourages the moderators “to ask our
candidates tough and uncomfortable questions such as the
bankruptcy question for Trump, the Common Core ques-
tion for Bush, and the gay marriage question for Kasich.”
ORP Chair Bill Currier also shared his experience.
Currier said, “I was invited to attend as a member of
the Oregon delegation to the RNC. While in Cleveland
we not only attended the presidential debate, but also met
with other state party leaders to discuss and plan for vic-
tory in the 2016 elections. Seeing the debate live was a
real treat because you could see personalities up close!”
Currier also felt the questions were “tough, but appro-
priate for each candidate.”
He believes that with the candidates on the stage,
America got its first glimpse of a variet . “There will be
at least eight more debates,” he said, “so there will plenty
of opportunity to get to know the candidates through dif-
ferent moderation styles and debate formats.”
Currier says what the audience saw on television, a
production that created such controversy, was somewhat
different in person.
He said, “I watched the debate when I got back home.
It was a very different experience. In the live audience
you got to see how the candidates interacted with each
other, and their body language when the camera was not
on them. This was especially evident on commercial
breaks, where they would interact with each other and the
audience.”
Currier doesn’t believe a winner or loser was evident
from the reaction around him in the audience. “Each
candidate clearly had their supporters, but the responses
from the audience were closely tied to how they answered
the individual questions. Trump’s responses evoked the
strongest reactions, but not necessary the most support-
ive. I appreciated the genuine manner in which each
candidate responded.”
Rep. Greg Barreto said, “ I thought some of the ques-
tions were hostile, but I appreciated the directness of most
of them. The tone could have been a bit more gracious
and achieved the same results.”
Currier said in the end, “Americans need and want a
president they can trust.” He added, “While they may not
agree with every policy position of a candidate, they are
tired of politicians who are not true to their stated convic-
tions, and who do not operate in the best interests of our
country. Americans are fortunate to have a variety of
quality Republican candidates from which to choose. As
we get closer to the election is will become clearer who
is best.”
Rep. Barreto noted, “The audience definitely had a large
base for Kasich—but we were in Ohio.” Kasich is the
governor of that state. He continued, “I felt each candi-
date had their supporters and you could see that when
they were called on to answer a question. It’s too early to
tell on the candidate—there will be several more debates.
Some will drop out, and I see others rising to the top 10.”
Currier concluded, “Republicans are fortunate to have
so many qualified candidates running. I am confiden
Republicans will have a strong nominee for the general
election.”
“It was a great experience, a good time to visit with a
broad base of people,” said Chris Barreto. “An opportu-
nity to listen, learn and observe.”
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