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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2016)
opinion april7 2016 An Opinion: Why VRFPD Needs Our Support By Scott Laird The Vernonia Rural Fire Protec- tion District (VRFPD) has submitted a ballot measure for the upcoming May 17 election, which citizens living in our fire district seriously need to consider ap- proving. The measure is a five year tax levy that will raise funding to assist with training and operations for the fire dis- trict and could go a long way to help al- leviate some of the struggles our local fire fighters and first responders are fac- ing. The measure would pay the sal- ary and benefits for a Training Captain position who would be responsible for creating, delivering and maintaining a training program for the local volunteers who respond to emergencies. Vernonia Fire Chief Dean Smith has identified three areas of concern for his department which he hopes will be addressed with the passage of a tax levy: a dwindling number of volunteers, an increasing number of calls that need to be responded to, and increased require- ments for volunteers to be able to par- ticipate. A look at some recent history of call volume versus the number of volunteers available to respond clearly explains the main issue our local fire dis- trict is facing: Year 1997 2000 2005 2010 2015 # Annual Calls 250 337 344 416 548 # of Volunteers 26 25 20 25 12 While the number of volunteers has fluctuated over time, volunteerism has trended downward and fallen drasti- cally in the last 5 years; it is currently half of what it was in the late 1990s. Meanwhile the number of calls has risen dramatically, more than doubling over the same time period. The numbers speak for them- selves – our volunteers are being asked to do more, with less of them to do it. Which brings me to an impor- tant point. These aren’t just numbers we’re talking about here, these are ac- tual people. These volunteers are people who give up their personal time to train and be available to help us when we need them, in whatever kind of weather or whatever time of day or night that we might call. These are our friends, family and neighbors who are calling for help – more and more of them each and every year. With volunteerism down and call volume up, the other big issue Chief Smith points to is the depth and breadth of the required certifications his volun- teers need. For a volunteer to be certified to fight a fire they need to attend 240 hours of Fire Academy – most do it dur- ing their weekends over the course of 3 months. After Fire Academy, volun- teers must go through a rigorous skills training process at their department and get signed off on each skill they show mastery of; this can take as long as 18 months to complete, but depends on the ability of the department to schedule and provide the training needed and the abil- ity of the volunteer to attend those train- ings. Once certified a volunteer must complete 60 hours of continuing edu- cation training each year to maintain their certification. If a volunteer wants to preform additional skills, like operating the pumps or driving the rig or be avail- able for wildland fire fighting, additional hours of training are needed. “That’s why we don’t have a Swift Water Rescue Team or a Rope Rescue Team, because the excess training is just too hard to get and maintain,” says Chief Smith. “I have a volunteer training offi- cer who plans and presents trainings for our volunteers,” explains Chief Smith. “We know which volunteers need which skills and sometimes our training offi- cer will spend 15 to 20 hours preparing a training and then those volunteers that need that training are unable to attend the drill that week. That’s the way it works with volunteers.” Smith points out the these certi- fications that volunteers are required to receive and maintain are the very same certifications required by professionally paid fire fighters at Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue or Columbia River Fire and Rescue who make upwards of $75,000 a year. “We’re asking our people, most of whom have a full time job, families, and other activities they would like to do, to do the same requirements,” says Smith. Chief Smith has recently been visiting with local groups and organiza- tions explaining the need for a Training Officer. Smith, along with a part-time office manager, are the only paid per- sonnel at VRFPD, everyone else is a volunteer. Smith notes that last year, of the 548 calls for service the district re- ceived, there was an average response of two volunteers per call, and that he personally responded to 296 of them. “So that means over half the time it was me and one volunteer,” says Smith. Smith says volunteer burn out is becoming a huge issue for his depart- ment and will continue to be a problem as the number of volunteers continues to decline and the work load for those still there mounts. Smith currently has 13 volun- teers. Four of them are officers, three are certified as Fire Fighter I, three are still on probation, two are logistics only volunteers, and one is brand new. Smith says two of the probationary members have been on probation for about 10 years, trying to complete their training so they can become certified as Fire Fighter I. “That shows how hard it is to complete the training,” he says. Ten years! Talk about dedica- tion. How many of us would volunteer to do something and spend over ten years in training before we could reach our goal and perform the duties we signed up for? “I can’t fault our volunteers for wanting to spend time with their fami- lies, but we just don’t have the people anymore who are willing or able to leave work, put the fork down, turn the TV off, get off the lawn mower, or walk away from their kid’s game, in order to help the community,” says Smith. So what is the answer? Chief Smith and the VRFPD Board of Directors believe that hiring a Training Captain will give the de- partment flexibility in how they pres- ent and schedule training opportunities for their volunteers, offering more and varied options to work training into and around their busy schedules. This could also relieve the burden for planning and presenting training from the overworked volunteers currently assigned that task. A paid Training Captain could coordinate with other area departments to share and present training opportuni- ties; this is already being done in places like Forest Grove, Cornelius and Banks where volunteers at any department can attend trainings anywhere they are pre- sented. This type of sharing of resources could be managed to help all volunteers receive their required training. A Training Captain could re- spond to calls during their shifts, provid- ing an additional responder and some relief for an already overburdened staff Publisher and Managing Editor Scott Laird 503-367-0098 scott@vernoniasvoice.com Contributors Britt Bensen Steele Senator Betsy Johnson Dr. Carol McIntyre Karen Miller Sonia Spackman Grant Williams Photography Scott Laird Want to advertise? Have an article? Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com One year subscriptions (24 issues) $35 Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. Vernonia’s Voice, LLC PO Box 55 Vernonia, OR 97064 503-367-0098 www.VernoniasVoice.com and volunteer group. A Training Captain could or- ganize and maintain a reserve or cadet program that could bring in outside fire science students looking to gain first- hand experience, and possibly provide training classes for students in our own high school. Bringing in outside volun- teers as well as training our own young volunteers, is a great way to expand and develop a core base of responders. A Training Captain could work with the community and local employers to recruit more volunteers and expand the ability of the department to respond to the needs of the community. These volunteers have spent so much time training and giving to our community. It’s time we gave back to them. They need our help. Cedar Side Inn FULL SPORTS PACKAGE! 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