Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current, June 17, 2021, Image 6

Vernonia's voice., June 17, 2021, Page 6, Image 6

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Newspaper Page Text6 Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District June 17 2021 Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District Wildland Training By Will Steinweg Training Division Chief On May 22 Vernonia Fire par- ticipated in an annual Wildland Fire training event. This was a countywide training event that was hosted in Mist- Birkenfeld’s Fire District and planned through the coordinated efforts of Ver- nonia, Mist-Birkenfeld, and Clatskanie Fire’s training officers. This training helps ensure that our volunteers are cer- tified to fight wildland fires. Live fire training is rare in our county and is a great way for our people to get experi- ence in the wildland setting while actu- ally fighting fire. Our day began at 0800 with a morning briefing which was held over a zoom call so that resources throughout the county could stay at their respec- tive districts to simulate actual response times to the incident. Prior to training, Incident Command (IC) roles were as- signed to maintain accountability of our crews as well as maintaining a safe training environment. An Incident Ac- tion Plan (IAP) was made a week prior and was reviewed during the morning briefing. An IAP lays out the objectives during the training, the Incident Com- mand structure of the training, as well as medical and safety plans just in case an injury occured during training. Crews VOLUNTEERS WANTED VERNONIA RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT VRFPD is currently accepting applications for Volunteer Fire Fighters • You must have a High School Diploma or G.E.D., a valid Oregon Driver’s License, and be at least 18 years of age • Currently, you must be able to attend weekly training on Monday nights were briefed on what the inci- dent would look like as well as safety precautions that were put in place to make sure we had a safe and successful training. After briefing the crews from across the county, the Com- mand staff headed to the scene of the training while simulating a tone out for a wildland fire over the radio. Again this training was held in Mist-Birkenfeld’s Fire District maintaining a water shuttle between the water source and a port-a-tank (our portable swimming pools) with a wild- so they were the first to get toned out. We simulated a real incident so it was up to the IC to call for the resources that were needed to successfully manage the incident. As more resources arrived we were able to assign tasks to the ap- propriate apparatus on scene. Different branches of the incident included: a fire branch (in charge of the actual fire), a water supply branch (in charge of get- ting water from a water source to the in- cident), and a medical branch (in charge of rehabbing crews and any medical in- cident that may happen). To make this training more re- alistic, we were able to make this a live fire training by starting fires in a few slash piles. This gives the volunteers experience working an actual fire by feeling the heat and seeing the flames while accomplishing their tasks. Mul- tiple areas of the training incident were utilized to make the training as realis- tic as possible. The fire branch started working to mitigate the fire itself by as- signing crews to dig hand lines and run hoselays from apparatus on scene to surround the fire. The incident was split into two separate divisions to manage the incident more appropriately. These divisions were staffed by division su- pervisors with crews to work in those divisions. This is a way for our Opera- tions Section Chief of the incident to maintain their span of control while still working to accomplish the objec- tives. While the fire branch was work- ing on suppression efforts, the water supply branch was establishing and land engine pumping a hoselay from the port-a-tank. Medical branch was set up providing rehab during the whole event. The water supply branch is re- sponsible for maintaining a continuous supply of water to the suppression units during the training incident. Utilizing Water Tenders they would go to a water source, fill their tank, and then return to the incident to supply water to suppres- sion apparatus. In the fire service this is known as a water shuttle. Even though we don’t utilize water as much on wild- land incidents it is necessary to practice these skills to better serve our commu- nities that do not have fire hydrants in their areas. Agencies from all over the County came to participate in this drill. Crews from Vernonia, Mist-Birkenfeld, Scappoose, Clatskanie, Columbia River Fire and Rescue, and Westport Fire all were there working on either Water sup- ply or Wildland Fire skills. A special thanks goes out to the Dass Family for hosting the event on their land. Without the use of their land this training would not have been as successful as it was. The way this training was set up we were able to accomplish multiple tasks while maintaining safety and ac- countability for the entire operation. This training was made up of six dif- ferent departments and between 40-50 people, most of which were volunteers. These volunteers took time out of their Saturday to train on skills, to not only better serve their communities, but also to better serve our county as a whole. Here’s What We Do! • Willing to attend the Fire Academy • Live or work (employer willing to let you respond to calls) within VRFPD’s District VRFPD 555 E. Bridge St. Vernonia, OR 97064 503-429-8252 • Applications can be picked up at the Fire Station Rob Davis Operations Division Chief 503-429-8252 Calls responded to May 1-31 Fire Emergency Medical Service Hazardous Condition Service Call Good Intent False Alarm Total 1 40 0 5 0 3 49