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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2012)
Volunteer firefighting: Commitment from the heart by jeff viNyARD We are lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and we need to protect it. I have believed in volunteering since I was very young. If you wait for a convenient time to help others, you may never make it happen. Especially with emergency situations—they don’t wait for you to get off the couch. My name is Jeff Vinyard. I have a six- year-old daughter who is fortunate enough to attend Ruch School. I moved here from Klamath Falls in 1983. I own and operate Oregon-Land.com, the real estate brokerage in the Applegate Store complex and have been in the industry since 1994, specializing in rural properties in southern Oregon. I have supported our community by providing school supplies to all the elementary students in Ruch, Williams, Jacksonville and Applegate schools, and have contributed to the American Red Cross. I’m currently an active member of APPLE, a committee formed to promote place-based education at Ruch School. Since joining the Applegate Valley Although the initial academy and training does require a small time commitment, the positive results are too numerous to list. The district’s dedication to ongoing training and procurement of the most advanced equipment has propelled our district into one of the finest fire departments in the state. The requirements to retain your standing as an active Volunteer firefighter Jeff Vinyard and daughter Gracie. member of the Applegate Fire District Volunteer Association Fire District #9 in June 2001, I have come vary slightly depending on what station to realize the benefits of my association you are assigned to. The required drills and with the district as a firefighter and training are a very important part of being Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). prepared for any number of emergencies. Along with the camaraderie of being These emergencies range from wildfires to a member of this great group of dedicated structure fires and from automobile wrecks volunteers and staff comes a degree of to heart attacks and allergic reactions. responsibility to help keep the residents I have been a firefighter for nearly of our district safe and out of harm’s way 12 years. I have been on as many as 109 whenever possible. This is a responsibility alarm calls in one year, but I average in the not taken lightly by the staff as well as the area of 50 to 60 alarm runs a year, which volunteers of our district. is really not a huge time commitment. If Fire safety lessons by CARey ChApUt Fire Prevention Week is recognized nationally on the second week of October each year. This year’s campaign message was “Know Two Ways Out.” The staff of Applegate Fire District delivered a challenge to both local elementary schools by asking everyone to participate in making family escape plans. Students were asked to complete a plan with their family, then turn it in to their principals by the end of Fire Prevention Week. A class from each school was chosen for outstanding participation. Mrs. Yerby’s second-third grade blend class from Applegate School and Mrs. Hammers’ second-third grade blend class from Ruch Elementary were the winners of this year’s challenge. Firefighters from the Applegate Fire District drove a fire truck to each school and delivered pizzas and a safety message to the winning classes. We thank all of the teachers and families who made this program such a success. It’s important that family escape plans show two ways out of each sleeping room and that smoke alarms have been checked for working condition. We ask everyone to have a properly operating smoke alarm outside each sleeping area; know two ways out; when you get out, stay out; and have a designated meeting place. Fire Prevention Week is a great time to remember to practice your family escape plans, just as the end of daylight savings is a time to set your clocks back and check or replace smoke alarm batteries. Early detection is so vital to your family’s survival. Unfortunately, fires do happen, and too often they could have been avoided by just practicing fire safety. Here are a few of the most common Applegater Winter 2012 15 you think about it, that is only one alarm a week. Our district responds to 500 to 600 alarms a year. It gives you a feeling of pride driving back to the station with residents lining the streets with signs thanking the department for the efforts put forth in times of distress. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea to run into burning buildings or forests, but you really don’t know until you have had the opportunity to provide your neighbors with the potentially life-saving efforts for which you have trained. I believe everyone who reads this either knows firsthand or knows of someone who was helped by the emergency response of a local fire district. If you are interested in a rewarding career or would simply like to help out the community in which you live, please consider becoming a volunteer with Applegate Valley Fire District #9. It is very important for you to know that the district understands that a member’s family always comes first. For more information on our fire district or to find out more about the benefits of volunteering, stop by the headquarters at 1095 Upper Applegate Road, Jacksonville, Oregon, or call 541- 899-1050. Jeff Vinyard 541-899-0646 oregonjeffie@yahoo.com fire hazards to watch out for while we enter our cooler season: With the cooler days and nights, we will start using warming fires and space heaters again. Please be cautious of flammable material being too close to the heat source. Please keep matches and lighters out of reach of children. Candles are beautiful to enjoy, but should always be blown out when leaving or going to bed. Volunteer firefighter getting the best of a structure fire. Have your chimney cleaned place. Call 9-1-1 as soon as you are safe, at the beginning of the season to reduce the hazard of having a flue fire and and never go back in for anything. Let us do what we train so hard to do: serve you use well-seasoned firewood. Many fires start in the kitchen and in an emergency situation. Please contact fire district office can be avoided by not leaving the area while cooking. Turn the stove off if you manager Carey Chaput at 541-899-1050 if you would like more information on any have to leave, even for just a minute. By practicing your escape plans, you of these fire safety lessons. will know what to do in an emergency. Carey Chaput Make sure that everyone in your household 541-899-1050 knows two ways out of each room. Stay Applegate Valley Fire District low, and go to the designated meeting
