Applegater Fall 2013 13
fire DistriCt
from page 12
Applegate Valley Rural Fire District Jurisdiction
Map courtesy of Karim Naguib of RogueMappers and Ed Reilly.
“Burn to Learn” exercise: Battalion Chief Cody Goodnough setting a
“room and contents” fire; getting the room full of fuel and fire
so that trainees can experience the extreme heat
and low visibility of a real structure fire.
so that our fire, emergency and medical needs are the best they can
be for both victims and responders? AVFD#9 is unique in that they
cover medical, vehicular and other emergencies, plus both structural
and wildland fires. Hence the need for a variety of vehicles that can
carry hose, medical supplies, water, etc., while still getting up our
long, narrow driveways. Over the years a strong fleet of vehicles has
been built to cover the district’s seven stations across 181 square miles
(see map). Do we let them slowly deteriorate?
AVFD#9’s other staff are the fire chief, an operations chief, a
maintenance/logistics chief and the office manager. Aside from their
specific assigned duties and responsibilities, they also respond to
calls. And, they write successful grants, maintain/service the vehicles,
build new engines, coordinate with other local, state and federal
partners, provide home assessments and fuels reduction grants for
us constituents, help educate our kids about fire prevention issues,
and inspect/install smoke alarms for elderly residents.
Without shift officers, many of these other functions performed
by staff would be reduced or eliminated. Response times would
lengthen. Without good equipment and reliable vehicles, quality of
service and response would decline over time. Capital improvements
across the district have allowed the needed growth to keep up with
our increased and aging populations here in the Applegate. Are we
willing to forfeit all of this over a seven cent increase?
From my wildfire education work over the years, I know that
our fire district is more community-engaged than any in the Rogue
Basin. We have a solid base of dedicated volunteer firefighters. Our
fire district leadership has shown they can keep promises, stick to a
budget, plan for the future, leverage grant funds,
and provide for our valley’s growing needs. I’ll
gladly pay $15 to $20 more per year to maintain
all of these valuable services that our fire district
provides! Will you?
Sandy Shaffer • sassyoneOR@q.com