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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2015 )ire¿Jhters ‘It’s a national problem. It’s not a Seaside problem’ &ontinueG Irom 3DJe 1A are not required to be EMTs, or vice versa, “but a majority of our calls are EMS calls, so if you want to do more, you’d be smart to get some of those classes,” Eddy said. Beyond that, volunteers can aim to be emergency medical techni- cians and paramedics. ,QVKRUWYROXQWHHU¿UH¿JKW- ers are not off the hook because they provide their services for free. They deal with life-or- death matters. When someone reports an emergency, they want assurance the people re- sponding “know what they’re doing, can do it safely, can manage the incident and can do it as best as possible,” said Eriks Gabliks, director of the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. In order to accomplish that, he said, “We are collectively SURIHVVLRQDOL]LQJZKDWWKH¿UH service does.” Part of it is re- sponding to how society has evolved. For instance, sever- al decades ago, departments were not as concerned about hazardous materials. Now ba- VLF )LUH¿JKWHU , WUDLQLQJ KDV incorporated information so ¿UH¿JKWHUVNQRZZKDWKD]DUG- ous materials are and what to do if they encounter them, Ga- bliks said. “What’s happened over the \HDUV DV WKH ¿UH VHUYLFH KDV gotten more complicated, the training has matched up with it,” he said. Training also varies based on geographic location and department needs. Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department re- quires volunteers to get wild- land training. The Warrenton DQG $VWRULD ¿UH GHSDUWPHQWV must be prepared to respond to emergencies at the nearby Port of Astoria or Astoria Regional Airport. As requirements and in- dustry standards evolve, there is occasionally “some grum- bling,” Eddy said, “but there are ways to work around it.” “You do a little bit at time, especially with volunteers,” he said. “You can’t dump every- thing on them all at the same time. It’s overwhelming. You just try to chisel the changes a little bit at a time, and pretty soon, the changes are done.” ‘No cushion’ For departments in small communities, with limited pools of people to draw vol- unteers from, it is a juggling act to stay on top of training. Many volunteers have jobs, families and multiple other responsibilities, and that’s to be expected. However, being a volunteer in an industry that UHTXLUHVWUDLQLQJDQGFHUWL¿FD- tion, not just at the start, but also on a continual basis, “can be tough,” Daniels said. ³,W¶VKDUGIRUSHRSOHWR¿QG time,” he said. “And it’s a na- tional problem, it’s not a Sea- side problem.” %RRQHVDLGWKH¿UHGHSDUW- ments are not bound to follow the Department of Public Safe- ty Standards and Training’s curriculum, which is very VSHFL¿F WR PHHW WKH 1DWLRQDO Fire Protection Association’s standards. However, he added, “I’m not aware of a real alter- native.” &HUWL¿FDWLRQ DOVR LV WLHG to getting grants and a de- partment’s insurance rating, Daniels said. The Insurance 6HUYLFHV 2I¿FH UDWHV ¿UH GH- partments across the country — deciding on a scale of 1 to ZKDW OHYHO RI ¿UH SURWHF- tion a community has — and insurance companies use the information when writing pol- icies for homeowners in each ¿UHSURWHFWLRQGLVWULFW*DEOLNV said. The Insurance Services 2I¿FHWDNHVWUDLQLQJLQWRFRQ- sideration when giving a de- partment its rating. 2Q WKH ÀLS VLGH WKH VWDQ- dardized system is accompa- nied by bureaucracy that can strain small departments, and the training is geared toward the lowest common denomi- nator. For the Seaside Fire Depart- ment, “there is no cushion,” Daniels said. The department has three full-time staff mem- bers and a part-time employee, but its call volume has nearly doubled in the past decade. In order to keep providing pro- grams, like the summer life- guard program, or to add new programs, like a Community Emergency Response Team, and to stay on top of training volunteers, the department will eventually need to add more paid staff, he said. Boone, one of the “last vol- unteer chiefs standing,” said when he started more than 30 years ago, only a couple of departments had paid chiefs. Now, bureaucracy has grown to the point where there is Katherine Lacaze/EO Media Group Fire Chief Joey Daniels and Seaside Fire & Rescue recently acquired a new apparatus for the station that will be ready for service in a few weeks. Across the county, small depart- ments juggle limited resources with training requirements and answering calls to meet their communities’ needs. ‘I give kudos to all the volunteers because they’ve taken a huge step over the past 30 years as far as commitment and training and education.’ Fritsch said that the city would have to look at any pro- posal — whether a new golf FRXUVHRUDELOOLRQ/1*ID- cility — relating to an alterna- tive use of the easement land since the discussion would necessarily involve the city, the local entity that directly EHQH¿WVIURPWKHGUHGJLQJ “If the city would like to talk to us about the use of the property, or why we use the property, or our navigation Bill Eddy a need for full-time staff to handle training and adminis- trative work to keep up with state standards. Sometimes, when various demands get too burdensome for small depart- ments, they have to prioritize. The volunteer forces also face the challenge of keeping people excited and involved when they have limited roles due to restrictions during the initial training. They can still help with equipment or com- PXQLW\ ¿UH SUHYHQWLRQ SUR- grams — jobs that don’t have to meet state or national stan- dards. “There are pieces and parts for everybody,” Boone said. Across the county, depart- PHQWVPXVW¿JXUHRXWZD\VWR recruit and retain volunteers, which can be “tough,” Boone said. His strategy? “You got to make it fun” and “keep smil- ing.” At the Hamlet depart- ment, a local resident brings dinner for the volunteers one drill night per month. “That’s the way she can contribute to the department and keep it at- tractive and fun.” (DFKVTXDGKDVVSHFL¿FRE- stacles, as well. Because Gear- hart is an expensive area to live, the department has a hard time keeping volunteers for a long period of time, Eddy said. mission, nothing would pre- clude use from sitting down and talking with them about that,” Rabe said. “But we don’t have a need at this point WR¿QGDQDOWHUQDWLYHVLWH´ 2UHJRQ /1* FRXOG QRW immediately be reached for comment. Corps has no right to the land beneath the water where the FRPSDQ\¶VSURSRVHG/1*ID- cility would be built. The federal court found that the statute of limitations to bring the claim under fed- eral law had expired and dis- PLVVHG 2UHJRQ /1*¶V ODZ- suit. /eJDO history Now, the company argues /DVWVXPPHUWKH86'LV- that the Army Corps — which trict Court in Portland ruled has held an easement to de- in the Army Corps’ favor in posit dredging spoils on the D GLVSXWH ZLWK 2UHJRQ /1* site since 1957 but has not which claimed the Army done so since 1992 — has ef- “I discovered that every- one in Washington, D.C., calls and correspondence, makes people in Oregon look light data entry, and working like hippies,” Sautner said. “I RQVSHFL¿FSURMHFWVZLWK/HJ- came to Job Corps with two LVODWLYH $VVLVWDQWV DQG /HJ- suitcases full of clothes.” islative Correspondents, and Katrina Gasser, who is attending Congressional hear- the community liaison for LQJVDQGEULH¿QJV´ Tongue Point, reached out to Sautner said she would Job Corps graduates, and Sau- research whatever Wyden’s tner said she now has her two RI¿FHDVNHGKHUWRDQDO\]LQJ suitcases and several boxes media coverage of the senator, of tasteful professional attire organizing the mailroom and ready. giving tours around the U.S. On break until her intern- Capitol. ship starts Jan. 11, Sautner is researching how to get around in Washington on the city’s Metrorail mass transit network. She will live at the Potomac Job Corps Center in Washington work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday on Capitol Hill. Sautner is trying to get up to speed on Sen. Wyden be- fore the internship starts, but doesn’t seem worried. “I am one of those people who reads for fun. That sounds sarcastic, but I read a lot of books.” After Washington, Sautner friends Bring your FUN A support system The Clatsop County Fire- ¿JKWHUV $VVRFLDWLRQ FRRU- GLQDWHV DQG RIIHUV ¿UH DQG EMS training opportunities and events, such as a recruit academy, and also promotes and facilitates camaraderie and cooperation between the FRXQW\¶V ¿UH VHUYLFH RUJDQL- zations. The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training provides “training to trainers” and works with local depart- PHQWV¶ WUDLQLQJ RI¿FHUV *D- bliks said. They also provide props for training exercises. “We try to be a helper to WKH ORFDO ¿UH GHSDUWPHQWV WR help them meet their training needs,” he said. 8OWLPDWHO\ YROXQWHHU ¿UH- ¿JKWHUV PXVW ZLOOLQJO\ JLYH their time to meet industry VWDQGDUGVRISUR¿FLHQF\ “I give kudos to all the volunteers because they’ve taken a huge step over the past 30 years as far as com- mitment and training and education,” Eddy said. “A lot of the departments down KHUH GH¿QLWHO\ KDYH JRWWHQ a lot more professional over the last 30 years compared to what they were. It’s just tak- LQJ WKH ¿UH VHUYLFH V\VWHP D step up.” fectively abandoned the prop- erty. The question about the ease- ment is one of many facing 2UHJRQ /1* DV WKH FRPSDQ\ attempts to build an export ter- minal in Warrenton and an 87- mile pipeline to a natural gas link in Washington state. $ KHDULQJV RI¿FHU LV OLNH- ly to rule soon on Warrenton permits for the project, and the Federal Energy Regula- tory Commission is expected WRFRPSOHWHWKH¿QDOHQYLURQ- mental review in February. 6Dutner ‘I discovered that everyone in Washington, D.C., makes people in Oregon look like hippies’ &ontinueG Irom 3DJe 1A Local New Years Eve Celebrations Gearhart fire chief /N* City would have to look at any proposal &ontinueG Irom 3DJe 1A Happy New Year! heads back here to Job Corps, where she will have another IRXURU¿YHPRQWKVEHIRUHKHU FHUWL¿FDWLRQ LQ JOD]LQJ 8Q- sure about her exact direction after Job Corps, Sautner said she is interested in weather- ization training, whether it’s on the job or at a school. “I’d like to get a business degree in college,” she said. “Although I could do it in Job Corps, it feels like if I pay for it myself, I’ll be a better cit- izen.” — Edward Stratton E AND JOIN TH KARAOKE 9PM UNTIL CLOSING Come celebrate the N ew Y ear with us! • La rg e Va riety o f W in es & Co ckta ils • Do m estic & Im p o rted Brew s • Sa ndw iches, Soups & Sa la ds • Astoria ’s Best Fish & Chips OPEN 7 DAYS • Cha rbroiled Burgers LUNCH & DINNER • Succulent Stea ks 422 WEST MARINE DR. | ASTORIA | 503-325-2651 y t r a p Y w e N ’ in k c o R e v E s ’ r ea st 1 3 c. e y D AM Th da M - 1 s ur P L A ST 9 Y EA R O F L IVE M U SIC from The D istra ctions N O CO VE R 934 D U AN E ST ASTO RIA 503-325-0801
