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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.
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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
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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-
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incorporated information so
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ous materials are and what to
do if they encounter them, Ga-
bliks said.
“What’s happened over the
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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
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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.
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time,” he said. “And it’s a na-
tional problem, it’s not a Sea-
side problem.”
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ments are not bound to follow
the Department of Public Safe-
ty Standards and Training’s
curriculum, which is very
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Fire Protection Association’s
standards. However, he added,
“I’m not aware of a real alter-
native.”
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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
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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.
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¿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
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