FIRE PREVENTION WEEK | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2016
Siuslaw
News
Presents:
F IRE P REVENTION & P ROTECTION
F IRE C HIEF ’ S M ESSAGE
On behalf of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue, I want to thank you for taking the time to
read about our Fire District and the dedicated Firefighters who serve you. Our Fire District
is involved in some very exciting projects and our staff is working hard to make these proj-
ects come to fruition and continue the tradition of excellence our predecessors have set in
place. For instance, the District was recently awarded a grant from FEMA that funds the
hiring full time Volunteer Coordinator and several projects intended recruit and retain qual-
ity volunteers. This grant is a regional and will involve our neighbors in Mapleton and
Swisshome / Deadwood. We are also preparing for an ISO evaluation and working hard to
lower our rating with the goal of saving some of our taxpayers money. In July of this year,
we began a partnership with Western Lane Ambulance District to provide administrative
services. The goal of this partnership is to create efficiencies that will eventually save money
for both Districts and prepare them for the demands of the future. All of these projects have
come as the result of our 2015 Strategic Plan which our staff has been working very hard to
complete.
The true spirit of Fire Prevention week is to remind our citizens that preventing fires,
saves lives and property. The theme this year is “Don’t wait: Check the date! Replace your
Jim Langborg
smoke detectors every ten years.” According to the
National Fire Protection Association, “three out of
every five fire deaths result from homes without
smoke alarms, or with smoke alarms that are not work-
ing properly.” As with every piece of equipment,
smoke detectors have a life span and require mainte-
nance. Please remember to replace check and the bat-
teries in your smoke detectors every six months.
In closing, it is important to remind you that our
fire protection is provided by a group of highly dedi-
cated and trained volunteers. Our volunteers willingly
give up their time and expose themselves to dangerous conditions for you! I could go on and
on about the amazing work they do but there isn’t enough room in this newspaper to accu-
rately describe what they do. I will suffice to say that we are truly lucky to have such a great
group of people serving us. When you have the opportunity, I encourage you to take a second
to thank them for what they do and let them know how important they are to our community.