FIRE PREVENTION WEEK | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2017
Siuslaw
News
Presents:
F IRE P REVENTION & P ROTECTION
F IRE C HIEF ’ S M ESSAGE
As the Chief of Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue (SVFR) I want to thank you for taking
the time to learn about your Fire District and Firefighters. SVFR has a long history of provid-
ing the community with outstanding service and working hard to make sure we are taking
care of today’s needs while preparing for the future. We consider ourselves very fortunate to
have the support of our community and we consider it a privilege to serve you.
We take the job of protecting you seriously and we are committed to using your tax dol-
lars wisely. Did you know that our maximum allowed tax rate is $1.54 per thousand dollars
of assessed evaluation, but we set our rate at $1.13? Did you know that we partner with other
organizations to stretch our money further and find ways to do more with less? For instance,
we are currently partnering with Lane Community College and Western Lane Ambulance
District to host the first EMT-Basic training program in Florence in over 20 years. This train-
ing program is at half the cost and will result in many newly certified EMTs in our Fire
District as well as Mapleton and Swisshome/Deadwood Fire Districts.
The EMT training program is only one of many partnerships we are currently engaged in.
We are also in the process of utilizing over one million dollars in grant funds to recruit and
retain volunteer firefighters and prepare some of our fire stations for an earthquake. Not to
Jim Langborg
mention the agreement we have with Western Lane
Ambulance District to share administrative services,
which enables both Districts to redirect tax dollars
where they’re needed to maintain and improve our
service levels for you.
Nevertheless, none of these things would be possi-
ble if it were not for the wonderful group of committed
and motivated people who work and volunteer for us.
Our Volunteers put in countless hours training and
responding to emergencies to ensure you have the level
of protection that you deserve. Our paid full-time staff
also puts in in countless hours keeping our District prepared for emergencies and finding
ways to ensure SVFR is ready for the future. Whether it’s putting out a fire, assisting the
paramedics on a medical emergency, our making sure your smoke alarms work, our people
are there and they are working hard to serve you.