Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District voters will decide in the next few weeks whether to approve a general obligation bond levy the district will use to purchase equipment and construct and maintain buildings.
The six-year bond would cost property taxpayers 31 cents per $1,000, a reduction of 6 cents from the current bond, which will be paid off in early 2017.
The election is May 17. Ballots will be delivered to post offices on April 26. Early out-of-state ballots were mailed on April 18.
The two bonds may overlap slightly in 2017, said Battalion Chief Shannon Pettner. In the unlikely event they do, the tax rate will not rise above 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, 3 cents more than the current rate.
The district is pursuing a grant to pay for new self-contained breathing apparatus equipment, a cost of about $272,000, said Fire Chief Dave Barringer. If the grant is not successful and the bond is approved, SCBA gear would be among the equipment the district will purchase using bond money.
The district has 40 sets are reaching the end of their lifespan, Barringer said, but it is looking for 45 new sets.
In addition to paying for SCBA gear and ambulances, the bond would replace two rescue vehicles and the battalion chief’s response vehicle; take care of deteriorating roofing at substations; pave; help construct a new building in Sweet Home in partnership with the Volunteer Association, which would provide indoor storage for apparatus; remodel the Fire Hall to make space for medics living at the station; pay for new extrication tools, powered cots and radio equipment; and replace the siding and build a new bay at the Foster substation.
A detailed list of the district’s needs and bond projects appears below.
“The district has enough of a tax rate to pay for its daily operations,” said Doug Emmert, a retired battalion chief who is heading up a political action committee in support of the bond measure. That tax rate is set, and the only way for it to get more money is to pass a bond.
A lot of the district’s equipment has reached its useful life-span, Emmert said. Among the equipment are three sets of incompatible extrication devices, the “jaws of life.”
“We’ve bought good equipment, but it’s used equipment, a hodge-podge,” he said, and the district needs to upgrade much of its gear.
The district’s rescue engine, Rescue 21, was used when SHFAD bought it, Emmert said, but it’s not good for calls east of Sweet Home in the mountains.
The district needs a more agile vehicle that can carry the necessary weight of rescue equipment, he said.
“Our ambulances used to be on a three-year rotation,” Emmert said. “We don’t have that any more.”
The district doesn’t receive enough money to put into its equipment reserve fund, he said.
The battalion chiefs rig is an old used vehicle purchased from the Oregon Department of Forestry, he said. It replaced a worn-out pickup. The battalion chiefs need a flexible, durable vehicle.
“The battalion chiefs go out on virtually every call, every ambulance call, every fire,” Emmert said. “The BCs will do anything from being a paramedic to being in charge of an incident.”
They follow the ambulance and offer help to medics if needed or return to the station to handle the next call, and they’re usually first to arrive on fires, Emmert said.
Radio coverage is a big issue for the district too, he said. Two weeks ago, when battling a six-plus-acre forest fire along Highway 20 at Soda Fork, the district had no communications available. The Quartzville Corridor is another area without radio coverage.
“We’re dealing with this in several dead areas,” he said. “This bond will help fix some of those.”
The bond would address several building needs, including more parking space for equipment and maintenance, Emmert said. The district has already won a grant with a 50-50 match to repair roofing at the Fire Hall, but other buildings need attention.
“This department has done a lot with not a lot of money for a lot of years,” Emmert said. “It’s good people going the extra mile.” He cited examples: a battalion chief, working as a mechanic and keeping up on vehicle maintenance and repairs, and a lot of personnel replacing the siding on the Fire Hall.
That’s not as efficient as it could be as they respond to calls and do their jobs, he said.
“As we get busier, it seems there is less time to put into vehicle maintenance and those types of things.
“I think the guys, overall, have really stepped up. A lot of it’s behind the scenes, things people don’t see. We have good people. Good people need good equipment so we can handle any emergency that comes up.”
With the retirement of the current bond, it’s good timing for a new bond, Emmert said. “It’s really our only option.”
Fire district officers have compiled the following list of district needs and explanations. This is the list presented to the district’s Board of Directors earlier this year.
Apparatus
n The district needs to replace Rescue 21, a 2001 KMW engine purchased used in 2004. It is used as a heavy rescue vehicle. It has an onboard hydraulic pump pre-plumbed for obsolete Phoenix extrication tools. One of two pumps does not work, and one of the hydraulic lines has a major failure.
Rescue 25, a specialty rope-rescue vehicle is a 1993 Ford crew cab pickup with a service box. It is carrying too much weight for its brakes, potentially causing problems in the pass and in steep terrain. The vehicle’s alternator cannot keep up with the draw on the battery for its electrical system to function, resulting in the vehicle dying on scene if the lights are left on.
The district proposes selling Rescue 21 and using Rescue 25 as a combination vehicle for rehab and fire investigation. It would not respond to calls that require lights.
With bond funds, the district would purchase a single rescue vehicle that meets all of the district’s rescue needs. If the district cannot purchase a single vehicle, it would purchase two suited to their respective areas of rescue.
Top priorities in replacements include a 500-gallon water tank, four-wheel drive capability and enough compartment space for rescue tools and equipment.
A rough estimate for the replacement is $350,000.
n Tender 21 is a 1981 Ford with 335 horsepower carryng 2,000 gallons of water with a 1,000 gallon-per-minute Hale pump. The pump is certified this year, but it is leaking and will need replacement.
The life expectancy of fire apparatus is 25 years. The vehicle is nearly 35 years old. The cost to maintain it is exorbitant, according to district officers.
The district would sell or donate Tender 21 and purchase a newer pumper tender with more horsepower and a capacity of up to 3,000 gallons, allowing the district to get water to rural fires more quickly, safely and efficiently.
n Brush 21 was a temporary replacement vehicle for the old red Dodge pickup used by battalion chiefs. The 2001 Ford diesel pickup is a good brush rig, but it is not suited to be the most frequently used vehicle used by the district. The battalion chiefs respond on nearly every call, medical and fire, and it requires versatility, with a variety of equipment, a water tank and a pump. Brush 21 would move to Cascadia and be replaced by a new heavy-duty vehicle that could carry up to four personnel and the necessary equipment.The district estimates replacement at $110,000.
n The bond would include enough funding to immediately replace an ambulance and, later in the life of the bond, a second replacement ambulance.
Immediately, Medic 4, a four-wheel drive 1996 Chevrolet with a small 1987 box, would be converted into a dive rescue vehicle.
Later, Medic 2, a 2008 Braun box on a Chevrolet chassis, with 161,594 miles on it, would be sold. The unit has had problems with the suspension since it was new. The box could be remounted on a new chassis.
The first ambulance would cost some $180,000. Assuming inflation, the second one may cost $190,000.
Equipment
n While the district is seeking grant funds to pay for them, it needs to replace its self-contained breathing apparatus, purchased in three waves, in 2004, 2007 and 2008. All of the packs were manufactured in 2002, and they are supposed to be replaced 15 years after the manufacture date.
New airpacks have updated communication and location tracking, which would improve the safety of responding firefighters.
The packs should be replaced at the same time to be consistent and reduce confusion during emergency responses.
n The district has three sets of extrication tools, and they are all outdated and slower than newer equipment. With some newer vehicles, they are ineffective at cutting, due to changing technology in the automobile industry. The tools also are different brands and cannot be used interchangeably.
The district would purchase new tools and mobile pumps with bond funds. They would be the latest technology, allowing rescues to be quicker and more efficient; and they would be interchangeable.
n The bond would fund a new repeater in the Quartzville area at a cost of $10,000 to $12,000 to improve communication throughout the fire district. Since converting to “narrow band” to meet federal mandates, radio communication has become more difficult, decreasing the ability of firefighters and medics to communicate with dispatchers when mountains, trees and structures come between the radios and the equipment the dispatch center uses.
The district also needs to replace portable radios that are becoming obsolete.
n The district’s two non-powered cots are aging and beginning to show a great deal of wear. The district would replace them with two “power cots” – the stretchers used to transport patients. The district already has two power cots.
The power cots take a lot of strain off of medics and responders and prevent back injuries. Due to limited staffing, the department often has fewer personnel than is ideal for larger patients.
Facilities
n Station 23, Crawfordsville, has an exposed screw metal roof with problems similar to the Fire Hall. The screws loosen over time, causing water leaks. The district would replace the roof with a composite roof.
It also would pave an area in front of the bay doors to eliminate potholes and getting gravel and mud in the bays.
n Station 22, Foster, has three pieces of apparatus and two bays. One piece of apparatus must be moved in and out through the same door as another, often with just one volunteer responding to the station, creating issues when backing in or out of the building.
The siding on the station is swelling and delaminating, and it needs replacement.
The bond would build a new bay and replace the siding, similar to the siding that paid and volunteer firefighters installed on Station 21, the Fire Hall.
Station 21 needs living spaces remodeled to provide better privacy for paid and part-time staff. The building was constructed to accommodate two full-time paid staff per shift and a few resident volunteers.
The district now has three full-time paid staff per shift and 10 part-time employees, who all have the option of making the station their primary residence, although none currently live at the Fire Hall. The district also frequently hosts EMT and paramedic students who are completing training requirements.
The growth in personnel has created issues with bathroom facilities. Female staff members have had to use a public restroom for several years. The district recently closed one of its rest- rooms to the public for this purpose.
The proposed remodel would create small private rooms and three separate bathrooms for residents and medics on shift.
The plan includes a remodel for the kitchen, which is aging and constantly in need of repair. With an increasing number of personnel, the kitchen doesn’t provide enough cabinet space. The remodel would include a screen between the kitchen and the meeting area to allow working personnel on 24-hour shifts to use the kitchen without disrupting meetings
n Station 21 has become overcrowded with apparatus, and it is working with the Volunteer Firefighters Association to develop plans for a new structure on the same property. The new building would house some of the association’s equipment and supplies, and it would also include two new bays, where the district could park apparatus, including Squad 21, also known as the water rescue vehicle, and the new boat, which are currently stored outside.
The bond would help pay for the new structure.