According to what Fire Chief Nick Tyler has to say, it sounds like the year is starting out pretty well for the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District as he reported on the district’s wildland firefighting program to the board during their monthly meeting Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Tyler said he was happy when he walked in a month or so ago to find 15 shift personnel and wildland crew firefighters on duty, which is the National Fire Protection Association’s recommended number of firefighters to have on hand.
“Fifteen is a big number,” Tyler said. “I walked in and it was really the first time looking at this globally and seeing it play out in real life. Pretty cool moment for the district. There’s not too many agencies in our county that can do that.”
The next day, Administrative Firefighter Ryan Paul had a dozen firefighters out on training. Tyler said when he started as chief a few years ago, there would only be two to four people out there, “so it was pretty cool to see that.”
More recently, on Jan. 22, SHFAD received three calls, one shortly after the other, for a fire, medical event and car accident.
“We were able to put 11 people on the fire, two people on the medical call and four people on the motor vehicle accident, and handle everything ourself without having to ask for mutual aid.”
He said it was “a very cool chief moment” for him to be able to see that level of service they could provide the community.
Type 2 Training under ODF
Tyler said that when they started talking with the Oregon Department of Fire a few years ago, the ODF set a goal for SHFAD to have a Type 2 IA (initial attack) hand crew, which is “a big dip.”
There was some doubt, he said, that the SHFAD would be able to get that certification process done. However, “we exceeded the minimums to be a Type 2 IA”
They were notified this week that their crew will be dispatched this year as a Type 2 IA hand crew under a training tab, which is exactly what SHFAD wanted, “for our guys to have the opportunity to go out in a Type 2 IA status and let their body of work and their evaluations speak for themselves.”
Agreements, grants cover area
Tyler reported the district recently updated its intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with ODF, which “ensures all mechanisms for ordering and all that stuff is in place for the summer.”
The district is also working on an IGA with the U.S. Forest Service that would essentially give them initial attack and a primary hand crew for the Willamette National Forest, in addition to local forest protection.
“That should guarantee, with those two contracts or IGAs in place, that should keep them employed most of the summer, doing good work locally in our region,” Tyler said.
He also reported that, thanks to efforts championed by senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden through their community-initiated project, SHFAD was awarded $1.34 million for the hand crew program. The money will help fund equipment and operating costs.
The board approved the purchase of the following equipment:
- Wildland Division Chief Christian Whitfield, paid through the $8.7 million Community Wildfire Defense Grant received last fall from the U.S. Forest Service.
- $327,000 for a 2024 Western Star Hooklift truck. The used truck comes from a private seller with 8,000 miles on it. It includes a water tank, flatbed and trash box attachments, which will be used to pull the chipper, and haul water and an excavator (see below).
- $140,000 for a Bobcat E88 compact excavator with a masticating drum mulcher (for smaller trees).
- $84,982 for a 2026 F550 Chassis 4×4 SD crew cab pickup with flatbed. To haul fuel, tools and the excavator.
- $65,000 for a 2026 Transit 350 all-wheel drive passenger 16-person van for transport.
In other business:
- Tyler reported the district offered the position of CWDG Coordinator to Maddie Tutton. The coordinator will be responsible for building maps to identify potential fire control lines as well as mitigation work, for coordinating that work and for developing future funding for the program.
- Board members learned that the district is going through the first round of hiring for seasonal positions. They are looking to hire 25 and currently have about 12 positions filled.
- Battalion Chief Shannon Pettner reported EMS training includes obstetrics and neonatal skills, especially given that now Lebanon’s obstetrics unit is on diversionary status. They also just purchased three new airway mannequins, replacing ones that were more than 20 years old, and paramedics were recently connected to WesternU’s COMP-Northwest for access to cadavers to be able to practice certain procedures.