The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District swore in a new member to the CWDG team during the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, April 21.
Maddie Tutton came to Sweet Home from California to serve as the district’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) coordinator. She will help build maps identifying potential fire control lines and mitigation work, coordinate the work and develop future funding for the program.
The Wildland Fire Division is largely supported by grants.
SHFAD first hired Christian Whitfield with $430,000 in grant funds from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office to manage a Wildfire Risk Reduction Program in the Sweet Home area.
The district then partnered with the Oregon Department of Forestry to decrease fire risks surrounding the community, and was funded $1.9 million by the National Forest Foundation to hire a 20-person hand crew for fuel-reduction work with ODF. The crew is also available to help homeowners create a defensible space around their homes.
Last year, the district received an additional $5.4 million from the CWDG through the U.S. Forest Service.
“We took that grant from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office and you can see the fruit of a lot of things we’re doing that couldn’t have been done without that grant,” Fire Chief Nick Tyler told The New Era last year.
In other business:
- The district honored Dawn Mitchell for her 20th anniversary serving on the board of directors.
- The board heard a presentation about Microsoft mitigation opportunities for security within the district.
- The board approved a motion to complete a parking lot project on the east side of the building. The project includes moving a fence to the property line and paving.
- The board ratified an updated draft of the union contract, approved an update to the exempt/non-represented handbook and approved an updated records request form which includes changes to cost.
- Wildland Division Chief Christian Whitfield reported they are in the middle of hiring its seasonal crew and have so far hired 16 people.
- Tyler reported updates to Station 23 are nearly done. The district will be reimbursed nearly $326,000 for the project.
- Staff reported an increase in ambulance revenue, going from approximately 30% received to approximately 50% received since hiring a billing service to go after unpaid bills.