Sean C. Morgan
The Linn County Trauma Intervention Program has changed its name to Linn County Fire Corps and is seeking new volunteers.
Volunteer training begins on Feb. 6.
“We had to have so much funding because of the name TIP,” said Kathy Fitzwater of the Fire Corps, explaining that the local organization had to pay a fee to use the “TIP” moniker.
“The only thing we need money for now is training classes.”
Fire Corps volunteers still perform the same services they did under the TIP designation: respond to fires, death investigations and other tragic incidents throughout Linn County to help victims and their families.
“Volunteers help citizens and emergency responders in times of tragedy,” Fitzwater said.
The Lebanon Fire District has taken the Fire Corps under its wing, Fitzwater said. Also helping are Sweet Home, Lebanon and Albany police departments; the Linn County Sheriff’s Office; and Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District, along with agencies from smaller communities in Linn County.
Currently, the organization has 12 volunteers – 10 from Lebanon and two from Albany. The last Sweet Home volunteer recently moved and resigned.
New volunteers will attend a three-week training course, Fitzwater said. Classes are held three days a week in the evening. Following training, they work three 12-hour shifts per month.
“It’s so rewarding to help the community,” she said. She has been doing it for about five years. “I actually got started when my mother-in-law passed away.”
Fitzwater said her own involvement with TIP has been rewarding.
“Your heart just goes out to these people. We’re there for the citizens, especially on death calls so they aren’t by themselves. It tears at your heart strings, but it’s so rewarding in the end – It’s just that good feeling you have afterward.”
The volunteers give them whatever they need and make sure they don’t feel pressured at the scene of a tragedy to make a decision until they are ready, she said. With emergency responders, the volunteers sometimes just listen and help them make it through.
“They go through a lot out there,” she said.
Volunteers must have a working vehicle and insurance, Fitzwater said. They need a cell phone with texting capabilities and access to a computer. There is also a financial requirement, including $33 (which is reimbursed) for a background check and $20 for a Fire Corps T-shirt.
Training begins on Feb. 6, running from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. three days a week for three weeks at the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.
The organization can always use donations, especially blankets, stuffed animals and clothing.
For further information, to donate or to volunteer, contact Fitzwater at (541) 409-5299.