— by Lin McNulty —
The new OIFR Command Vehicle, a 2015 Chevy Tahoe, is fully equipped and is definitely “fire engine red.” Photo: Lin McNulty
The Board of Fire Commissioners meeting on Thursday January 16, concluded with a tour of the new FD Command Vehicle pictured above. Because of its mobility and ability to get into tough places quickly, this vehicle is first-out on all calls and is staffed by the paramedic on duty 24/7.
It has the ability to carry one patient, making it possible to transport a patient to an ambulance that is unable to get to a scene due to terrain challenges. The Command Vehicle not only enables quick access, but gets someone quickly on the scene to size-up the situation and develop a plan of attack. Although the vehicle is well-equipped with live-saving equipment, including a fire extinguisher, state law requires two firefighters on the scene when attacking a fire.
Before the tour, rather routine items were covered by the Board, beginning with the introduction of Mary Tanner as the new Administrative Assistant at OIFR. Barbara Bedell was re-elected to head the Board of Fire Commissioners.
The Fire Chief, Kevin O’Brien, reported there were 984 calls for service in 2014, with 2015 starting out with five calls on New Years Day alone.
The 2014 budget came in at 101.7 percent.
Hiring a new Fire Marshall is high on the priority list and a new inter-local agreement is being hammered out to establish a fee structure funded on burn permits revenue. The initial action will be to hire a contractor, with the eventual goal of turning it into a full-time position.
Since 2012, there has been a 37 percent call volume increase, and the demand for service is challenging. ” First thing we do is respond to calls,” says O’Brien, but there are still other tasks that need to be handled, such as establishing business practices, staffing, and the ongoing work with the Survey and Rating Bureau.
2012-13 Audit is currently underway and it is expected that results will be available in the next couple of weeks. This mandated audit costs the department $12,000 every two years.
Approval was received from the feds to take funding from the SAFER Grant for medical/dental, along with $75 duty shifts volunteer stipend.
Blue Ribbon committee – Recommendations volunteer benefits/stipends. Teams/shifts follow under each paramedic. 12 duty shifts/year 12 overnight ($75)
An interlocal dispatch agreement with the Sheriff’s Office for dispatch services is underway. The agreement is based on usage, average calls for previous three years. This year’s contract includes a 1.8% COLA increase. In 2014, the cost for dispatch services was $37,789.
A special meeting will be held at the end of February to discuss cost recovery in the form of Medicare and insurance reimbursement for services. This will be a working session. It is currently felt that OIFR is subsidizing insurance companies by not collecting and bringing the money back to the community. A reimbursement program could reduce public financial burden and/or offer more services, including Orcas CARES.
A graduation ceremony for the latest class of recruits is to be scheduled and the public will be invited.
As a fire commissioner in 2005 or so we spent many hours researching and designing new fire engines for Orcas Island. What we decided at the time was to purchase WASP (Wildland Attack Structure Protection) engines. They are just about perfect for our exposures. They are capable of being operated from inside the cab using a remote cannon OPERATED BY ONE PERSON designed to shoot about 300 gallons of foam on a fire very quickly. As a lowly EMT even I was trained to operate this vehicle!
There is no legal requirement to have “two firefighters on a scene to attack a fire” as stated by Chief O’Brien.
This past June 8th there was a fire in View Haven —
See: https://theorcasonian.com/oifr-responds-house-fire-view-haven-neighborhood
The on duty fire/medic responded alone in a similar vehicle such as the one described in this story, with basically no fire suppression capability. Although the official report has yet to be provided as requested, the SUV, driven by a trained fire/medic arrived on scene within a couple of minutes. The first water/foam did not arrive until approximately 20 minutes later.
My question is : why respond to a fire with such limited capabilities? My request would be: if there is a fire reported at my house, please respond with the vehicle that was designed to put out a fire….not an SUV.
Thank you to the volunteers that give so much …