Guest Opinion: First Response Fire Solutions Needed on Orcas Island

By Barry Neville
Presentation at Eastsound Fire Hall May 19

In years past our island community was more keenly alert to fire and each able-bodied neighbor quickly responded to any hint of a threat.  Most folks drove a pickup truck and in its bed was a shovel, burlap bag and a container of water at the ready.  Fire was everyone’s problem and everyone’s responsibility.

Let’s be very clear with regard to fighting fire on the island today.  We are isolated and remote with limited resources. The population has grown significantly and most have arrived from the mainland with a metropolitan mentality; assuming we have the same 5 minute response time within 90% of the fire departments jurisdiction.  With a volunteer force and only one staffed fire station we cannot have these response and attack times.

We have 20 trained wild land firefighters and another 20 structural firefighters. If within one hour of initial attack the fire is not controlled the fire department has no option but to call outside resources. The Department of Natural Resources with air support and crews is the best source for additional fire fighting aid. 

Yet there is no guarantee of DNR availability, especially during High Fire Danger season.  Mutual aid from other islands or the mainland will take hours to deploy on scene. Keep in mind a shocking rule of thumb — given wind and slope, a wild fire can grow three times its size every minute.

If we suffer multiple fires alarms we will be overwhelmed and vulnerable.  In the event of a wild fire, if your property is not cleared and accessible as outlined by the Fire Wise guidelines, given the risk, it could be disregarded in favor of compliant properties.

Simply stated; the onus for protecting property and our island falls on the home owner’s first response.  It takes a small effort to extinguish a small fire. The mandate for successful fire fighting is: Minimal Response Time.  A University of Georgia study determined that 95% of all house fires were extinguished by women and children.  The quicker the homeowner can repress a fire, the greater the opportunity for the fire department to prevent a wild fire, or the spread of fire to nearby structures.

Fire fighting technology has evolved from centuries-old use of water to Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS) which dramatically multiplies the effectiveness of one gallon of water, up to 80 gallons of foam.  It forms a smothering layer that penetrates deep into the fuel, is many times more effective than water and can instantly extinguish flames, hot embers and sparks. It extinguishes fire inside of buildings, often within a matter of seconds and with 5% of the water damage.  Foam holds water to vertical and overhead surfaces as a protective barrier to approaching flames and is bio-degradable and non-toxic.Simple operation of a portable, self contained CAFS unit will produce a powerful stream of dense foam more than 50 feet with 25 to 100 foot of fire hose.

Now the homeowner can be a well equipped, pro-active First Responder.
This is an opportunity to rebuild a community of fire responsibility between property owners and the Fire Department

As expounded by our San Juan Co. Fire Wise team, “Preparedness is step one. Doing nothing means you’re counting on others to take care of you” Orcas Fire Department and Fire Solutions LLC invite Islanders interested in protecting our homes and beautiful Islands, to a hands on demonstration of portable and simple CAFS fire fighting equipment, Wednesday, May 19, 10 a.m. at the Orcas Fire Department.

For questions ,call Barry Neville at 376 4410