Columbia County
Request: $75,000
Vernonia Rural Fire Protection District (VRFPD) provides fire, rescue and emergency medical response to 36 square miles of rural Columbia County, Oregon. VRFPD is a combination fire department, maintaining one part-time Fire Chief and four full time firefighter personnel, while relying heavily on volunteer firefighters to answer the call of their neighbors. VRFPD responds to all fire, EMS, and rescue incidents within our district and the surrounding districts through mutual aid agreements. We respond to approximately 700 calls per year.
Over 30 years ago, the district purchased equipment to refill the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) cylinders which we use to enter hazardous environments (such as smoke-filled houses) to perform rescues and fight fires. These are the "air packs" you see firefighters wearing on their backs. Last year we received a grant for brand-new SCBA's, which are currently in service. However, a major problem exists: We are unable to refill these airpacks locally after they have been expended. Six years ago our original refilling equipment failed, and in order for us to refill the tanks we must drive 25 minutes to the next closest fire department with a fill station. Each bottle takes about 5 minutes to fill, then we drive 25 minutes back to Vernonia. If we are filling 5-10 bottles, this takes away our ability to rapidly deploy into fire and/or rescue situations. A recent quote for a new machine is $130,000 which includes the unit, testing and installation.
Vernonia is a small town with a high volume of low-income households, disabled people, and small children. These are vulnerable folks who may not be able to "self-rescue" themselves in a fire or other emergency. Our firefighters need to be able to rapidly respond to these types of situations and have the needed tools (full SCBA cylinders) to enact a rescue. Having to spend over an hour to refill the cylinders is viewed as a very dangerous situation given our limited personnel and at-risk population.
