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August 2019 Volume 18 Issue 8

Kittitas Valley Fire Rescue Serving Ellensburg and the Kittitas Valley

The Bugle Report Fire Season is Here By: Chief John Sinclair

Fire Season arrived in Central Washington with a spectacular series of lightning storms

and weather that I thought might create a funnel cloud. According to Sydney, we were

close. We currently have two fires burning in Kittitas County to the South of us, one of

which, as I write this, could become a problem.

Here at KVFR we have had a few fires. So far, nothing like last year. Part of that is the

weather has been strange this year. It seems like the calendar is 30 days late for eve-

rything this year. The other positive is the work Department of Transportation has done to the east of us. The

vegetative management they are doing reverses a 6-year trend of planting grass to the edge of the road. I am

certain this has been helpful.

The biggest reason we are not seeing huge fires this year is because of you and your other firefighting colleagues.

You have been quick to respond and willing to respond to any fire. You are ready, competent, talented, hard-

working, and wise. The all-hands, all-lands concept started here in Kittitas County and we have made it work.

When the call come in for MP 93 on Highway 10, I had visions of Tayler Bridge 2 in my head. Thankfully, it was a

small fire and the fuels were still pretty green. However, the fuels are drying out quickly. I want to thank you for

all you do, and what you will do in the next three months.

Just a couple of reminders. No structure, bush, tree, or blades of grass are worth you being hurt or killed over.

The ONLY time we put ourselves at risk is when there is a life safety issue. We are smart, aggressive firefighters,

which means we attack from an anchor point, flank the fire and most times let air attack, and the rotors handle

the head of the fire. Sometimes when we are doing point protection on structures, we have to be at the head of

the fire. When we do this, we do it with a plan. We have amazing officers that have a great deal of experience.

Listen to them; they will take care of you. If they are hesitant, you should be too.

The Training Division and the shifts have been busy with our new firefighters ensuring they pass the probation

requirements. Each of these amazing young firefighters is doing a great job! Of our 36 career firefighters and

officers, 13 were employed with the City of Ellensburg Fire Department or Kittitas County Fire District 2 when we

started the merger process. Sixty percent of the career part of our organization has come onboard since the mer-

ger. That means we have a young department. Which shows in the baby boom we are having.

The same is true for our volunteers. Obviously, we expect churn in our resident program as they learn the craft of

firefighting and EMS then move on to career positions. We have a slightly more stable pool in our reserve pro-

gram, but there is still churn in it. Our community volunteer program has many new faces, but still has a bedrock

of stable leaders and firefighters that have been with us for 20-40 years.

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“Fire gives the test, then provides the lesson.” This is a Chief Brunacini quote and it is very true. All the drilling, all

the training, all the book learning, is great and necessary. Experience is also a great teacher. As the fire chief,

one of the questions I get on a regular basis, why do I allow people to leave the district to fight fire somewhere

else. Aren’t they needed here? The answer to the second question is obvious; of course, they are needed here.

To really cover our community, I need more firefighters and officers. The reason I send them out of district is

simply to help them get experience, which makes them more valuable to our community. There is another rea-

son I send people to help other communities, it is because we have needed help in the past, and we will again in

the future. It would be hypocritical to expect others to help you, if you are unwilling to help them.

Over the past few years, we have worked to enhance our brush truck fleet. We have a lot of capability for fighting

fire. In addition, our people are gaining experience and qualifications. KVFR is known for working hard and

getting the job done. Wildland fire is going to continue to be a significant issue for us into the future. Fire gives

the test, then provides the lesson—we need to be learning from each other, and from other agencies. Some les-

sons, those that create injuries or fatalities to firefighters, we don’t want to repeat.

To that end, we have been looking at the lessons of other big fires or fires that have hurt or killed firefighters.

One of the issues we have identified is ingress and egress. Let’s say you are assigned at a fire to defend a house or

take a flank of a fire. If you have vegetation right up to the road and you are under canopy as you make ingress,

think about what that would be like if on fire. Will you be able to make egress? Is there a different way out? Is

there someplace to shelter in place? If the answer to those questions raise the hair on the back or your head, let

your division supervisor or command know your concerns. Don’t put yourself into a place you cannot get out of

or defend. Trying to drive out through smoke and an ember storm is not much fun at best and possibly fatal at

worst.

Please as we enter into our fire season, be thinking and cautiously courageous firefighters. Yes, I want you to be

aggressive, but in a planned and thoughtful way. I cannot be with each of you as you respond and fight fire. I do

want to plant seeds in your head of what to do though. Let’s work together and have an injury-free fire season.

OKAY, enough of the bully pulpit. Announcing today, after months of deliberation and hard

work by Sydney, Shannon, Joe, and Josh D., we will roll out our new Facebook page. Our

voice will be that of providing information and try to have some fun along the way. We will

not be depicting ourselves as heroes; the goal is to be professional with a little bit of fun.

Sydney, Shannon, and I will be the initial administrators. If you have content suggestions,

please forward to Sydney. If you have Facebook, please like us, and share with your friends

and family.

The next few months will bring challenges. Together we will face them and overcome. Please be safe, and take

care of each other.

John

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DEPUTY CHIEF’S MESSAGE

By Deputy Chief Elliott

Operations

YTD calls by category with previous 3 years for comparison:

I have watched our wildland effectiveness improve as a department (including my own which still have a ways to

go) over the past 10+ years thanks to everyone’s efforts. Our collective improvement has resulted in very rea-

soned tactics with members completing tasks efficiently. I watched the other day as we completed progressive

hose lays and hand line construction on steep slopes. I (you all) received compliments from seasoned DNR fire

personnel that they appreciate our personnel and feel like they can trust us to complete assignments correctly

and in a timely manner.

Reminders:

Do not remove equipment from any apparatus without informing the operator.

Do not borrow any other member’s PPE without their express permission and it must fit the borrower.

Non-wildland certified providers may respond to wildland incidents but cannot under any circumstances

participate in wildland fire fighting activities. In other words, you can do water supply or you could assist

with accountability, traffic management or rehab, but you cannot enter the fire area (cold zone only).

EMS

We actively work with KVH to manage transfers and their impact on KVFR. That may not seem the case, but the

efforts have resulted in fewer transfers and more proactive management. This includes spacing the transfers out

and looking at alternatives to KVFR – Cabulance, Upper County Medic One, and Yakima providers. If you have

ideas that might help – please contact DC Elliott.

Training/Prevention

The burn ban has created a little confusion – inside KVFR, the following burning is allowed:

Agricultural burns that have DOE approval

Burning in an appliance (covered/screened fireplace, barbecue etc..) The appliance must have a screen,

be free-standing, and fuel can include propane, natural gas and firewood).

All of the above are subject to regulation is they are creating an obvious public safety or public health risk. Open

burning (not listed above) will likely be banned through sometime in September.

Two fireworks related incidents over the holiday – one in the county – small grass fire near a structure and one

in the city – related to fireworks show. Both minor and very manageable.

MAJOR INCIDENT TYPE 2016 2017

2018 2019

Fires 59 67 86 73

Overpressure rupture, explosion, overheat - no fire

3 4 4 0

Rescue & Emergency Medical Service 1624 1615 1619 1653

Hazardous Condition (No Fire) 38 65 53 59

Service Call 47 36 48 25

Good Intent Call 105 79 96 98

False Alarm & False Call 76 105 121 105

Severe Weather & Natural Disaster 1 1 0 0

Special Incident Type 4 10 8 11

TOTAL 1957 1982

2035 2024

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Training and Safety Notes

August 2019

Summer conditions have finally arrived and this means an increase in fire danger. Re-member in the summer heat to stay hydrated. KVFR wants you to be ready to perform physically and at a moment’s notice!

A couple things to remember:

1) Don’t forget the safest way to fight a brush or forest fire is with a flanking attack ei-ther indirect or direct working from an anchor point. Frontal attacks are rarely accepta-

ble with the exception of low intensity fires with no risk of increased rates of spread.

2) Always point apparatus towards your escape route while fighting fire or doing structure protection.

3) LCES: Lookout, Communications, Escape route, Safety zones. Do not forget to set your trigger points for when to use your escape route or to modify your tactics.

Have a great August and I will see you on the drill ground!

August Drills:

1st Drill: Vehicle Extrication and Scene Management at St. 21.

2nd Drill: Drafting and Relay Pumping for Fairview, Badger Pkt, Denmark.

Westside and Broadview- Fairground operations for Fair/Rodeo will be on Tuesday August 27th at 1800.

OTEP: Module 10, Aug. 20th @ 1900 St. 29

DRILL SCHEDULE:

1st Drill: Vehicle Extrication

Company: Date: Time: Location:

Fairview Aug 5 1900-2100 St. 21

Westside Aug 6 1800-2000 St. 21

Badger Pocket/Denmark Aug 12 1900-2100 St. 21

Broadview Aug 13 1900-2100 St. 21

Companies going to the Fairgrounds for 2nd Drill report to the Western Village gate on East 8th Avenue

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Here is the link to our new Facebook page:

KVFR Facebook Page

NEXT COMMISSIONER MEETING IS:

Thursday, August 15, 2019

1900 Hours @ KVFR, 400 East Mountain View.

Reviewed Responses Through

July 2019

KVFR July YTD

Fire 19 73

EMS 307 1653

False Alarm 16 105

Good Intent 18 98

Hazard – no fire 11 59

Service 5 25

Other 2 11

TOTALS 378 2024