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July 2019 Volume 18 Issue 7

Kittitas Valley Fire Rescue Serving Ellensburg and the Kittitas Valley

The Bugle Report Response Clarifications By: Chief John Sinclair

It is summer and we are about to get heavily into fire season. You know what that means, lots of calls and the

possibility of lots of fires. Some maybe big fires. To that end, we will need everyone to come out and help.

For the past couple of years, we have formalized a duty chief rotation between Chief Elliott and myself. That

means there is a chief officer listening 98% of the time.

Last week we formally entered into the High Fuels Fire Plan through the Kittitas County Fire Chiefs. That means

KVFR is being dispatched to any fire in the Lower County. For calls outside of KVFR there will be judgment call

made by the duty chief if we respond. Volunteer’s responding to their station will certainly get call credit for the

call, although, don’t be surprised if the duty chief asks you to stand by the station. This will also be true if you call

in for an in-district, outside of your first due area.

Let me give you some examples for clarification, KVFR is dispatched with Fire District 4 to a car fire at MP 131. No

brush fire, no structures threatened, we will monitor the situation and not respond unless needed. While I am on

the subject of District 4 we will be changing things a bit with them, and sending less career units, unless they ask

for them. The duty chief will be monitoring and deciding on resource allocation depending on the event and

what else is going on.

Example 2- a lightning strike off Durr Road starts a fire, which is 2 miles outside the District. Depending on time of

day, weather conditions, and other available resources, we may very well respond in force to assist our DNR part-

ners. We may just send a brush truck and a tender. It will depend on our risk profile in-district.

Example 3- wildland fire in the Fire District 1, Robinson Canyon road area. We will certainly be sending a re-

sponse to this, possibly an overwhelming response, because if we can catch it small, we keep it from burning onto

our ground.

There are many data points the duty chief will be considering to make the decisions on who goes and when we

commit resources and when we hold some back. One change that has occurred in the last couple of years is the

percentage of career people coming back in for major alarms. So, the duty crew and the duty chief have to be

careful, about sending too much resource out of district if we don’t have the ability to handle our own call load.

For the volunteer companies. Here is the best way to approach this. First, a reminder, don’t pass the station and

don’t pass the call (If you have your gear and you can contribute to the effort.). If you respond to your station, on

the radio contact the duty chief and let them know your staffing level and what you can bring. The duty chief or

the duty crew will advise you of what they need. You may be asked to move up, respond immediately, or stand-

by your station.

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4th of July plans. It is my sincere hope that you have a great day with

family and friends. Don’t forget the Pancake Breakfast at Station 2-9.

Kittitas County will be hosting a professional Fireworks display at the

Fairgrounds. They will be lighting off from the contestant parking lot. In

speaking with Chief Elliott this morning, we will want to have a brush

truck in the Posse Barn area and one up on the hill by the water tower.

Chief Elliott is the duty chief so he will be coordinating the response

There are many citizens that have a growing concern for fireworks this

year. It is certainly my hope that the volunteer officers will be polling

folks and seeing who is available to be hanging near the stations. This is

especially true in Kittitas, we have a number of elderly and vulnerable

people in that community that have expressed fear and concern. Having a quick response from us to extinguish

a fire started by fireworks will certainly be appreciated by the community and your neighbors.

We continue to work in partnership with our neighboring districts and departments, DNR, BLM, and USFS. DNR is

going to staff up for the 4th of July weekend and have crews on until 2230 on the 4th. On the 6th, Cle Elum will be

hosting a Fireworks show in conjunction with Pioneer Days. Lots of fire potential. The rains have helped and the

annual grasses haven’t fully cured out. However, July is a long month.

Please be prepared and ready to jump into action. Keeping fires small is our goal. Please remember, there is not

a bush, tree, blade of grass, or structure that is worth a firefighter’s life.

Vegetation grows, dries out and either rots or burns. Putting yourself

at risk for the natural cycle is unwise. Please be smart firefighters.

Stay safe… John

NEXT COM-

MISSIONER MEETING IS:

Thursday, July 11, 2019

1900 Hours @ KVFR, 400 East Mountain

View.

Reviewed Responses Through

May 2019

KVFR May YTD

Fire 14 54

EMS 261 1346

False Alarm 15 89

Good Intent 22 80

Hazard – no fire 5 48

Service 1 20

Other 5 9

TOTALS 323 1646

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DEPUTY CHIEF’S MESSAGE

By Deputy Chief Elliott

Operations

There will likely be fireworks related incidents over the next week or so. Your availability

to assist is always appreciated and has a direct impact on our community.

EMS

Over the past 10 days, our personnel have responded to almost as many serious and/or fatality incidents involv-

ing motor vehicles. Many of these involved extended response times and off-road access. These incidents stretch

our resources and can take a toll on our responders and apparatus. I want to acknowledge the effective response

by all involved, the reasoned access decisions and the excellent patient care. Many of the patients seen would

have suffered significantly worse outcomes without your professionalism.

Training/Prevention

The fire safety burn ban took effect at 0000 on 6/28. KVFR agreed to the ban which covers recreational and natu-

ral vegetation disposal fires. Agricultural and ceremonial fires are not subject to the ban. Propane/gas fireplaces

and barbecues are also not prohibited by the ban. It is likely the ban will continue through the end of summer.

We will work with the community and law enforcement, only when necessary, to educate and possibly enforce

the ban.

On 6/27/19, KVFR was dispatched to a reported fire alarm that was upgraded to a fire in a press barn on Hungry

Junction. On arrival, the fire was essentially out. It was an electrical fire in a ceiling above the hydraulic reservoir

for the press, in a room not occupied. I am telling you this because it was a fire that, absent an alarm system and

sprinkler system, this fire likely would have resulted in three large buildings destroyed, 10-20 peoples jobs affect-

ed and lost tax revenues to the community. About 6 weeks earlier, we responded to a similar fire in a similar

building which resulted in complete loss of the press barn. Captain Seemiller was instrumental in the alarm and

sprinkler system install. His job is not easy, nor is he always the most popular guy in the room. The owner of the

business had a very different perspective on the sprinkler system when it was first required than he does today.

Fireworks regulations – not covered by burn ban.

(1) It is legal to sell and purchase consumer fireworks outside the City of Ellensburg from 1200 to 2300 on the 28th of June, from 0900 to 2300 on each day from the 29th of June through the 4th of July, from 0900 to 2100 on the 5th of July.

(2) Consumer fireworks may be used or discharged between the hours of 0900 and 2400 on the 4th of July in unincorporated Kittitas County and Kittitas.

(3) Firework possession, sales and discharge are illegal in the City of Ellensburg, on state lands and on federal lands.

Send Captain Seemiller an email with report number(s) for any fireworks related issues. Do not take posession of

any confiscated fireworks. Contact Duty Officer or Fire Prevention Captain if you have any issues that you need

assistance with – EPD is primary for any significant enforcement in City issues, KCFMO/KCSO can assist in the

county areas for same.

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Training and Safety Notes

July 2019

Firefighting requires strenuous work and we don’t get to choose the weather when we respond to fire. A lot of our responses will be in extreme heat or extreme cold. No matter the conditions, arriving hydrated is key to the safety of all. This job requires wearing heavy and restrictive clothing along with hard physical work. Dehydration leads to decreased physical and mental performance and is a safety hazard. Prevention is key to avoiding this. There are a couple of NFPA Standards on Rehabilitation process for members during emergency operations and training exercis-es. NFPA Standard 1584 recommends every member on scene must participate in rehab, maintain his own hydra-tion, advise his company officer when performance is affected and maintain awareness of the status of other mem-bers on scene.

Red Cards are here, or should I say White Cards. If you want to carry your “WHITE CARD” on your person, let me know. Otherwise, I will keep them at St. 21 for safe keeping. I would like to put together a list of personnel that would be available to go on State Mobilizations for up to 3-4 days. Having your name on the list doesn’t mean that your guaranteeing your availability it just means that I have a shorter list to go down when the call comes. Please email Sydney or I, if you are interested.

Wildland Experience Tracking:

To maintain your Wildland qualifications you are required to maintain currency at the level you are qualified. For operational personnel it is a 5 year cycle, which means we have to show that you have been on at least one Wildland incident in the last five years. For someone at the basic Wildland Firefighter II level this is accomplished by the experience report that we send to the DNR annually. For personnel qualified at higher levels such as Task Force Leader, Engine Boss, etc. we have to show that you had experience at that level or higher. There is some equivalen-cy allowed. That’s where we need your help so that you don’t lose your qualification currency. For tracking wildland experience this year, we will be using TargetSolutions. I have included instructions below on how to do this. If you prefer to carry a wallet card to track your experience, you can pick one up at St. 29. If you decided to carry the card with you, please enter the information into TargetSolutions when you can and/or make sure to turn the card into the training office.

Once again this is not a requirement for a basic FF II because we just have to show that you were on an incident. Our incident report system does not track at what level personnel acted in at incidents. That is why you need to keep track of whether you functioned as an engine leader, incident commander, etc.

Where to find the Wildland Log:

1. Log into TargetSolutions. Then click on File Center (on the left side tab).

2. Click on Wildland Experience Log (toward the bottom).

3. Once you click on the link, a web browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox) will open the below google doc.

4. You can find your name (it is alphabetical by last name) and then enter the information needed. There is no need to hit save, the google doc will automatically save. When you are done entering your information just close out of the browser.

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

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July Drills:

1st Drill: Medic Unit Operations

Location: St. 29

2nd Drill: Tender Operations with Porta Tank Set-up and Portable Pumps.

OTEP: KVFR module 10, July 15th, 7pm @ ST 29.

DRILL SCHEDULE:

1st Drill: Tender Operations/Port-a-tank Operations

Company: Date: Time: Location:

Fairview July 1 1900-2100 St. 29

Westside July 2 1800-2000 St. 29

Badger Pocket/Denmark July 8 1900-2100 St. 29

Broadview July 9 1900-2100 St. 29