Volunteers swell firefighting ranks

Camp Sherman area residents can feel a little more secure knowing there are more firefighters available in an emergency.

The ranks of volunteer firefighters at the Camp Sherman station of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District have swelled to 10 dedicated individuals. More are needed.

Gene Lorenz, who worked with the Portland Fire Department for 30 years before moving to Camp Sherman, is spearheading new efforts to energize the volunteer group. Lorenz rose to rank of Deputy Fire Marshall while in Portland.

The volunteer fire department is headquartered at the 1975 fire station located on Road 1419 (Camp Sherman Road) in Camp Sherman. There are six emergency vehicles housed at this site including a Class A engine unit, a small reserve engine unit, a 3,000-gallon tanker (tender), a smaller tender/brush rig (1,000-gallon capacity), a quick response rig and a medical emergency unit.

The water tankers can draft water from the Metolius River, since hydrants are not generally available. The medical emergency unit fields Mark and Toni Foster to handle those duties for local residents.

Equipment is important, but until recently there has only been one volunteer, Tom Haynes, who works in Sisters. Now, with Gene Lorenz's leadership, nine additional volunteers have signed on. Besides Tom Haynes the volunteers include Bob Low, Robert McClain, Chuck Pyle, John and Phyllis Rollins (a husband and wife team), Kevin Scott, Norm Scott, Mike Sims and Gene Lorenz.

The volunteers are now undergoing 60-80 hours of training in firefighting including taking part in the training burns at The Pines in Sisters.

The fire agencies in Sisters and Camp Sherman and Black Butte Ranch team up for emergency response through a mutual aid pact. Camp Sherman firefighters must cover 400 square miles including the Suttle Lake area and campgrounds, up the Santiam Pass and the reaches of the Metolius Basin.

Camp Sherman's volunteers will hold meeting sessions every Wednesday at the fire station. Anyone over 18, physically fit and wanting to join may pick up an application at the Sisters fire station.