News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A GFP Enterprises, Inc. crew prepares to hit the fire line on the B&B Complex Fire. photo courtesy GFP Enterprises, Inc.
After a tough fire season -- battling some wildland fires close to home -- a private Sisters contract firefighting company has earned recognition from the federal government for outstanding work.
GFP Enterprises, Inc. received a Best Performance Award from the U.S. Forest Service and the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The company also received a Certificate of Merit in recognition of outstanding service.
The Best Performance Award is the first of its kind awarded to a private company, GFP enterprises President Don Pollard believes.
GFP Enterprises, Inc. worked last season under a National Type II Initial Attack Contract Crew program. GFP crews fought fire mostly in Idaho and Montana, but crews and equipment fought on every major fire in Central Oregon last summer, including a 36-hour shift on the first wild days of the B&B Complex fires.
Private contractors are handling more and more of the burden of fighting wildland fires. GFP Enterprises' award represents the best aspect of an industry that has suffered growing pains.
"There's a huge range of quality within our industry," Pollard told The Nugget. "Gigantic."
That range of quality is reflected in the experience level of crew bosses, in the quality and extent of equipment, in the skill and discipline of crews.
GFP Enterprises strives to stay at the top end of all categories. Apparently, the Sisters company has been successful; its rating sheets from supervising agencies boast consistently high grades.
Ratings cover physical condition of crews; hot line construction; mop up; off-line conduct; safety; and organization and equipment.
Out of a grading of 4.0, GFP Enterprises scored a 3.92 last season.
According to Pollard, the changing structure of contracts is helping to improve quality. While bid price and geographic location are important considerations, they are not the only ones.
To win its National Type II Initial Attack Contract, GFP Enterprises submitted detailed resumes on its supervisory personnel and information on the qualifications of its personnel.
GFP Enterprises has been operating in Sisters for five years now, starting by contracting fire equipment and moving into contracting initial attack crews.
The company employs about 140 people seasonally (15 year-round). GFP Enterprises fields four 20-person hand crews and seven engine crews.
About 50 of its employees live in the Sisters area and the rest live in other areas of Central Oregon.
Pollard said, "We're about medium-sized for the industry."
Medium-sized, but growing. GFP Enterprises moved into new facilities in the Sisters Industrial Park last December.
The new 9,000-square-foot facility includes office space; a laundry room; a locker room with showers; a recreation room; equipment rooms; an expansive garage and shop where engines and trucks can be stored and maintained.
The facility also boasts a large classroom with two computers set up for PowerPoint presentations. Pollard is particularly proud of the classroom, as it reflects the company's commitment to a high level of training for its firefighters.
GFP Enterprises personnel are spending the winter maintaining equipment -- everything from cleaning and overhauling vehicles to sharpening chain saws and polaskis.
As the next fire season rolls around, the local firefighters will be ready to maintain the high standard they set for themselves in the wild fire season of 2003.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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