Cloverdale is a big andbusy fire district

The Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District may not have as high a profile as its neighbors, but it is a busy department.

“A lot of people do think we are a small district,” Chief Chuck Cable said. “But the district works from two fire stations with 10 pieces of fire apparatus, and 20 volunteers. We respond to about 180 calls a year, operating with a $500,000 budget.”

The district currently has only two paid positions, Chief Cable and Capt. John Thomas, Jr. who serves as District Training Officer.

The district’s 22 volunteers serve as firefighters and equipment operators in controlling the fires. All volunteers live within the district, but work in a variety of jobs in Central Oregon.

“We are a volunteer fire district,” Chief Cable explained. “It is part of our culture and when we recruit new volunteers, we keep that in mind.”

The Cloverdale RFPD provides fire protection and first-responder medical service to rural residents living in a 40-square-mile area within the triangle of Sisters, Redmond, and Bend, according to the Chief.

The district was formed in 1963 in response to a need for local fire and medical services. To the north and south, the district takes in most of the developed lands. To the west, the district ties in with the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District and to the east, it meets unprotected lands towards Redmond and Bend.

“Under statute, we are able to respond within these unprotected areas ifsomething poses a threat to the fire district to try to stop it from coming onto us,” Chief Cable explained. “At the same time, we have adopted a policy to go and at least respond in the unprotected area to see if we can be of assistance, especially in a life-saving issue, but keeping in mind that our district constituents are first to be served. So, if we had a fire going and something were to happen in the unprotected area, we may not be able to respond.”

The district also has agreements with other Central Oregon fire districts for mutual aid and participates with the State Conflagration Act in providing help statewide if needed.

“We do provide the first responder medical services in the district,” Chief Cable said. “All of our personnel are skilled in first aid and CPR. We are usually able to get on the scene in anywhere from two to three minutes or more prior to the ambulance arriving. We work with the Sisters-Camp Sherman ambulance and assist them in transporting patients.”

In recent years, the district has not faced a major fire that started in the district, although the 1992 Sage Flat Fire north of Sisters did burn into the district.

Chief Cable has served as Fire Chief since 1994. He came to the district after serving 15 years with the La Pine Fire District, working there as both a volunteer and a paid employee as training officer and shift commander. The chief has worked on nearly every major wildfire in Central Oregon in the past 20 years, including the Awbrey Hall Fire, Delicious Fire, Link Fire, Skeleton Fire and the B&B Complex Fire.