Sisters fire chief recognized by state

Chief Taylor Robertson of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District recently became one of only three incident commanders working directly for the State Fire Marshal to respond to disasters in Oregon.

"It is an honor for me and it is also a challenge, and I think it is good for the community and the fire department here," Chief Robertson said.

The incident command structure has been in place for a number of years, but only recently has the state begun to build a strong base.

"These teams have been around for a number of years, and the federal teams have been more organized and better trained. But we are seeing a lot of activity on the state level. There are now six teams at the state level to manage major incidents, three through the Oregon Department of Forestry and three through the State Fire Marshal," said Chief Robertson.

The incident management teams provide an example of how disaster response can work. Chief Robertson is not new to the idea.

"The incident command system is a national system. In the system we have teams that manage major incidents, and I have been involved in the state fire marshal's overhead team for about six or seven years. I have worked up through the ranks, and our primary focus over the years has been wildland fires, and I have been involved in a number of wildland fires over the years," he said.

The focus of the incident management system is moving from wildfire to "all risk," and hands-on experience has helped Chief Robertson to grow in knowledge and understanding. (See "Sisters fire chief responds to disaster in Vernonia," The Nugget, December 19, 2007, page 25.)

"The Vernonia (Oregon) flood was of course a new experience managing an all-risk event, and it was a real eye opener. The most important thing that came out of it was that the incident command system works," he said.

The added responsibility of becoming a state incident commander is welcomed by Chief Robertson.

"This is a great opportunity for me professionally as I get near the end of my career, but it is also a real advantage for the community here, as the experience that I get will allow me to come back and plan appropriately for all the different risks that we could face here," he said.

The expanded role of the incident command team will be an important asset to Sisters.

"So often our role is strictly to protect houses, while the rest of the incident is handled out in the wildland. With this all-risk focus that we are getting if we have a major earthquake anywhere in the state, a hazardous waste spill or even locally the breaching of the Carver Lake moraine dam, I will be able to bring all the state resources to bear to help quickly mitigate the problem," said Chief Robertson.