Cloverdale fire seeks to modernize

A lot has changed in the firefighting service in the past three decades. For one thing, fire apparatus has gotten more automated - and a lot bigger.

For the Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District, that poses some very evident problems. Their firefighting vehicles - bought second-hand- barely fit into the bays at the late-'60s-vintage firehouse on George Cyrus Road. Newer equipment, which the district will have to purchase as their old rigs are retired, won't fit at all.

That's one of the reasons the district is asking its constituents for bond funding. Measure 9-103 on the November four ballot seeks $2,475,000 in general obligations bonds to be used for:

• Replacement of front-line fire engines and emergency vehicles;

• Replacement of the Cloverdale Road fire station with a new fire station;

• Renovation of the George Cyrus Road fire station;

• Replacement of emergency response equipment.

The estimated cost to taxpayers is an average of 46 cents per thousand of assessed value each year. Estimated average cost would be $7.66 per month, for a home with a $200,000 assessed value.

Board member John Thomas told The Nugget that the bond, if approved, will cover the district's needs for decades.

"Our 20-year plan is full-funded by what we're asking for," he said.

Thomas also noted that the district paid a small fee to an outside consultant from Emergency Services Consulting to look over the plan.

"The board felt strongly enough to pay an outside consultant to come in and take a look at our master plan - and they agreed with every point," he said.

The district has already made some equipment upgrades, replacing truly decrepit engines with old but serviceable equipment, and replacing the rural district's vital brush trucks in 2011.

But, according to the fire department, there's no room in a $332,000 operating budget to do more.

"We know we need new engines; we know we need new truck bays - we don't have the money to do it," said Fire Chief Thad Olson.

Cloverdale's main fire engine is 33 years old. It was purchased second-hand from Tualatin, where it had been retired from service and was being used as a trainer. By any measure, the engine is at the very end of its serviceable life. Newer engines are not only safer and more comfortable for firefighters, modern pump technology allows a single firefighter to start getting water on a fire - an important consideration in a district where volunteers have to drive to the station to gear up and then respond to a fire.

A modern engine, with a minimum height of 9 feet 4 inches (actually more, since the district requires all-terrain-capable equipment to access rural properties) won't fit through an 8-foot-8-inch-tall door.

Cloverdale also has air bottles that are coming to the end of the 15-year limit on their certification for re-filling. Those will have to be replaced.

The district also wants to create some sleeping quarters for volunteers so that the stations can be staffed 24/7 - or as close as they can get. According to board and staff, creating reasonable working conditions is critical to attracting volunteers.

Thomas noted that the district has gone to voters for more funding three times in the past 50 years - twice for equipment and once to fund a small salary to pay its first paid part-time fire chief. He believes the voters will support the current bond request.

He encourages anyone with questions to contact the district and come down to the fire station to take a look at equipment and operations and see the needs for themselves.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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