Chief's Blog

As we head into the spring (sometime the snow will go away) Pend Oreille Fire District No. 3 seems to get busier every year. One of my responsibilities as Fire Chief is to ensure an adequate response to requests for service. As you know, one person can’t respond alone no matter the type of call. Sometimes this causes me concern. Daytime responses typically see lower staffing levels in Fire District No. 3. These calls deserve the same level of response as others.

We have approached this issue with additional mutual aid requests for more personnel and that will work from time to time. In the future as we grow, we will be faced with the question of how to effectively serve our community by providing adequate first response or first alarm arriving, assessing the issue and effectively mitigating the emergency.

As a firefighter with years of experience and having witnessed many types of staffing solutions, I have my opinions. I’d like you to place yourself in the Chief's boots and share with me (and others) how do I provide an adequate response? Remember there are fiscal and other restraints that should guide your thought process. I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Chief Mark Havener 3-5-08

2 Comments

February 18, 2008

Dress for Success!

Preparing for the ‘Middle of the Night’ Call

One thing for sure that we can count on in the volunteer fire service is that we will be awakened in the middle of the night by our pager for some type of call. We usually make the decision that we will respond to any call before we go to bed. When you go to bed what preparations do you make to respond quickly to a call?

I will share mine with you and then our mutual sharing may help someone else respond more quickly. When I go to bed at night I have a routine. The car is in the garage and the keys are in it. The portable radio, hopefully, has a fresh battery in it and one in the charger. I keep those in the garage near the car. The pager is on the bedside table; the cell phone is there too with the charger plugged in. I have my winter hat, gloves and coat hanging by the garage door. My responding clothes for the night sit on the rocking chair in the bedroom in a specific order; pants on bottom, shirt, sweatshirt next, and lastly the socks on top. That way I can get dressed quickly (even in the dark) and head right for the car.

What is your routine and do you practice it every night? Let me know.

Posted by Chief Mark Havener 2-18-08

4 Comments

January 22, 2008

Wet or Dry Pumps in Winter?

Oh what’s a firefighter to do? Wet or dry fire pumps in the winter? Here is another seasonal discussion that I have pre-formed opinions on, but again open it up for discussion. Should the Fire District’s apparatus have water in the pump or not in the wintertime?

This has been something that I have wrestled with for many years in various parts of the U.S. All of us realize that water freezes and often at inappropriate times. A truly dry pump and plumbing ensures that we won’t freeze the water. A flooded or totally wet pump can freeze but with some precautions and training is also resistant to freezing. I am sure we can effectively train all of our operators to drain pumps or train them on the precautions we need to take to limit freezing. We do have the luxury on our new engine to have a pump house heater; it doesn’t guarantee a freezing situation, but really decreases the risk. So what do you think?

Posted by Chief Mark Havener 1-22-08

4 Comments

January 7, 2008

Tire chains...who needs them!

Okay this week we are getting more of the beautiful white stuff here in Pend Oreille County. My thought and question deals with tie chains.

We have equipped a number of our engines with on spot chains and we have the capability of placing traditional chains on our tenders. What are your thoughts on the use of tire chains?

w Should we look at alternatives like the tire cables Spokane City uses?

w Should it be left to the driver each time we go?

w Should we be more dependent on the fact that we can go where the public enables us?

In the many years associated with the fire service and in the snow (NE Ohio), we never had used tire chains. When I got to Washington it seemed that they were the things to have and some cities close by chain up all winter long. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Posted by Chief Mark Havener 1-7-07

10 Comments

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