Welcome to Jefferson County Fire District 5

2000 Old Gardiner Road, Gardiner, WA. 98382-8778
360-797-7711

Jefferson County Fire District # 5

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Chief's Newsletter 

7/29/2008

Chief’s Newsletter
July 29, 2008

Greetings:

As most of you probably already know, former District Secretary Christi Nelson plead guilty to the theft charges against her and avoided a lengthy trial.  Christi has been given three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution.

I want to express our appreciation to you for the attendance at the training sessions over the six plus months.  Right around twenty last night and everyone was actively engaged.

Training included water shuttle, drafting, pump and hose ops! 

Both the new aid units are now in service.  I want to thank George, Dick, Eric, Jay and most of all Steve Monroe for the time they put into making the transition happen.  We put new shocks and a front-end alignment on the 1991 Ford along with all updated radios in both the units.

We want to welcome Cathy Gahler (Quilcene FD # 2) and Jared Marlow (Discovery Bay FD # 5) to our memberships.  Jared has completed the physical and has already started attending training sessions.  Cathy will be up and running soon and is looking forward to the EMT class.

Hopefully everyone got plenty to eat and had a good time at the July 5th picnic.  For those of you that helped with the event, I want to say thank you!  Willie for his world famous chicken (great job) and Moe for knowing how to burn the hot dogs to perfection!  Veda for the games and prizes again this year.  Cleanup did not take long with all the help!  Once again thank you for attending and making it a special event. 

The JEFFCOM infrastructure build out is moving forward.  This project has been in the works for several years and will probably take a couple of more years to complete.  Once done we will have six to seven communications towers with microwave links to and from JEFFCOM along with a simulcast system.  This will enable radio transmissions to go out on all repeaters at one time.

Hose testing was completed this month.  The project took two days with a total of approx 18,000 feet of hose between the two fire districts. 

Both agencies had several more of the UHF Maynard radios installed this last month.  The coverage is very good on this channel.  Remember to wait for the beep before talking.

We are in the process of working out a contract for medic services with Port Ludlow Fire Rescue.  At this time they are our main paramedic provider and will respond upon our request.  If it sounds like a really bad call or that a medic will be needed, we will call for them on the way to the incident.

Brandi Field and Tom Betteley attended an Emergency Vehicle Accident Prevention Class this month.  Once they get their drive time and driving rodeo in they will be good to go on driving code.

The burn ban is still at a “MODERATE” level, which means recreational campfires are still OK in lined pits.  Once the level is raised to “HIGH”, campfires will only be allowed within the parks until the State declares a no-burn time period has ended.

Once again we want to wish Jay Stickney the very best as he starts his new career with Mill Creek Fire!

Respectfully

Bob Wilson
Fire Chief

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Spring is here – Start planning your Firewise Landscape

Washington State Patrol has supplied some very useful information concerning fire hazards and how to help protect your house. It is a short read that may save the reader a lot of problems. Check it out-->

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Joint Awards Banquet

Below are pictures from this years Joint Awards Banquet, see story below. (Click on picture to see full sized image.)

Chief’s Newsletter
December 4th, 2007
 
Greetings:
 
Congratulations to Barb Knoepfle in her bid for the seat of fire commissioner!  Barb has also just successfully completed an EMT IV certification class.  Awesome!
 
I want to acknowledge Bev Horan for her years of service to the community.   Thank you Bev for all that you have done and we sincerely want to wish you the best in the coming years.
 
Fire District # 2 & # 5 held our joint awards banquet on November 30th at the Quilcene School.  The dinner was provided by the Quilcene High School Vocational Cooking Class.  Eighty individuals attended and they were served a prime rib dinner.  The guest speaker addressing the volunteers and guest was Bridgette Smith Executive Director of the Board of Volunteer Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund.  Jay Stickney and Jason Royer jointly received the 2007 Recruit of the Year award. Barb Knoepfle and Eric Brucker each received Emergency Medical Technician award for 2007. Jim Koutnik and Joe Vierra each received the 2007 Firefighter of the Year award. 
 
Jason Royer and Jay Stickney from Quilcene will be graduating from the North Kitsap Fire Academy on December 8th.  They have both done extremely well in the class and we look forward to working with them in the future.  Most importantly, we will work to help them in their attempt to become career firefighters. Both Jay and Jason will be helping with some of the shift coverage for the Gardiner / Discovery Bay community.
 
Stephanie Batson should be winding up the Clallam County EMT class this month. I am sure Stephanie will do just fine through the testing process.  We look forward to having her on Board as a responder.
 
The SCBA’s hydro testing project is in the last round of bottles being shipped over.  Flow testing on the SCBA regulators will take place in December. 
 
We will be holding a small mini fire academy for the new staff starting in late January.  The classes will be Friday 6-930pm and Saturday 830-5pm each week for three weeks. Our desire is to have the students review the book and computer classes prior to attending the classes.   
 
I want to wish each of you a great time during Christmas and New Years.  Be Safe!
 
Sincerely,
 
Bob Wilson
Fire Chief

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