Forest Grove Fire & Rescue is honored to announce that through a Department of Homeland Security Grant we will be able to fund a full time position to combat the challenging problem of Volunteer Firefighter recruitment and retention. Forest Grove is like many communities nationwide that cannot fiscally support a fully staffed professional fire department, and even though we currently have fifteen full time firefighters on staff, with only five assigned to each of our 24 hour shifts we still depend on a response from our Volunteers for not only fire emergencies, but also to cover medical calls occurring at the same time. In this day and age, with increased training requirements and free time being important to everyone Fire Departments nationwide are struggling with the problems of not only recruiting qualified volunteer firefighters, but keeping the ones that they have on board so they can maintain a highly trained and experienced volunteer force. Through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program our grant award guarantees that the federal government will pick up $426,908 over the next four years so that we can move one of our existing Lieutenants into a role where he will be responsible for not only evaluating and improving our current volunteer program but also being a dedicated employee for any volunteer interaction within our system.
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| New Volunteer Coordinator Lt. Tad Buckingham |
On September 24, 2012 the Forest Grove City Council authorized a supplemental budget appropriation so that Fire Chief Michael Kinkade could move longtime FGF&R Lieutenant Tad Buckingham into this new Volunteer Coordinator role effective October 1st. Lieutenant Buckingham has worked for the Forest Grove Fire Department full time since 1996, after being hired out of our volunteer program where he started in the 1986 while he attended Pacific University, he is recognized as a natural fit for this role as he was already responsible for our College Intern Firefighters and his communication and interaction with current volunteers was highly regarded. This grant allows us to fully fund a new position, and does not take away from our existing budget, so through a competitive promotional process Forest Grove Fire & Rescue will be promoting Firefighter Keith Baas to the rank of Lieutenant where he will be assigned to a 24 hour shift to replace the position that Lieutenant Buckingham previously held. The new Lieutenant Baas is a 1999 graduate of Forest Grove High School and started as a volunteer firefighter with our agency in 2000. He was hired full time in 2006 and is well respected amongst our staff and volunteer firefighters. In the coming weeks the City of Forest Grove will be holding a competitive process to hire a full time entry level firefighter to fill the position that Lieutenant Baas was holding previously.
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| New Shift Lieutenant Keith Baas |
“We are very grateful to the Department of Homeland Security for this grant, and excited to move Tad into the Volunteer Coordinator role, his personality, background, and approachability make him a great person for this position” said Fire Chief Michael Kinkade adding “As our community evolves it is becoming harder and harder for combination fire departments like ours to find and keep dedicated volunteers. Our hope is that Tad can hit the ground running and not only evaluate our current volunteer model, but consider outside the box ideas to enhance our program and promote the spirit of volunteerism in Forest Grove and throughout the fire services in Western Washington County”.
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