Finding and actually getting to your home is the key to protecting it during a wildfire

The rainy winter, and now warm spring, is making for some explosive plant growth in our area.  All of those beautiful green leaves growing from new tree limbs can make it difficult for fire engines to access your home however, so now is the perfect time to get out the pruning tools and open up your driveway so emergency vehicles can safely and quickly get through to your home.

In the event of a major wildfire where homes are being evacuated, fire crews will be going through neighborhoods ahead of the fire trying to determine where they can do the most good.  One of the things that they use to determine if they can protect your home is how quickly they can access it, and how easy it is to get out of there in a hurry if needed  One of the more common arguments we find, is that people compare our fire engines to logging or rock trucks.  Though the vehicles are similar, fire engines are not the same as logging or rock trucks in that our required emergency lighting, and on other equipment on top of and alongside our engines, can easily be damaged by low hanging limbs.  That's why we suggest that you make sure your driveway meets the following criteria for emergency vehicle access:

• Basically you want to keep a drivable "box" that is at least 15 feet wide by 14 feet tall.  Driveways that serve more then one home may need additional width, up to 20 feet wide.
  
• Make sure your driveway is in good shape, rock is packed and covering the surface of the road, there are no ruts, large holes, or washboards.
  
• Create a space large enough for fire engines to turn around at the end of your driveway.  One of the key components to firefighters being able to protect a home is their ability to turn and run quickly if the advancing wildfire becomes too dangerous.  If you have to do a multi-point turn to get your pickup or car out of the driveway in the morning then it's a good indicator that we'll need more room for a fire engine.
  
• Driveways over 1,000 feet long should have at least one wide spot where two fire engines can pass each other.  On rural fires where there are no fire hydrants, we will be bringing larger trucks called water tenders to the fire, these tenders will dump their water and then head to the nearest hydrant to fill up and return to the fire; having a place for trucks to pass each other can make a huge difference in how efficiently we are able to fight a fire on your property.

One other key for protecting your home is our ability to find it quickly.  All of the fancy computer based mapping programs can't beat a plainly visible address sign.  In our area so many roads can be driveways, or they can be logging or farming roads, having numbers posted that show us where your home is can save time and allow us to get on scene faster.  Make sure your address numbers are at least four inches tall, and are placed so they are clearly visible from both directions of travel, as well as during day or night driving conditions.  Forest Grove Fire & Rescue offers free address signs to our rural residents, they can be ordered by calling 503-992-3240 during normal business hours (Monday through Friday 8-5)

Finally, for those of you that protect your property by using a gate we hope that you would consider ways for firefighters to access your property without having to damage the gate.  All Washington County Fire Departments use the Knox Company's fire department access products that include key boxes, automatic gate switches, and padlocks that only your local fire department has the key to.  You can research the Knox products by going to their website http://www.knoxbox.com/ 

As with anything, if you have questions or would like your driveway evaluated, please contact us at 503-992-3240.