Fall Backyard Burn Season

Friday October 1st is the official kick off for the fall backyard burn season. From October 1st to December 15th the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) allows residents to burn the yard debris from their property. Backyard burning is allowed in and around Forest Grove, however it's not a burning free for all and there are a number of rules that must be followed to avoid a visit from us or a letter in the mail from the DEQ.

First only burn on open burn days. Each day the DEQ tests the air quality in our area and based on this test they will let us know if burning is allowed that day or not. We update the Washington County Open Burning Hotline each morning with this information. You can hear our pre-recorded message by calling 503.992.3242 to see if you can burn that day. It is very important that you burn only on open days during the time limits allowed.

Second, be sure that you are only burning allowed materials. Backyard burning is for yard debris like limbs, clippings, and leaves. You cannot burn items like lumber, garbage, paper, plastics, or tires. Each year there are also questions from people that live in the rural area about agricultural (Ag) burning. Ag burning is for the removal of debris from a farming operation, just because a person may live in the country they are not considered Ag burning by default. For instance a filbert grower who burns the limbs from his orchard is considered to be ag burning but if the same farmer was to burn some hedges that he pulled out from around his home this would fall under the backyard burning requirements instead of those for Ag.

Third be fire safe and a courteous neighbor when you burn. Make sure your pile is dry before you light it off. Smoke complaints are one of the big reasons we get called by angry neighbors so a dry burn pile will help you burn cleaner without putting off a large amount of smoke. Locate your burn pile away from property lines and so that it is well clear of fences, buildings, trees, and anywhere else where you do not want the fire to spread. Constantly attend to your pile while it is burning and have firefighting equipment like a garden hose and hand tools close by to help control the fire. When you are done burning wet down the burn pile and the area around it with water so to be sure that the fire is completely out and will not flare up after you leave it.

We obviously encourage that you choose non burning methods such as composting or the curbside yard debris removal service instead of burning, but we understand that these options are not always good ones for every property owner. For more information check out the Oregon DEQ website about backyard burning by clicking on this link. To report an illegal burn or smoke related complaint please do not call our fire station, instead call 503.229.5393 and report it to the DEQ directly. If a burn pile gets out of hand always call 9-1-1 immediately.

9-11 Memorial in Forest Grove

Even though Forest Grove, Oregon is just about as far away from the east coast of the United States as you can get, we as Americans were all touched by the events of September 11, 2001. For those in the fire service, it was the largest loss of life in the line of duty in one day in the history of our profession. On that tragic day 2,977 innocent Americans were killed in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. In the City of New York 343 members of the Fire Department New York, and 60 law enforcement officers were killed while trying to serve the people trapped in the buildings of the World Trade Center. September 11, 2001 is regarded as the single most deadly day for firefighters and police officers in the history of the United States.

Last Saturday was the nine year anniversary of the attack on our country and we were joined by firefighters, police officers, current military members and veterans, as well as community leaders from all over western Washington County for a ceremony to remember one of the most significant events of our generation. We gathered alongside about 50 of our community neighbors at the community flag pole on Pacific Avenue in Forest Grove to remember the tragic day that will forever be recognized as a defining moment for the fire service.

Purchase of AED units will provide for better response to cardiac emergencies

In an effort to improve our ability to respond to cardiac emergencies we have recently completed the purchase of six new automated external defibrillators, commonly called AED's, and placed them in service on a number of our emergency vehicles. Prior to this purchase we only had four of these units (three at Station 4 in Forest Grove, and one at Station 7 in Gales Creek) and there were times when all of these could have been tied up on calls so we made it a priority in this year's budget to ensure that we were able to add to our inventory with the total cost of these new devices coming in at $13,800 dollars. In total we now have ten of these life saving tools ready to respond to emergencies in our community.

One of our new Phillips FR2 AED with ECG Units shows a normal heart rythym during testing last week

For the last few years you may have been seeing more and more AED's in the community. You can find them at malls, stores, airports, public swimming pools, offices, and other public places where they are becoming just as commonplace as a fire extinguisher or first aid kit. You really can't fault this either as statistics from the Heart Rhythm Foundation show that there are approximately 325,000 deaths per year from sudden cardiac arrest and that 93 to 95% of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before they even reach the hospital. Studies involving better access to a defibrillator show that the survivability rates increase to 50% or better when an AED is applied within minutes of the event. The Phillips model FR2 AED that we purchased is quite a bit different from the ones you see in public places however, all in a good way. According to our Emergency Medical Services Officer, Paramedic Will Murphy "These are not an AED alone like in the mall, our units have the capability for us to monitor the ECG (electrocardiography) of the patient and get us a better look at what is creating the reason they called 9-1-1."

Our new AED's will also allow us to work more efficiently. According to Murphy "These devices match the current ones that we use so no additional training will be needed, in fact they are able to be used by all certification levels of EMT from the Volunteer Firefighter/First Responder to the career Firefighter/Paramedic." In addition the Phillips FR2 model is compatible with other local area emergency crews so that we will be able to disconnect the cord and plug them directly into the same unit from Metro West Ambulance when they arrive to take the patient to the hospital. One more added benefit for our department is that we can also record data on these so that we can do regular quality control checks on our calls to ensure that we are indeed providing the first class emergency medical care that we would expect.

FGF&R Emergency Medical Services Officer Will Murphy places one of the new AED units on our Engine 423, until last week's purchase this engine did not carry an AED as part of it's normal compliment of equipment

An AED works by analyzing your heart rhythm to determine if an electrical shock is needed to help restart your heart's natural electrical balance. Some AED units that are in public places are truly automatic, meaning that you turn the machine on and a computer voice will tell you exactly how to apply the patches, the machine will then take it from there and deliver electricity as needed automatically. Our AED units are slightly different in that we have to actually push a button to enable them to deliver the electricity needed to "restart" your heart. Still these little machines are the most effective tool out there to help us save a life that has suffered from sudden cardiac arrest. This purchase ensures that every fire engine in our fleet as well as the vehicles driven by our Chiefs and Fire Inspector will carry an AED ready to respond to the needs of the community.