Forest Grove and Cornelius Firefighters honored at annual awards banquet

Friday April 27, 2012 was a special, and historic, evening for Forest Grove Fire & Rescue and the Cornelius Fire Department as the first ever joint awards banquet was held by the two fire departments.  Since January 2011 Forest Grove Fire & Rescue and the Cornelius Fire Department have shared Fire Chief Michael Kinkade as the leader of both departments, and in that time the two departments have increased training together and worked to make standardized equipment and operational practices; joining forces with our families for the annual awards and recognition dinner was the next logical choice to strengthen the relationship.  Current firefighters from both departments gathered with their loved ones at the Forest Grove Armory and shared the event with retired firefighters as well as City and Rural Fire District leaders to recognize the work and service that individual firefighters have provided to the community during the 2011 calendar year.  Forest Grove's own Izgara Middle Eastern Cuisine provided an exceptional banquet of diverse foods that were enjoyed by all who attended as nearly fifty people were called to the stage to receive awards, honors, and accolades from Fire Chief Michael Kinkade for their service to the community.  Special recognition was given by the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District who provided the Forest Grove Firefighter's Association with $4,000to help support volunteer firefighter training as well as the Association's mission of  funding community service projects and relief for those effected by emergencies.  During the banquet a very special presentation was made to retired FGF&R Fire Chiefs Robert Mills, and Bob Davis.  Current Fire Chief Michael Kinkade presented each of his predecessors with a special "Retired Fire Chief" badge and Chief Davis received a shadow box that showcased his long career that started in the 1960s in California.  Currently active firefighters were recognized with the following honors at this year's event:

Years of Service Awards

5 Years of Service

• Division Chief Ian O'Connor FGF&R
• A Shift Firefighter Rick Ilg FGF&R
• A Shift Firefighter Will Murphy FGF&R
• B Shift Firefighter Ivan Bratchuk FGF&R
• Volunteer Firefighter John Phelan CFD

10 Years of Service

• C Shift Captain Marc Reckmann CFD

15 Years of Service

• A Shift Lieutenant George Robards CFD
• B Shift Firefighter Tony Carter FGF&R

20 Years of Service

• Lieutenant Sheila Jackson CFD

25 Years of Service 

• A Shift Captain Joe Smith FGF&R
• B Shift Captain Mike Lanter FGF&R

30 Years of Service

• C Shift Captain Dwight Lanter FGF&R

Rookie of the Year

•  Andy Gramer - Station 7 FGF&R
• James Callahan - CFD

Firefighter of the Year

• Chad Toomey - Station 4 FGF&R Volunteer Firefighter of the Year
• Rick Ilg - FGF&R Career Firefighter of the Year
• Kevin Ritcheson CFD Firefighter of the Year

Officer of the Year

• Battalion Chief Rob Hutchens - Station 4 FGF&R Volunteer Officer of the Year
• Captain Joe Smith - FGF&R Career Officer of the Year
• Captain Steve Black - CFD Officer of the Year

Fire Chief's Award

• Firefighter Tony Carter - FGF&R
• Division Chief Rob Marcoff - CFD

Unit Citations

• SW Dilley Road Cardiac Arrest Save 10.24.11
• Mike Lanter, Tad Buckingham, Tony Carter, Cody Brown, Damian Peters, Geoff McFarland

• Barlow Court Cardiac Arrest Save 9.16.11
• Marc Reckmann, Matt Meyer, JC Butler, Trevor Storms, Andrew Jensen, Jeff Lewis, Steve Moreland, James Callahan
  
•  SW Golf Course Road Cardiac Arrest Save 9.29.11
• Steve Black, James Callahan, Jeff Lewis, Kevin Ritcheson, Colin Scott, Emmett Middaugh, Jordan Summer

 

ONE PERSON RESCUED FROM CONDO FIRE IN FOREST GROVE

A man in his early twenties is fortunate to be alive today after firefighters rescued him from his burning condominium in Forest Grove.  Just before 3:00 am on Sunday April 29, 2012 a downstairs neighbor in the building located at 3404 19th Avenue in Forest Grove, heard a strange popping noise and after going outside to investigate he discovered smoke coming from a second floor condo, the neighbor reacted the right way and quickly ran inside to call 9-1-1.  When firefighters from the Forest Grove Fire Station arrived they found an active fire burning inside of the kitchen of Unit 207 at the complex.  After having to force entry into the locked condo, a dog and cat charged from the smoke filled building while FGF&R Intern Firefighter Gabe Welp began to extinguish the fire as Lieutenant Chris Woodford started to search for victims.  Opening the door to the first bedroom he came to, Chris found a 21 year old man unresponsive laying in bed.  Volunteer Firefighter Brooke Brown, and Intern Firefighter Emmet Middaugh from Engine 422 assisted Woodford and Welp as they grabbed the unconscious man and pulled him free from danger, where waiting Firefighter/Paramedics provided advanced life support care to the young man. 

The victim was transported to Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro where he was treated for smoke inhalation.  Firefighter/Paramedics that went with the victim in the Metro West Ambulance reported that he was able to talk to emergency room staff, but that he did not know what had happened.  His injuries do not appear to be life threatening at this time.  Fire investigators found that a pan had been left on the stove and that the electric burner was left turned on high.  There was extensive fire damage in the kitchen, that caused at least $40,000 in damages to the rest of the home and contents.  No working smoke alarms were found and the building did not have a fire sprinkler system that would have otherwise controlled the fire.

The condo was occupied by a husband and wife, the victim of the fire is their roommate.  The married couple was not home at the time of the fire, but arrived later that morning after being informed of the fire.  Forest Grove Police Officers quickly secured the dog that escaped the fire but the family cat is still missing.  Based on statements and evidence at the scene it appears that alcohol may have been a contributing factor in this incident.  Firefighters made a quick stop on the fire and luckily prevented it within minutes of the fire spreading to the building's attic or to another unit in the complex.  Please be cautious in your home, especially if you share a building with others.  If you choose to drink, please do so responsibly, and never attempt to cook, drive, or use equipment.  Make sure that you have a working smoke alarm and always practice a family fire escape plan.  

Live Fire Training Saturday April 21st

Forest Grove Fire & Rescue and the Cornelius Fire Department will be holding live fire training this Saturday April 21, 2012 in the former "Oasis Tavern" located at the south east corner of the Pacific Avenue and Oak Street intersection. The Oasis Tavern closed over 20 years ago and the building has been mostly vacant ever since, it is being razed to clear the property for a future dental office and has been donated to us for firefighter training by the property owner. Located on the eastern end of Forest Grove, training will be easily visible especially to motorists on Pacific Avenue. Due to the proximity to the highly traveled Pacific Avenue, we have worked with the Forest Grove Police and Public Works Department on a traffic control plan that you should be aware of.

- One eastbound lane of Pacific Avenue will be closed near the burn, but access to businesses like Papa Murphy's Pizza and Pacific Nails (as well as others) will be allowed. 

- Patrons of Papa Murphy's and Pacific Nails will still be allowed to leave the parking lot of the businesses and use Oak Street southbound only, but this may be interrupted during some of our operations.  

- Oak Street will be closed to all but local access for residents between 19th Avenue and Pacific Avenue.

- Oak Street will be closed to southbound traffic between 22nd Avenue and Pacific Avenue.  This is intended to avoid congestion as cars attempt to turn from Oak into the eastbound Pacific Avenue which will be down to one lane.  

- The Trimet bus 57 line stop on the south side of Pacific Avenue at Oak Street will be closed.  Please plan accordingly to access the next closest stop. 

Fire crews will begin to gather on site around 8:00 am and will start burning within an hour of arriving and getting set up.  It is estimated that sometime around noon is when the bulk of the fire will actually occur after Training Coordinators determine that it is time to let the building burn freely.  It will be during this free burn time that the bulk of the smoke and flames will be visible.  Based on weather forecasts we believe that the smoke will vent straight up into the atmosphere, but if the smoke does linger in the area we suggest closing windows and ventilation to your home while the smoke is present. 

This type of training is vital to our ability to serve the community.  We will be taking through dozens of newer firefighters to train them on how a fire actually will burn inside of a real building.  This type of training provides them with important information and education that can help them work safely as volunteer firefighters.  Without a fire training facility, neither Forest Grove or Cornelius have the practical ability to conduct live fire training any other way then by using a donated structure.  This training event will allow us to have our newest groups of volunteer firefighters trained to the minimum standards required by the State of Oregon to certify as Firefighters and respond on our fire engines when you need them.  They will be working alongside experienced career and volunteer firefighters to gain that essential knowledge needed to become a safe and practiced firefighter. 

You can keep track of our training with live updates from the scene by following our Twitter and Facebook pages.   

Three year old boy injured in backyard accident

Just before 4:30 pm Friday afternoon (April 13, 2012) Forest Grove Fire & Rescue crews were called to a home in the 1000 block of Stonewall Avenue for a reported pediatric trauma injury. When our Paramedics arrived, the mother of two twin three year old boys reported to them that the brothers had been playing on an outdoor play structure when one of the boys apparently dropped a rock down on top of the other boy. The rock was found to be approximately 4 inches in diameter and struck the boy directly in the top of the head. The boys' mother quickly controlled the bleeding and called 9-1-1 and our crews determined that the child's' injuries required him to be transported by Lifeflight; the boy was conscious and talking to our Paramedics during the incident. Within minutes of taking off from their Aurora, Oregon base, Lifeflight arrived on scene and landed on the ball fields at Tom McCall Elementary School where the injured child was loaded into the helicopter and taken to the trauma center at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland for further evaluation and treatment.

The injured boy is loaded into a waiting Lifeflight helicopter by FGF&R and Metro West Ambulance Paramedics

Explosion on farm in Forest Grove injures farm worker

Earlier this afternoon (April 3, 2012) at approximately 2:20 pm, Forest Grove Firefighters responded to a report of an explosion in the west part of Forest Grove after neighbors in the 400 block of Willamina Avenue called to report that an explosion loud enough to rattle windows had occurred and that they could see black smoke coming from a barn on Reuter Lane and Willamina Avenue. When firefighters arrived they found a farm worker lying in the farm driveway and a small fire burning on the ground near him. While Paramedics from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue treated the injured man another crew was able to quickly control the small fire which they found burning around a crumpled metal 55 gallon drum.



According to the other farm employees the worker was using a cutting torch to cut apart the drum when it suddenly exploded. They reported that the man remained standing throughout the incident but that initially the injured worker had fire burning on his clothing. He was able to use the basic fire safety skill of "STOP DROP & ROLL" to put the flames out and that's when firefighters arrived to find him on the ground. Even though the explosion created enough heat to melt glass barn windows and scorch the cinder block wall the injured man remained conscious and alert and talked to our crews. The injured man was transported by Metro West Ambulance to the Trauma Center at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland. Fire Investigators believe that the metal drum had contained diesel at one point , and that even though it was thought to be empty, enough diesel fuel and vapors remained to cause the explosion. Unfortunately, this type of accident, where an explosion happens from using a cutting torch on a drum or container, is more common than it should be. It’s important that you consult a safety professional or hazardous material clean up company before completing this type of work. You should never under any circumstances attempt to cut on a container that has potentially contained hazardous materials or flammable liquids.