SPACE HEATER IS DETERMINED AS CAUSE OF FATAL FIRE

A space heater left on and in use too close to a couch is what fire investigators believe caused a fire in Forest Grove that left a grandmother dead and her teenage grandson badly burned early Monday (March 28, 2011) morning. That is the determination of fire investigators who were at the home at 2235 Laurel Street. The elderly couple who lived in the home with their two teenage grandsons had used the portable electric space heater in the room where they slept. According to the husband, Hyrum Long (76), he had went to help his wheel chair bound wife Velvalee (also 76) use the restroom in the middle of the night. During this, Mr. Long told investigators that he heard crackling noises and discovered the fire burning in the living room of the home. Mr. Long was not able to get Mrs. Long out of the home, but he escaped with his two grandsons, one of which suffered burns as he ran through the fire to get out of the home. When fire crews arrived on scene at 1:57 am they found heavy fire coming from the front and back of the home and discovered Mrs. Long deceased inside the bathroom of the 1960’s era brick home.

Fire Investigators from Forest Grove Fire and Police Departments, the Oregon State Police, Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Portland Field Office worked all day Monday to sift through the debris from the fire and they determined that the probable cause of this fire was an electric portable heater that was in the living room. They discovered what appeared to be boxes of clothing inches away from the heater, the clothing likely ignited first and spread the fire to a nearby couch as well as the hospital style bed used by Mrs. Long. The tremendous fuel load of the couch and bed caused the fire to burn extremely quickly and the fire spread rapidly throughout the rest of the home. No working smoke alarms were found by fire investigators, though a very old heat detector was found; it appeared that it did not function.

This is the first structure fire fatality in Forest Grove in 13 years and has some characteristics that are common in fires involving our elderly population. Fire Officials urge that the community take steps to make sure that this kind of tragedy does not happen to them:

- Place space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn, and never leave space heaters on when you leave the room or go to bed.

- Make sure that you have working smoke alarms that are less than 10 years old in your home. Test all of your smoke alarms monthly.

- Have a family fire escape plan and practice it regularly. If you have people in your home with special needs (like those in wheel chairs) identify ways that they can escape safely.

- Keep your exit paths clear, do not leave items in hallways and in doorways that can cause your exit from the home to be slowed down.

Forest Grove Fire & Rescue wants you to make fire safety a priority and we will help you identify ways to make your home fire safe. If you have questions about improving the fire safety of your home please call us today at 503.992.3240.

Forest Grove Firefighters Climb For a Cure

On Sunday March 6th, fifteen career and volunteer Forest Grove Fire & Rescue firefighters made the 3-hour journey north to Seattle to compete in the 20th Annual Scott Firefighter Stair Climb. They joined 1,500 other firefighters from the across the northwest and as far away as New Zealand in raising money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In this annual charity fundraising event firefighters race to the top of the 73-story Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, while carrying 50 pounds of gear including an oxygen tank and mask.


Prior to the event, Forest Grove firefighters trained rigorously for months in an effort to prepare themselves for the daunting task of climbing 1,311 stairs in full firefighting gear. That training paid off well as the team as a whole placed 62 out of 118 fire departments. A number of the team members achieved personal best times including intern firefighter Nick McEvoy who also accomplished the fastest team time at 17 minutes 6 seconds!

Firefighter Ivan Bratchuk gets a hug from his son just before he made the climb up the Columbia Center

In addition to a great performance on the stairs, the Forest Grove team also raised over $5,846 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Forest Grove Fire & Rescue would like to graciously thank the community, friends and families for their support. In a few months, some of the team members will begin training again – this time for the Portland Firefighter Stair Climb on September 29 that will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Even on a cloudy day, the view from the top is still impressive

The following firefighters also competed in the stairclimb: Keith Baas, 17 minutes, 54.99 seconds; Robert Webb, 18 minutes, 54.74 seconds; Ivan Bratchuk, 20 minutes, 39.99 seconds; Dave Doornink, 21 minutes, 58.64 seconds; Will Murphy, 22 minutes, 16.38 seconds; Tommy Heisler 22 minutes, 26.18 seconds; Damian Peters, 24 minutes, 14.29 seconds; Tony Carter, 27 minutes, 10.48 seconds; Rick Ilg, 27 minutes, 47.49 seconds; Ted Penge 28 minutes, 53.31 seconds; Jason Lawson, 29 minutes, 37.65 seconds; Joe Smith, 30 minutes, 23.18 seconds; Nick Chan, 41 minutes, 58.89 seconds.

Federal grant will improve firefighter training

Recently Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was the recipient of some very good news from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when we were informed that we had been awarded a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Firefighter Operations and Safety. This $425,000 grant will allow us to purchase a live fire training simulator that we will be able use here in Forest Grove to train our career and volunteer firefighters as well as to share regionally with our neighbors to train other firefighters from all over western Washington County.

Live fire training is vitally important for us to maintain high levels of training and readiness for our crews. On average we bring on 12 new volunteer firefighters each year and these new recruits require significant amounts of initial training before we can allow them to respond to emergencies on our engines. Right now in order to put our firefighters through any live fire training we either wait for someone in the community to donate a home that we can burn, or we have to travel outside the area to a live fire training center. To put this in perspective, last week we teamed with our neighbors in Cornelius and traveled to the MERTS Center at Clatsop Community College near Astoria so that we could make this kind of training happen. In the cases where people donate homes for us to practice in, the structure has to pass a very strict safety criteria before we can use them. All of this can make it quite difficult for us to coordinate safe, timely, and effective live fire training for our firefighters.

FEMA will pick up 90% of the grant, with our share at ten percent ($42,500). Still, without the support of this grant it is likely that we would not have been able to fund the total cost of this project to improve our training and safety on our own. We are in the process of evaluating the simulators that are available and gathering information so that we can purchase the equipment that best suits our needs. It is our goal to purchase the equipment somtime this summer and we estimate that it will take 8 to 9 months for the vendor to complete the project and have it up and running sometime in early 2012.

Since 2003 Forest Grove Fire & Rescue alone has recieved $1,154,298 in grants to support our operations. These grants have helped us update our protective equipment for our firefighters, replaced our breathing air compressor, purchased 11,650 feet of fire hose, improved our communication ability with new radios and satellite phones, provided for training on confined space rescue, and so much more. Some of these grants have required us to match a percentage of the funds that have been granted, since 2003 our total share has been $103,699.

Here is a break down of our history with grants.

• 2003 FEMA Grant $119,970 to replace breathing air compressor and 20 self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)
  
• 2003 State of Oregon Domestic Preparedness Grant for Hazardous materials response equipment
  
• 2005 FEMA Grant $158,844 replacing 65 sets of firefighter protective clothing
  
• 2005 FEMA Grant $218,290 to standerdize SCBA used on west end of county (this was a million dollar grant that was shared by Hillsboro, Washington County District #2, Cornelius, Banks, and FGF&R)
  
• 2005 State Homeland Security Program $2,000 to train firefighters on weapons of mass destruction
  
• 2005 Urban Areas Security Initiative $20,000 for Mobile Data Terminals (MDT's) - computers in our engines
  
• 2007 FEMA Grant $141,666 to replace 11,650 feet of fire hose. This was a shared grant between Gaston, Banks, and FGF&R that allowed us to standerdize our fire hose sizes and types.
  
• 2008 Oregon Office of Emergency Management $108,000 to update and replace radios and MDT's
  
• 2009 Volunteer Fire Assitant Grant $2,850 to update our fire shelters that are used on wildfires to protect firefighters
  
• 2010 Oregon Office of Emergency Management $43,900 to provide MDT's, and VHF radios for statewide communication
  
• 2010 Local Emergency Planning Grant $5,625 to provide confinded space training to our staff and volunteers
  
• 2010 Oregon Office of Emergency Management Grant $29,000 to purchase a backup power generator for Station 7 in Gales Creek, and to purchase satellite phones for emergency communication
  
• 2011 FEMA Grant $382,500 for live fire training simulator

FGF&R Interns recognized for helping injured high school football player

Forest Grove Intern Firefighters Jake Stone and Damian Peters were honored at the City Council Meeting this evening with the Unit Citation Award from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue for their actions during an emergency medical call at a November High School Football game. At the Council meeting Division Chief David Nemeyer and Mayor Pete Truax presented the two interns with ribbons that are worn on their uniform. Below is what Chief Nemeyer had to say about their recognition.

FGF&R Interns Jake Stone and Damian Peters wearing their commendation ribbons

On Friday November 5, 2010 Volunteer Firefighters Jake Stone and Damian Peters were performing a medical standby at a Forest Grove High School Varsity Football game. During the first half one of the Forest Grove players experienced a very hard helmet to helmet hit and was down on the field being tended to by team trainers when they signaled for Jake and Damian to come onto the field to assist.

When they reached the injured player, our crew found that the young man was complaining of severe neck pain. In front of hundreds in attendance at the game, Jake and Damian worked with the team trainers and family members and immediately began taking precautions to secure the injured player’s neck and spine from any unnecessary movement. They followed football injury protocols and placed the young man on a long back board and had him transported by ambulance to Tuality Hospital in Hillsboro.

While at the hospital an x ray revealed that the injured football player had fractured his C4 vertebrae, this bone is located near the top of his spine. If not treated appropriately, an injury of this magnitude has the potential for permanent nerve damage. In fact slight movements of only fractions of an inch can cause paralysis from the injury down if the spine is not immobilized properly. Jake and Damian had no way of knowing at the time that this was the exact injury that the player had suffered; yet they dealt with a difficult situation of conflicting opinions of the injury in a very public setting respectfully and tactfully with only the best interests of the injured player in mind. Because of their quick thinking and appropriate treatment a potentially life changing injury was discovered and a positive difference was made in the life of this young football player. Therefore we present Intern Firefighters Jake Stone and Damian Peters with the Unit Citation Award from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.

Turn Around - Don't Drown

For those of you waiting for spring to get here we know it's a bit depressing, but northwest Oregon is still a few months away from sunny and warm weather, so for now we are all dealing with the heavy gray clouds and rainy weather. Around Forest Grove this liquid sunshine is creating havoc with our roadways and some of our most traveled routes are flooded and closed. Even though barricades are up in places and signs say "HIGH WATER" or "ROAD CLOSED" people still try and drive through these flooded areas and more often then not this causes a very dangerous situation to occur.

SW Fernhill Road is one of the most commonly flooded roads in Forest Grove

Most of us do not realize that as little as six inches of water can cause your car to actually float away. In places like where the Tualatin River floods SW Fernhill Road the river's current can actually be strong enough to not only float your car but push it downstream rather quickly. The same can be said for B Street where Gales Creek often floods over the popular route into Forest Grove from the south. For some types of cars, it takes even less water to flood your engine and cause it to stall. These are common situations that we deal with each year when people try and drive around these barricades and go through the flooded streets.

Firefighters practice using our rescue boat at Hagg Lake earlier today

Firefighters are out today training for these situations. At Hagg Lake we are working right now on training firefighters on safe boat operation, and later today we will be out in the flooded Fernhill Wetlands practicing in the dangerous current of the Tualatin River that has flooded over its' banks. Please help us so that we never have to put this training to use. If you come across a place where water is over the road carefully turn around and find another route. It may look shallow enough but it can be deceiving as the water can hide hazards like potholes and places where it has actually damaged the roadway making it hazardous to drive. In some places the roadway may actually not be visible and we have found people that crashed into the ditch when they lost track of where the road because of the water flowing over it. Please remember to turn around and don't drown when it comes to flooded roads in Washington County.

Are your numbers up?

We are in the middle of the winter season. Nights are longer now then they are all year and couple that with increased darkness from rain, fog, and other wintry weather and it can be quite difficult for us to see your address numbers. This inability to see your address quickly can delay our service to you and in an emergency where seconds really do count this could make a big difference in the outcome of the call. This is especially true in the rural areas where homes are sometimes located on longer driveways and are not always visible from the road.



So what can you do? It may sound cliche, but help us help you. Make sure that your address numbers are posted so that they are clearly visible from both directions of travel on the roadway to your home. Each number should be four inches tall and the colors need to contrast their background so that they stand out and can be easily seen. To some this can seem straight forward, but to others this task of where to put the numbers and get them up correctly can be quite daunting so we're here to help you. You can call 503.992.3240 and order a free address sign from us and our crews will even put it up for you and make sure that it is in the right spot. The signs come with white reflective numbers attached to a green reflective sign. All signs are 12 inches by 6 inches and are made out of aluminum so that they won't rust. For the rural residents that share driveways with other neighbors or agricultural or forestry roads we will even evaluate your sign needs to make sure that enough signs are in place to point us to your house.






These signs not only benefit emergency responders but they can help delivery drivers bringing everything from pizza to parcels, out of town guests, and others find your home more effectively. Again, these signs can be ordered for free by calling our Administration Office at 503.992.3240. Turnaround time from order to install is usually around three to four weeks.

Toy Drive helps over 1,000 local kids

Christmas was almost two weeks ago but firefighters are wrapping up their work and closing the book on Toy Drive 2010. Demand was high again as starting in October and as late as Christmas Day families came in record numbers to request assistance through out program. When it was all said and done approximately 170 families in Forest Grove, and 100 in Cornelius asked for assistance this year. All together over 1,000 children in the Forest Grove and Cornelius community were able to wake up on Christmas morning and receive a gift that they otherwise would not have been able to.

We did not accomplish this on our own however as local schools, businesses, civic groups, churches, and countless individuals helped our efforts. We would like to especially thank the following groups for their support of this year's project.

City Club of Forest Grove
Forest Grove United Church of Christ
Forest Grove Movie Theatre and Cornelius Cinemas
Stephanie Lommen Attorney at Law
John L. Scott Market Center
Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce
Forest Grove High School Staff and Students
Mrs. Schramm's Kindergarten Class at Gales Creek Elementary School
Mrs. Bond's Kindergarten Classes at Harvey Clarke Elementary School
Mrs. Vandehey's Kindergarten Classes at Harvey Clarke Elementary School
Forest Grove School District Administration Office Staff
Joseph Gale Elementary School Staff and Students
Summit Pointe Neighborhood Association
Cornelius Walmart
KGW News Channel 8
Stimson Lumber Employees
Forest Vila Apartment Residents
Forest Grove Les Schwab
City of Forest Grove employees
Cornelius Dutch Bros. Coffee

The "Toy Room" at Station 4 just before Christmas Week

All of these business and local groups put bins up and brought in donated items for us to get to the right families. The week before Christmas our firefighters started to sort through the massive pile of toys that had amassed in our Station 4 Conference Room organizing all of it and finally taking one afternoon to go through and find the perfect gift for an 8 year old boy or a 3 year old girl. With Christmas music playing in the background it took volunteers just over one hour to fill orders for 157 families, and the line began to form outside Station 4 as people came in to pick up their gift baskets. On December 26th Firefighters loaded up the small amount of items that were left over and put them in storage for families that need help throughout the year or to help at Christmas 2011.

Thank you Forest Grove and Cornelius for donating items and showing your generosity once again in 2010. We look forward to a day when this project is not needed in our community but we are so thankful that you are here to make it happen!