05-17-18 Early Morning Brush Fire

Chelan Fire and Rescue responded to an early morning brush fire on 05/17/2018 at 0745hr in the area of Golden Drive and SR97A. Responding units included Rescue 71, Brush 79, Brush 71 and Chief 701 with a total of six personnel. First unit on scene report a working grass/brush fire about 100 feet x 100 feet being pushed by winds to the east. Chief 701 established command, assigned Brush 71 to the north flank, Brush 79 to the head of the fire and Brush 71 to the west side of the fire. The fire was contained in 11 minutes 36 second from 911 call and completely out after crews finished mopped up hot spots. Total call time 24 minutes 49 seconds.

Structure Protection Training

Volunteer Firefighter Recruits from Chelan Fire and Rescue, Entiat Fire Department and Orondo Fire Department train over the weekend.

Great weekend class with a lot of energy, hard work and heart by all the Volunteer Firefighter Recruits. Big thanks to Chief Asher for helping out as a primary instructor; Dan Minor, Jon Mendoza, James Park, Cody Evans, Mark Cooper, Adam Jones and Brian Asher for serving as company officers / secondary instructors and Marcia Holmdahl, Robert Takagi and Lee Jones for providing support services.

The weekend training started at 8 AM and end at 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday. The recruits worked through the heat of the day developing their skills and competencies. Weekend Firefighter Fundamental on Saturday included SCBA donning and re-servicing, hose and connections, hydrants and heeling LDH, pulling preconnects and reloading, hose handling of charged 1½” and 2½” attack lines with and without hose straps and nozzle operations. Sunday the recruits tackled extension ladder deployment, carrying roof ladder up an extension ladder, climbing Ladder 71 and a SCBA confidence/usage course. After lunch it was hose evolutions all afternoon until the end of the day when we conducted engine company evaluations. All the crews did well, Engine 72 under the direction of Dan Miner took best company of the weekend followed by Engine 79 with Cody Evans in charge.

Again, great job by all involved, we saw a lot of effort and heart all weekend. Send my apologies and thanks to the mom’s and wife’s that sent their Firefighters to training instead of home celebrating Mom’s Day.

Chief Lemon

 

Congratulation Firefighter/EMT’s Marco Aurilio and Joe Cox

Congratulation to Firefighter/EMT Marco Aurilio and Joe Cox on successfully completing their probationary year with Chelan Fire and Rescue. FF/EMT Marco Aurilio and Joe Cox have been promoted to Firefighter 3rd Class.

5th Wheel Camper Trailer Fire

Chelan Fire and Rescue responded to a 5th wheel camper trailer fire this morning (05/09/2018) around 0527 hour at 91 Apple Acres Road. Command 7, Engine 71 and Tender 71 responded to the incident. Engine 71 arrived on scene within 11 minutes 7 seconds of the 911 call and reported a fully involved 5th wheel camper trailer mostly burn to the ground with exposure to electrical service transformer located next to the trailer on the ground. Engine 71’s crew contained the fire to the trailer and used defensive fire tactics to extinguish the fire. Tender 71 was called in to provide water support. There was no indication of any occupants in or at the trailer at the time of the fire. Fire is under investigation by the Chelan County Fire Marshal Office.

Congratulations Firefighter/EMT’s Tyee Zacher and Steve Saugen on your promotion

Congratulation to Firefighter/EMT’s Tyee Zacher and Steve Saugen on successfully completing the probationary year with Chelan Fire and Rescue. FF/EMT’s Tyee Zacher and Steve Saugen have been promoted to Firefighter 3rd Class.

Firefighter/EMT Steve Saugen           Firefighter/EMT Tyee Zacher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations Firefighter Rains On Your Promotion

Congratulation to Firefighter/EMT Taylor Rain on successfully completing this probationary year with Chelan Fire and Rescue.

New Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Asher

Help us welcome new Assistant Fire Chief of Volunteer Services Brandon Asher to the teams of Chelan Fire and Rescue(Chelan), Chelan County Fire Protection District 8 (Entiat) and Douglas County Fire Protection District 4 (Orondo). Assistant Chief Asher will be working with the three departments in the areas of Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment, Volunteer Firefighter Training and Volunteer Firefighter Retention. The three departments’ in 2016 applied for a four year regional FEMA SAFER Grant in the amount of $947,534.00 to hire this position and enhance our volunteer programs and volunteer recruitment efforts. Assistant Chief Asher started his career as a volunteer with Chelan County Fire Protection District 8 (Entiat) back in 1993 where his father serves as the Fire Chief. Assistant Chief Asher was first hired by Moses Lake Fire Department in 1998 where he spent five years as a Firefighter/EMT before moving on to the Arlington Fire department where he served 15 years working his way up the ranks to Fire Captain. We are happy to have Assistant Chief Asher join our team(s) and we are happy to bring some of our Federal Tax funds back into our communities to fund this program for the next four year said Fire Chief Tim Lemon.

Occupant Rescued in Union Valley House Fire

On December 26, 2017 Chelan Fire and Rescue responded to Wheatland Lane in Union Valley for a residential structure fire. The reporting party was trapped in a back bedroom with his dog and was unable to self-exit the structure due to physical limitations. Chief 701, Rescue 71, Engines 73, 79, Tenders 71, 73, 74 with a total of 16 personnel responded along with two Chelan County Sheriff Deputies, an Ambulance for Lake Chelan EMS and a Chelan PUD unit.

 

The first units arrived in under 12 minutes and reported a working fire with flames visible. The two Chelan County Deputies rescued the occupant through a bedroom window as fire units were arriving and initiated a transitional fire attack, knocking down the outside fire then moving to the interior fire. The fire was brought under control within 24 minutes of arrival of the first fire engine. Damage was limited to a utility room, void space on the second floor behind a stub wall/attic space, the front of the structure and smoke heat and damage in the hallway and kitchen. Crews spent another 30 minutes overhauling the fire area to ensure all hot spots had been extinguished. Engine 79’s crew  provided fire watch for the next two hours after fire operations had been completed.

 

“This could have had a very bad out come if the home occupant had not smelled the smoke as he was getting ready to go to bed. The home occupant reported smelling smoke and when he opened his bedroom door the house was filled with smoke and the door felt hot. He closed his door and called 911 telling the dispatchers his location in the house and that he could not get out,” said Chief Lemon.

 

“The fire and rescue operation went very well,” said Chief Lemon. We had a strong response with everyone in the right spot, at the right time, doing the right thing. We had two of our Chelan County Deputies available in the area and able to respond and assist. Our initial response on-duty crew of four personnel were responding within minutes of being dispatched and our volunteer personnel from Satellite Station 73 in Union Valley had a strong response. “We had the best outcome we could have hoped for.” said Chief Lemon. The occupant and his dog were saved and the house can be repaired.  

Quick Response – Grandview Fire

Quick Response by Chelan Fire and Rescue Firefighters stops what could have been a disastrous fire in the Grandview.

Chelan Fire and Rescue was dispatched to a report of smoke in a 3rd floor room of the Grandview by the Lake at around 6:47 p.m. The first units were on scene within 5 minutes of the 911 call and two and half minutes of being notified by the dispatch center. The engine connected into the Fire Department Connection (FDC) that supports the stand pipe and fire sprinkler system while other members of the crew accessed the 3rd floor room which they found to be charged with smoke and heat. The crew located a working fire in the void space around the bath tub and reported fire coming from the ceiling area in the unit below them. A second crew was sent in to the 2nd floor unit and found fire in the ceiling area above the bathroom. Both crews were able to knock the fire down and then check for extension. No fire sprinklers were activated due to the fire being in the void spaces and not in the living space of the rooms. The fire was confined to the two units, but a 4th floor unit suffered smoke damage and the 1st floor unit had some water damage. Guests in Building C and D were displaced for about an hour during fire operations.

 

“The fire could have been much worse if we had not had a strong initial response from our on-duty crew followed by aggressive firefighting,” said Fire Chief Lemon. “I credit them with keeping this fire from causing any further damage. During the initial fire operations we were using all available resources that were on the scene to include our EMS folks and the Grandview staff to help ensure the buildings were completely evacuated,” said Fire Chief Lemon. The fire is under investigation.

Vehicle Fire Training

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