Chelan Fire and Rescue responded to an Automatic Fire Alarm this morning around 0614 hours at 510 North Cedar Street. Upon arrival, Rescue 71 and Engine 71 found the alarm system going off, a number of the residents from the complex were outside in the cold, but no fire. A broken water pipe in the ceiling was found to have set off the system. There was two to three inches of standing water throughout the first floor of the building. Crews worked quickly to shut down the water and get the residents back inside out of the cold. Further actions were taken to protect the electrical service room that had water pouring out of the ceiling. Chelan Fire and Rescue crews assisted the complex management with removing water from the first floor until private vendors can arrive.

Chelan Fire and Rescue Received 2nd place in the Washington State Fire Commissioners Association “Management Excellence Award Program” for Category B Class fire departments.

Chelan Fire and Rescue’s Leadership/Management team and fire department were recognized by the Washington State Fire Commissioner Association at their Fall Conference in Spokane October 26, 2018. Chelan Fire and Rescue participated in the “Management Excellence Award Program” in the Category B Class, against fire departments with budgets between $2,000,000 and $4,000,000 and received 2nd place in the State of Washington. The purpose of the Management Excellence Award Program is to provide a means of sharing information, innovative ideas and the variety of activities taking place throughout the state of Washington; to give recognition to those in the fire service that have demonstrated progressive achievement; to benefit all fire districts, regardless of size, location, budget, or number of personnel.

Chelan Fire and Rescue will not be retaining the six SAFER Grant Firefighter/EMT positions after funding runs out on December 31, 2018. This will reduce the career duty shift staff from twelve (four per shift) employees back to six firefighters (two per shift), which provides two career firefighter on-duty 24 hours a day 87% of the time. The balance of the time is when we anticipate one of the two member crew will be off duty on approved leave and/or hour reduction days (Kelly Days). This is the same shift staffing level the department had from 2009 through 2016.

While this is a significant reduction in staffing, CFR is working diligently to reconfigure the remaining staff and solicit additional support from our volunteer firefighters. CFR’s goal is to maintain four firefighters on duty as much of the time as possible. This staffing model is heavily dependent on volunteer firefighters. This will enable us to continue to meet the requirements of WAC 296-305 Firefighter Safety Standards for interior rescue and fire fighting. The initial on-duty response will continue to be backed up by home volunteer firefighters and off duty firefighters called back to work.

In 2016 CFR ran 885 calls, in 2017 it was 938 calls, a 5.7% increase over 2016.  So far in 2018 we are at 712 calls and anticipate ending the year around 1,012 calls, a 12.5% increase over 2016 call volume.

Chelan Fire and Rescue responded to a report of a structure fire with smoke and flames showing on Apple Acres Rd. Three occupants and two pets were able to escape prior to arrival but firefighters found one dog unresponsive while extinguishing the fire. Resuscitation efforts were unfortunately unsuccessful. Firefighters faced extreme temperatures and 30 mph wind gusts but were able to keep it from spreading to the nearby brush. The cause of the fire is under investigation.