East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts Newsletter Page 1

East Fork Fire &
Paramedic
Districts

January 2010
Volume 8, Issue 1

From the Chief’s Desk ...

2010 is underway and our mission continues. After at least a decade of writing an article for our monthly newsletter, I continue to want to reserve the first article of the year to a bit of gazing into the “crystal ball.” I can tell you that the number one question I seem to have asked at this time is “What will the next year bring”? I can tell you that in prior years, it was a bit easier to “predict” the future than it is now. Why might that be? Well, the most obvious answer is the economy. We are also in the midst of a continuing change in our own organizational demographic. We find ourselves “experimenting” with several new ways of doing business as well; some because we have to and others because it simply might be worth a try.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
From the Chief’s Desk Tognoli’s Tutelage Prevention Perspectives Training Leadership Training	1 2 3 4 7

We also have those external influences of a political nature both in terms of governance and new state and federal mandates or requirements. So, for those reasons, you can see why the “crystal ball” that I gaze into can become anything but crystal. Now with that bit of a disclaimer, I will attempt to offer some insight into what we might see in 2010.

First and foremost, the community expectation with regard to our services will continue to be high. We will also see more of a desire for community involvement in community response to emergencies and preparation, mostly in the area of emergency management.

2010 will also see the organization making the replacement of our SCBA units a top priority. Unlike our past replacement program, whereby we were able to purchase new units over a period of several years, we will have to look at the entire replacement at the one time. The replacement of SCBAs has the potential of being one of the largest single purchases, cost wise, that the Districts have made, short of building a new station.

It is highly unlikely that we will be adding any new personnel. The economic climate is going to be just too much of a challenge to consider new positions, beyond some type of assistance with a SAFER grant. We will be looking at bringing on the same compliment of seasonal wildland firefighters, however.

Projects and new apparatus will also be in limbo. We will receive a new Type I Engine (E-4) and a new ambulance, both purchased with funds in the current budget or with grant funding. We will be moving forward with defibrillator/monitor replacement, but not at a very fast pace. We will also start replacing our large diameter hose. Even with replacing two or three engine’s worth of LDH a year, we are still looking at a four to five year project. If you can believe it, there will be no major construction projects in the year ahead. This will be the first time in several years that we will not be either building a new station or conducting a major remodel of another.

In the area of technology, I do hope to see some new advances and improvements which will allow for improved and certainly more efficient communication within the organization. We should see some improvement in our communications system in general. The County has made some very positive changes in this area.

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