Thanks for all you do!

Did you know:

The Roseburg Blast was the first declared conflagration. On August 7, 1959, at approximately 1:00 a.m., the Gerretsen Building Supply Company caught fire. Firefighters soon arrived at the building to extinguish the fire. A truck loaded with two tons of dynamite and four-and-a-half tons of the blasting agent nitro carbo nitrate had been parked near the building. The truck exploded at around 1:14 a.m., destroying buildings in an eight-block radius and severely damaging 30 more blocks.

A total of 14 lives were lost in the blast and fire, and there were 125 injuries. Damage was estimated at 10 to 12 million dollars. The Governor declared a conflagration, and the Office of State Fire Marshal helped to mobilize firefighting forces from as far away as Eugene to assist.

Members in the photo (left to right): Ron Nelson, Jim Turcke, Sean Schmidt, Rick Rohrbough, Graham Payer, Dale Mawhirter, Dennis Macey, Sean Fey, Dan Buchanan, Bryan Baumgartner, Erin Sawall, seated is Ryan Stidham. Not pictured is David Penicook, Kip Gray, Rich Martin, and Brian Fish.

Hazmat Team 08 began in 1989 as a joint team with Grants Pass, Ashland, and Jackson County Fire District #5. The team is now based in Medford.  

HM08 has responded to several types of incidents since their inception. There were a greater number of incidents when the team first started but this has decreased over the years as the hazardous materials industry has become more aware and responsible with their actions.

One of the team’s biggest challenges over the years has been the Siskiyou Summit where I-5 exits Oregon through the mountains. There have been many semi-tractor trailer incidents due to the steepness of the pass. Additionally, the railroad goes over the mountain in the same area and they have also had a few incidents. Some of the chemicals involved in incidents HM08 has responded to include: liquid oxygen, propane, anhydrous ammonia, chlorine, paint products, radiological, and many others.

HM08 has 18 positions, with 16 currently filled. They are working on rounding out the other team positions later this year if possible. Like most teams, they try their best to have a "rank-less" team functionally on incidents - not always successfully. HM08 currently has four firefighters, three engineers, five captains, three battalion chiefs, and the fire chief making up the team.

The team covers both Jackson and Josephine counties to their county lines, which means they have a wide variety of terrain to cover; mountains, waterways, and flat lands. HM08 also has the interstate highway and railroad traversing through both counties, generally running north and south. The Rogue River, runs east to west eventually ending in the ocean. These challenges can cause issues related to communications and access, especially in the winter months.

Most of HM08’s training centers around completing task book refreshers. The team has developed a very good relationship with the Linde Corporation (they purifiy several types of hazardous gases) and their private response team. HM08 works with Linde on conducting annual drills.

One of their most recent and challenging incidents wasn’t necessarily dealing with hazardous material but with the challenge in dealing with an impending storm during the incident. The incident involved a roll over semi-tractor trailer on I-5. The truck was hauling around 40,000 pounds of paint and paint products in one gallon, five gallon, and 55 gallon containers. Many of them were leaking or covered with product from other containers.

A heavy storm was predicted to hit the area of the incident within 24 hours and the truck had come to rest 15 feet away from a large culvert with water running through it and under the freeway. Paint product was already leaking from the trailer and running into the drain.

Since there was a flammable atmosphere in the trailer, team members needed to wear SCBA packs to remove the products. The inside of the trailer was covered with paint and paint products making the removal quite slippery and challenging.

According to Medford Fire Chief Brian Fish, "Looking back on the incident, if the weather was not going to be a factor, the removal would not have been an immediate issue and could have waited. The removal of product along with the tapping and transfer of fuel took several hours to complete and was very taxing for the team members."

"The biggest lesson learned from this event is to actively monitor personnel during extended events to ensure their safety and physical well-being. Fortunately there were no injuries to personnel."

HM08 Southern Oregon serves the following fire departments:

If your department is interested in receiving outreach from HM08, contact Fire Chief [email protected]

Fireworks Legal fireworks may only be purchased from Oregon-permitted fireworks retailers and stands. Oregon law allows retail permit holders to sell the following types of fireworks to the general public.

• Those which produce only smoke, sparks or fire, and which do not explode, eject balls of fire, fly into the air, or travel more than 6 feet horizontally and 12 inches vertically from the point of ignition. (See ORS 480.127 for additional information on types of fireworks allowed for sale to the public.)
• This means bottle rockets, Roman candles, and firecrackers are illegal under Oregon state law. Fireworks are also prohibited on all state beaches, in parks, and in campgrounds.

  For more information on retail sales of fireworks visit the OSFM website at https://www.oregon.gov/osp/SFM/pages/licensing_fireworks_retail.aspx

Oregon Revised Statute 480.111-480.165 grants authority to specific entities to conduct certain activities. Under these Oregon Revised Statutes, the OSFM is mandated to issue fireworks permits for the use of Pest Control (Agricultural) fireworks, the display of non-consumer fireworks, and the sale of both display and consumer fireworks. The OSFM Regulatory Services Unit also provides information regarding the fireworks statutes and rules; helps facilitate assistance from OSP when appropriate; provides guidance and information to local law enforcement agencies regarding seizure, storage, and pick up of fireworks; and helps facilitate the destruction of seized fireworks. The fireworks statutes provide for local authorities to control fireworks in their communities.

• ORS 480.140 places the supervision of fireworks displays under the local fire and police agency or in unprotected areas, the county court.
• ORS 480.160 has provisions for local regulation of fireworks.
• OAR 837-012-0860 (9-11) requires displays to be postponed or discontinued by the local authority if there are adverse conditions, lack of crowd control, or adverse weather conditions that affect safety recognized by the local fire or law enforcement authority.
• ORS 480.120(2) requires law enforcement agencies of the state, county, or municipality to enforce the provisions of ORS 480.111-480.165.

Below is a matrix that summarizes the roles of OSFM and local authorities relating to the retail sales of consumer fireworks, fireworks displays, and enforcement activities.

A majority of the 107 OSFM Incident Management Team members attended the annual training conference in Hood River April 10-12.

The session kicked off with a tabletop exercise focusing on a team response to a crude oil derailment. The teams focused on information sharing and the exercise was an excellent way to begin thinking about how that type of all-hazards response might differ from the standard wildland urban interface fire to which the teams generally deploy.

Three team members were recognized for their work on the OSFM Structural Protection Plan, which is available online. The document, made public and implemented prior to the 2016 season, was the result of many hours of work by Chris Barney (Portland Fire), Brent Goold (Corvallis Fire), and Alex Haven (TVF&R) – pictured above, left to right with Operations Chief Andy Louden (Corvallis Fire) and Incident Commanders Scott Magers (Hillsboro F&R) and Ian Yocum (TVF&R).

Team members met with their individual teams and also worked with others in their functional positions to discuss procedures, policies, and design a 'program of work' for the coming year.

The conference culminated in a presentation about the upcoming fire season by John Saltenberger with the Northwest Coordination Center.

OSFM wants to extend our appreciation to all of the IMT members and the departments who support their involvement in the program. 

The Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal will open up the application process for the Smoke Alarm Installation Program on June 1, 2017. The purpose of the program is to provide smoke alarms to Oregon fire agencies to install in residences that are unprotected. Smoke alarm distribution to Oregon fire agencies will begin in July 2017.

Due to changes with the program, training is required for all agencies who choose to participate. The training is available via webinar. If you are interested in attending the training, please see the attached flier for available dates and registration information.

Register for the May 23, 2017 training here.

Register for the May 31, 2017 training here.

For questions, contact [email protected] or 503-934-8228.  

The Annual Fire Defense Board Drill will occur Tuesday, May 16, 2017. Fire Defense Board Chiefs will receive a call from our Agency Operations Center asking for a specific set of resources. The intent of this drill is to exercise our AOC personnel and technology, and to allow Fire Defense Board Chiefs an opportunity to walk through the process of responding to a resource request.

The resources requested are, by design, those which are most readily available in the state. This should simplify the drill request process and encourage greater participation. Fire Defense Board Chiefs who would like to reacquaint themselves with the process can find all applicable forms and information in the Oregon Fire Service Mobilization Plan.

Printed copies of the 2017 Oregon Fire Service Mobilization Plan are now available! Contact your local Deputy State Fire Marshal or [email protected] to request copies. 

The mobilization plan is also available online .  

As always, you can find many mobilization documents online and/or you can request printed copies of forms through the OSFM.

Registration is now open for the Oregon Volunteer Firefighter Association Conference June 14-17, 2017 at the Best Western Boulder Falls Inn & Conference Center in Lebanon, Oregon.

This is the 59th annual training conference sponsored by the OVFA and co-hosted this year by Lebanon Fire and Scio RFD. Scholarship opportunities are available.

The OVFA is excited to introduce a new format for conference classes. Based on membership requests, the classes are designed around fire certification and EMS recertification hours. The goal on the fire training is to help complete certification over several conferences. These certifications are divided into several tracks including FFII, Apparatus Operator, and Company Officer.

Visit the OVFA conference webpage for complete conference information, registration, and scholarship application.

Class: NFA F0365 - Best Practices in Community Risk Reduction

Dates: June 7-8, 2017

Time: 0800-1700

Location: 4190 Aumsville Hwy SE, Salem, OR 97301

Cost: Free

Registration Deadline: May 31, 2017  

Course Description: This two-day course demonstrates to students nationally recognized principles that, when used appropriately, can lead to community risk-reduction programs that can measure success in local communities. This course will give students the opportunity to explore programs from communities across the United States that have been showcased at Vision 20/20 symposiums. These programs demonstrate what nationally recognized organizations identify as examples of "best practices" in community risk reduction. At the end of the course, students will be evaluated through a 25-question multiple-choice examination. A final grade will be provided to each student. The minimum score needed to pass is 70.  

**There is a pre-course assignment that should take about one hour to complete, access it online .  Course syllabus is online . 

Prerequisites: None

Register online here. 

If you experience and difficulty with the form or the registration process, please contact Rebecca Carroll at: 503-378-2408 or [email protected]