By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
SEAL ROCK – Seal Rock Fire Department Chief Will Ewing has an equipment shortage on his hands that he hopes district taxpayers will help resolve.
The district’s current level of funding does not allow for the replacement of essential equipment or the personal protective gear needed to not only protect firefighters, Ewing said, but to also provide them with the tools needed to handle emergencies.
To address the need, the Seal Rock Fire District is asking voters to approve a new 25 cent, five-year levy in the Nov. 5 general election.
Seal Rock has a permanent tax base of 46 cents per $1,000 assessed property value and existing levies of 60 cents per $1,000 for a total of $1.06. That means the owner of property assessed at $250,000 currently pays $265 a year for fire services. If approved, the new 25 cent per $1,000 levy would add $62.50 to the yearly tax bill of someone’s property assessed at $250,000.
The Lincoln County clerk mailed ballots to 2,486 registered voters in the district. Voters can either mail their ballot – postage is pre-paid – by 5 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 5 or drop them in the special ballot collection box at seven city halls around the county or the county courthouse in Newport by 8 p.m. Nov. 5.
“We are limping along at this point with the revenue that we have,” Ewing said. “We are being very conservative. Getting a few helmets, getting a few gloves, a few turnouts every year for the past three years but we’re not able to sustain that.”
Ewing estimates the fire district, which covers 16.5 square-miles from Bayshore to Ona Beach and five miles inland on North Bayview and North Beaver Creek roads, has more than 6,000 residents.
Seal Rock Fire District was established in 1962. The main station in Seal Rock was built in 1968 and equipped with two fire trucks. The Bayshore station was constructed in 1980 primarily by fire department volunteers. The district has four fire engines including one leased from East Lincoln County Fire and Rescue while they build a new station, a water tender, two brush trucks that serve as rescues and two squad vehicles.
The district has an annual operating budget of $669,000, three full-time paid positions and 33 volunteers. One of the full-time positions is held by a permanent firefighter and the district pays six to seven “floater” firefighters from Toldeo and Yamhill or Benton counties to fill 48-hour shifts. Seal Rock responded to 236 alarms during the four months ending Sept. 30.
Even volunteers cost money
Ewing cites both the district’s success in recruiting volunteers as well as the evolving demands on firefighters as the primary reasons more money is needed.
“When the fire service was formed a long time ago we just did fire,” Ewing said. “But over the years it’s had to increase its capabilities to become more of a social service. People used to have family around to help, but now we find ourselves doing more things like lift assistance. And there have been changes in equipment needs for firefighting.”
To enter a burning building a firefighter is required to have protective equipment that includes boots, pants, bunker jackets, suspenders, hoods, helmets, gloves and breathing apparatus.
“And all that stuff is expendable,” Ewing said because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Fire Protection Association requires that gear be replaced every 10 years for structural firefighting.
And then there is the huge jump in volunteerism, which comes with a price.
“In November of 2021 I had no volunteers,” Ewing said. “And now I have 33. So we’ve had an exponential explosion of volunteers. Currently the ones who don’t want to go inside are wearing the older turnouts that have expired. But I don’t want anyone wearing any expired turnouts because you never know when you are going to face that problem.”
The turnouts can be replaced a little bit at a time because they don’t expire at the same time, Ewing said, but costly breathing apparatus must be replaced all at once. The district currently has 25 that need to be replaced. The district has a year-to-year proposed purchase list on its website.
If the levy passes, the district will also purchase over the next five years a list of items that include everything from extrication equipment and heart monitors to ladders, hoses, radios and chainsaws.
“I would also like to be much better prepared for possible disasters by preparing four community caches, Conex containers filled with emergency supplies that include food and water and maybe some shelter,” Ewing said.
The increase in revenue would allow the district to “catch up and get ahead of the game,” he said. “And then once we are ahead, I think it will be much easier for us to maintain a solid profile with the personal protective gear we are looking for.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com