‘Very positive feedback’: Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District issues extinguishers to houseless, part of new program

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A recent small fire at a homeless camp in Sisters was stopped with a fire extinguisher given free to a camper by the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District.

"In the spring of this year, we had an interview for a fire chief for a fire district," Steven Lord, fire risk EMT in community risk management said Wednesday. "In that interview process, we found one of our candidates brought up the fact that, why didn't we have a program that did something for the houseless population in our community?"

The comment inspired the start of the dispersed camping fire prevention effort.

The fire district set aside $1,500 for the project and partnered with The Oregon Department of Forestry and the State Fire Marshal's Office. 

Fire Marshal Jeff Puller said, "We wanted to be able to have the ability for our campers to try to extinguish the fire before the fire department gets there, keeping it small."

At the end of July, the fire district spent two days handing out the small fire extinguishers.

Carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors for trailers or tents were also provided. The fire district visited about 85 camps on BLM and ODF land surrounding the Sisters area.

Lord said, "Most of them had smoke detectors. Not a lot of them had CO detectors, and a lot of them had extinguishers that may have been expired or just old."

The fire district handed out about 60 carbon monoxide detectors and 50 fire extinguishers to the homeless.

Puller said, "It was very positive feedback we got back from the patrons. We ensured that they did have them, and they knew how to use them properly."

The fire district says it's important to have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, car, and garage. You should also make sure family members know how to use one.