Pay It Forward: Local fire prevention cooperative honored for community education

(KTVZ) -- The Central Oregon Fire Prevention Cooperative received a $500 Pay It Forward award from KTVZ, Dutch Bros Coffee and Mid Oregon Credit Union for its fire safety outreach and education efforts across the region.

The cooperative acts as a coordinating organization that combines nearly every local fire agency in Central Oregon. Its primary focus is delivering community education and wildfire prevention resources for both children and adults.

For children, the cooperative manages the “Firebusters” program, which features visits from Sparky the Fire Dog and Smokey Bear. For adults, the organization provides wildfire home protection strategies and educational resources designed to safeguard properties and communities.

Heather Miller serves as the chair of the Central Oregon Fire Prevention Cooperative. She explained that community members often follow up years later to share how the program influenced their safety habits and emergency responses.

“There are times where they'll find us later and let us know how it impacted them and the changes that they made, maybe around their house or their behaviors, things like that,” Miller said. “Or maybe we've had a kiddo that we've taught about calling 911 for an emergency and then they were able to do that and help somebody. And so we did a follow up with them.”

You can nominate an individual or group on our website, Pay it Forward.