Six Central Oregon fire departments among 76 to receive new engines, tenders from $25 million state program

(Update: Adding video, comments from two fire chief's )

CLOVERDALE, Ore (KTVZ) – Six Central Oregon fire agencies are preparing to get some new and much-needed equipment to help tackle the upcoming wildfire season.

The departments will get either new engines or water tenders from a $25 million state program. This year's grant program will help 76 local fire service agencies statewide. Fire agencies get a Type 3 or Type 6 engine, or a water tender.

Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire District Chief Roger Johnson said Wednesday he expects the engine to roll into town by next year.

The fire district will be getting a Type 3 engine, used to tackle brush and house fires.

"It's replacing an out-of-date vehicle that's reached its end of life, while it's adding capacity," Johnson said.

The current Type 3 engine at the station is only a two-wheel drive, while the new one will be four-wheel.

The cloverdale fire district will get a new water tender. The one they have now used to be a cement mixer. 

Thad Olsen, Cloverdale RDPD's fire chief said, "We call them tactical tenders that are specifically designed to help fighting brushfires and provide more water and resources to supplement the firefighting force of the type three and type six." 

"For us, being able to get a vehicle out that to helps other agencies, that doesn't deplete the resources that we have for our own community, is vital," Olsen added.

Local fire agencies were eligible to apply. A selection committee comprised of members from the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association, Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association, and Oregon State Fire Fighters Council reviewed applications. 

Applicants were selected based on four principles: 

• Assuring statewide distribution and allocation based on local initial attack, regional mutual aid, and conflagration needs.
• Necessary infrastructure to maintain and protect the apparatus long-term.
• Recent apparatus awards from the Legislature and other legislative funding sources such as wildland-urban interface and omnibus legislation.  
• The capacity to staff newly awarded apparatus.

The Central Oregon recipients include:

Type 3
Crooked River Ranch RFPD
Jefferson County RFPD 1
Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD

Type 6
Bend Fire & Rescue

Tender
Cloverdale RFPD
La Pine RFPD

“This investment in the Oregon fire service is critical as the state modernizes equipment and increases firefighting capacity to respond to incidents in our communities,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. “Over the last three decades, more communities have been impacted by wildfire. This investment is a major step forward in achieving our mission to protect people, property, and the environment from fire and hazardous materials.”

Deschutes County Fire Defense Board Chief Roger Johnson said, “These investments in Central Oregon will not only improve local response capabilities, but will also add capacity to the statewide Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System (OFMAS).” 

The OFMAS system is made up of the more than 300 local fire departments in the state which are mobilized under the Emergency Conflagration Act. Central Oregon fire departments actively participate in the OFMAS program and also receive resources through the program for significant wildfires in the region.  Local agencies aren’t likely to see the new vehicles until the spring of 2024 due to the extended build time for the vehicles.  The vehicles will arrive fully equipped with the equipment necessary to respond to wildland fire incidents.

The OSFM relies on the Oregon Fire Mutual Aid System when responding to wildfires or other disasters that could impact communities. More than 300 local fire service agencies make up the system across Oregon. These firefighters and equipment are mobilized under the Emergency Conflagration Act, pre-positioning, or immediate response assignments. OFMAS is used when a fire or disaster exceeds the local fire service agency’s capacity. 

The OSFM Engine Program is a part of the agency’s Response Ready Oregon initiative, launched in 2021. The initiative is part of a multi-pronged approach to prepare, prevent, and respond to wildfires. The goal of Response Ready Oregon is to attack fires while they are small and keep them away from communities. 

Award recipients will enter into a contract with the OSFM to support OFMAS mobilizations, boosting local, regional, and state response. This investment into the Oregon fire service will bring more resources, and the right resources, to a stretched system.

In January 2023, contracts were awarded to Rosenbauer to build the water tenders and Type 3 engines. Skeeter was awarded the contract to build the Type 6 engines. The OSFM anticipates deliveries to begin in 2023, through the first two quarters of 2024. 

The OSFM Engine Program funding was made possible through Senate Bill 762, Oregon’s wildfire omnibus bill passed in 2021. 

A list of recipients can be found here: OSFM Engine Program.