SAFER Helps Keep Oregon Communities Safe

July 22, 2009 – U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Oregon visited Clackamas, OR Local 1159 and Fire District Engine/Boat 8 to evaluate the effects of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program on the fire service in Oregon.

Merkley was met by Operations Chief Jonathan Smith and Local 1159 President Karl Koenig, touring the Clackamas Fire District 1 Training Center and Engine/Boat 8 quarters. The SAFER grant was used to hire 12 additional fire fighters, increasing staffing for four companies to four per apparatus. The four companies -- Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 8 and Truck 15 -- participated in the tour.

During the tour, Koenig stressed the importance of crew strength in fire ground operations, safety and response coverage, explaining that the SAFER program increases fire ground effectiveness by 70 percent for only a 25 percent increase in cost. The SAFER grant program has also had a positive effect on crew safety and accountability, he noted, and reduces the time it takes to assemble the minimum numbers of fire fighters on a scene before commencing interior attack, therefore lessening the impact of fire by keeping the fire in check or quickly extinguishing it.

The SAFER grant program has allowed the Clackamas Fire Department to increase staffing and improve service during the toughest economic times the state has experienced since the early 1980s. "Without this program, these living wage jobs are not a reality," says Koenig