First and foremost, Happy Holidays, by the time you read this I can hope that you all had the best thanksgiving spent around the table with family and friends, and that you are now preparing to celebrate the joys of Christmas! This is a time of year to be thankful, to look back and reflect on the year, the ups and downs, the accomplishments, and begin to think about what the new year will look like. I want to say that I am thankful for the community support that we have received, for the major donations the district has been awarded, and for the wins we have had as a team. This year has not come without its pitfalls and struggles, but what I can say when I look back over the last 10 months, is that we have come together, we continue to respond to the calls for assistance, and the team has bonded into much more than I could have pictured when I was asked to join this district back in February 2024. We have had the opportunity to surplus some equipment that was no longer suitable to serve the district. We have added 3 replacement staff vehicles, 1 pumper tender (grant project) and 1 type 3 Wildland Urban Interface Apparatus that will have the ability to provide services to this community for many years. The receipt of the Pumper Tender wraps up a multiyear grant project started by Chief Mike Wammack. The district was able to reopen station 3 and is feverishly working to find solutions to fully open Station Two. Between September and November, the District received multiple donations including “Mama Ang”, 1 pickup truck, and thousands of dollars in donations from Warn Industries, DECKED, Rough County, and Dailey’s Tire and Auto totaling a cash value of somewhere near $70,000 dollars all utilized to ensure that we are providing the best service we can to our community.

As 2025 rapidly approaches we will begin to look towards the fiscal year end in July, as we begin to forecast our 2025-2026 budget starting in March and April. The district is actively seeking a Seismic Rehabilitation Grant project for Station 1, the current district headquarters, that if awarded could be as much as 2.5 million dollars to ensure that our main station can withstand a Cascadia size earthquake event, remaining a pillar to support the community during such an emergency. We have plans to continue to position ourselves to better respond to the community needs, to increase the number of volunteers, and get ourselves even more actively engaged in community events! Our training will continue to evolve, we will continue to pursue our goal of being an aggressive interior firefighting agency, because at the end of the day that is what you deserve. We plan on having station 3 fully complemented with apparatus by Spring of 2025 to include 1 Fire engine, 1 Water Tender, and 1 Brush fire apparatus, Station 2 and 3 will remain fully complemented as they are now. For those of you that listen to the scanner, you may hear some new and unfamiliar “Call Signs” on the Radio. Effective December 1st, 2024, we have made some changes to our Chief officer numbering to more effectively align with national standards. 3401 (fire chief) will be C34, 3402 (assistant chief) will be C341 and 3403 (training chief) will be C342. We have also implemented a new call sign Battalion 34 or BC34. This unit number will be utilized as the new on duty officer responsible for operations of the district. Our officer group has scheduled days of being “on duty” for the month to ensure seamless communication for our members and for our dispatch team! I look forward to the opportunity to update you all again in the spring of 2025, and please take time to enjoy your family and friends and get that reset before 2025 hits us. As always, we will be here if you need us!

Sincerely,

Rob Davis

Fire Chief

Elsie-Vinemaple RFPD