Medical Lake Fire Department issues 2010 year-end report

By RYAN LANCASTER

Staff Reporter

A year-end report issued by Medical Lake Fire Chief Jeff Estes last week says repairs made to gear, tools and vehicles over the past few years have taken care of most departmental needs.

“Our hope all along has been to provide the department with quality tools and equipment designed for the fire service that will outlast most of us on the department,” Estes said in the report.

Fire apparatus is now up to speed with state equipment requirements, EMS units are fully fitted with all necessary gear and, for the first time ever, department members have uniforms and cold weather clothing that meets specifications of the National Fire Protection Association, the report says.

The department's main firefighting fleet includes two pumper engines, an attack engine, a rescue pumper and a smaller pumping unit used for wildland fires, all of which are listed in “good” to “excellent” condition. An inflatable raft with outboard engine, used for water rescue, and two pickups used for incident command and EMS calls are also deemed to be in excellent shape.

The benefit of having sufficient equipment is backed up by a growing volunteer force. The department now has a roster of 19 firefighters, six officers and a physician who collectively worked 24,613 hours in 2010. MLFD's newest firefighter, William Allen, was introduced to the Medical Lake City Council last week and Estes said another volunteer is finishing up paperwork now.

“I think numbers are higher than they have been probably in the last couple of years,” Estes told the council. “Hopefully that will continue to be on the rise…we're starting to run out of places to hang gear (in the fire station), which is a good thing.”

The chief's report noted that the implementation of a points system, which better compensates firefighters for their time, has already attracted a few new members and had a positive effect on morale since being introduced early this year.

Dispatch statistics reveal that MLFD responded to a total of 511 emergency calls in 2010, which is 36 less than the previous year. EMS incidents accounted for 393 of these, with alarm responses (54), structure fires (34), brush fires (7) and miscellaneous calls making up the remainder.

Ryan Lancaster can be reached at [email protected].