This article originally appeared in The News Review on nrt.com. Riddle Fire Protection District is a volunteer fire department in Douglas County, Oregon. In addition to fires, the crews respond to medical emergencies, vehicle accidents, rescue call and incidents involving hazardous materials. Photo credit: Riddle Fire Protection District
The Riddle Fire Protection District was awarded funding through the Oregon State Fire Marshal, made possible through Senate Bill 762, to assist in mitigating wildfire risk in rural parts of Riddle’s fire district.
This funding will make it possible for Riddle fire to conduct what is called “pre-incident triage” reporting on homes within their district, according to the Riddle Fire Protection District.
“This pilot project will give us the ability to quickly pull crucial data for a specific area in the event of an emerging wildfire. Having the data easily accessible will give us the ability to direct resources to a specific area and give them a brief understanding of the houses in that area,” said Riddle Fire Protection District Chief Devin Loughridge.
The pre-incident triage portion of the grant is a kind of database that allows Riddle’s firefighters to evaluate each house and determine crucial factors to take into account when responding to emergencies.
These factors include how long a driveway might be or how narrow, what kind of hazards are around a property and if there is a water source on or near the property. The database will contain the topography of a property.
“The pre-incident triage reporting portion of this project will allow RFPD to visit all homes, commercial buildings, critical infrastructure sites and other large non-residential building located in the rural portions of their fire district to document wildfire risks that are specific to individual structures,” said Loughridge.
According to Loughridge, this project is broken up into four stages: pre-fire triage, community engagement, project work and response.
Photo: Mock up of address signs. Credit: Devin Loughridge
“I am most excited about the grant as a whole. The addressing portion is amazing and will be a tremendous help to finding the correct address in a timely fashion,” said Loughridge. “I’m also excited about getting out in the community and engaging with them, while being able to spread fire prevention and defensible space materials, as well as trying to find solutions to pre plan in the event of a wildfire in our fire district.”
Additionally the project will allow Riddle’s firefighters and staff to engage with the local community and help identify future mitigation needs, according to Riddle fire.
Drew Winkelmaier is a reporter for The News-Review. He can be reached at dwinkelmaier@nrtoday.com.>