The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Have you ever been interested in supporting your community by being involved with emergency services? Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District is currently accepting applications for our upcoming Spring Volunteer Firefighter Academy. Specifically, our fire stations in the Camp Sherman and Whychus Canyon Estates are actively looking for volunteers who are passionate about giving back and serving their communities.

The 11-week academy begins Monday, April 22, and it will host a combination of new volunteers for Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection, as well as Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District. The academy will focus on hands-on training in multiple skills such as fire suppression, deploying ground ladders, hose deployment, structural search and rescue, property conservation/overhaul, vehicle extrication, ropes and knots, and many other integral skills that our firefighters need to understand. The academy also will focus on firefighter knowledge and skills that include topics such as firefighter safety, communications, building construction, hazmat awareness/operations, and fire dynamics.

The fire districts note that they have an exceptional cadre that has been leading academies for yearss, including a combination of active volunteer firefighters, as well as support from the career staff at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire and Cloverdale Fire Districts.

The academy is taught in a hybrid fashion, allowing for online learning and reading throughout the week. The academy meets twice a week on Monday and Thursday evenings for hands-on practice covering the material assigned over the previous week. The academy includes five, day-long “Big Saturday” drills, which give them a longer allotted time to practice their skills and to put the knowledge they have learned into scenario-type training and practice.

Once recruits have completed the academy and earned their Firefighter 1 certification, they can begin responding to emergency calls with the department, as well as scheduling volunteer shifts to help with daily staffing.

There are multiple other certifications and training offered to our volunteers during their tenure with the District that include driving and operating fire engines, ambulances, and wildland firefighting trucks, CPR and first aid training, wildland firefighting qualifications, and many others.

For more information contact Volunteer Coordinator Captain Jeff Liming at 541-549-0771.