By Robin Swain
As summer comes to an end, Rockaway Beach Fire & Rescue (RBFR), hasn’t slowed down a bit. Their training schedule is intense, and the call response is constant. In August, RBFR responded to thirty-six 911 calls, 26 medical calls, 11 burn complaints, and 27 campfires extinguished the next day. The department has already had 70 sanctioned trainings so far this year. RBFR received a grant for summer staffing. This allows for more beach patrol where they can educate people on beach safety, improve response time and of course, hand out Station 21 stickers to the kids. They spoke with over 300 people this summer, from people too deep in the water, to campfire safety.
The Rockaway Beach Fire & Rescue department is pleased to announce the promotion of Kale Hesse to the rank of Lieutenant and Fire Training Officer. Lt. Hesse will shadow Asst. Chief Vincent as he transitions towards retirement. Congratulations Lt. Hesse! (photo courtesy of RBFR)
In October Captain Grace will be attending a CPR Academy in Seattle, where he will learn the latest and greatest in CPR and bring that training back to the department and the community. The Fire Department has had 70 training courses this year, with more to come. EMR/EMT classes started on September 13th and will continue into June. The first level is EMR, which stands for Emergency Medical Responder. “They have the knowledge and skills to provide immediate lifesaving until advanced medical support and Paramedics arrive”.
RBFR will be holding an Open House on October 7th from 11am-3pm. Come on down for FOOD! FUN! and Fire Department Demonstrations! Meet your Fire Department and Staff. Emergency Preparedness will be doing a Go Bag demonstration. https://www.facebook.com/events/1071790300429052/?ti=ls
Rockaway Beach Emergency Preparedness has manylearning events for the community from October through December. The October events are as follows
Oct. 4, Go-bag preparedness 6pm at City Hall
Oct. 7, RBFD Open House in conjunction with Rockaway Beach Emergency Preparedness
Oct. 19, Tillamook Countywide Shake-out 10:19am. Chief Hesse informed the City Council and the community that the County is taking the annual earthquake drill to the next level -including a countywide tsunami evacuation drill. Sign up now to participate in the Tillamook County’s Shake Out/Move Drill – www.shakeout.org/oregon. Details to come.
