Budget Advisory Committee

Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) convened its Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) for the FY 2010-11 Annual Budget process in December 2009. PF&R was directed by the City of Portland’s Office of Management and Finance to factor a 1% ongoing and 1% one-time reduction into its FY 2010-11 budget request. On December 10, 2009, the BAC met in an all-day session. At that time, PF&R’s division heads provided members with an overview of their programs, proposed budget reduction packages, the need for some one-time decision packages, and the impact that budget reductions would have on each program.

The BAC, consisting of private citizens, internal and external stakeholders, labor, and management, discussed and subsequently ranked the proposed reductions. A follow-up meeting was held on January 15, 2010 to announce PF&R’s decision on the budget reduction packages based on the rankings and BAC feedback.

PF&R Submits FY 2010-11 Requested Budget

On February 1, 2010, Portland Fire submitted its requested budget for FY 2010-2011 to the Mayor’s Office. Click here to view Portland Fire’s requested budget for FY 2010-11 along with supporting documentation.

Ultimately, the Bureau proposes to close one fire station (a specific station has not been identified) and delay replacement of aging apparatus (engines and trucks). If adopted, these cuts will impact service and result in longer response times to emergencies. Delayed apparatus replacement will lead to a backlog of five engines and one truck and result in increased maintenance costs and the chance of more frequent break-downs. The budget also requests one-time funding for: retirement payouts, two limited-term administrative positions, rescues at Stations 11 and 19, a rescue boat, and continuing 12 dive team positions.

Budget Deliberations

In March 2010, the City Council began holding budget deliberations for each bureau.  Portland Fire had the opportunity on March 17, 2010 to present our FY 2010-11 requested budget to the City Council.  Using a presentation document as a reference, Fire Chief John Klum provided City Council with a brief overview of PF&R's requested budget.  Chief Klum explained significant financial issues, the process to develop the FY 2010-11 requested budget, the suggested measures taken to meet the 2% reduction target, and decision packages by program that included one-time and on-going reductions and one-time funding requests.  View the presentation document here. 

Next Steps

In late April 2010, Mayor Sam Adams will release proposed budget decisions for the upcoming fiscal year.  The following the month, the proposed budget document will be available and in June 2010, the City Council will vote to adopt the FY 2010-11 budget.  To get a more in depth look at the City of Portland’s budget process, click here.

Learn More

Explore the City of Portland's Community Budget Center webpage by clicking here and follow along with the budget development process.

April 16, 2010

FIRE CAMP 2010 | July 9, 10, & 11, 2010 

Building Young Women’s Confidence, Leadership, 

& Teamwork Skills in a Fire Service Environment

 Applications are NOW being accepted! 

Are you a young woman between the age of 16 and 19? Are you interested in gaining confidence and leadership skills?  Would you like to learn what firefighting is all about?

Portland Fire & Rescue, in partnership with other metro-area fire agencies, is offering a 3-day fire training camp specifically for young women ages 16 to 19.  The goals of Fire Camp are to instill confidence and build leadership and team skills in young women and to provide an opportunity to try firefighting through hands-on training.  Fire Camp will be taught and supervised by women firefighters from the Portland metro area.

Fire Camp 2010 will be held July 9, 10, and 11th, 2010 at Portland Fire & Rescue's Training & Safety Facility located at 4800 NE 122nd Avenue in Portland, Oregon. Fire Camp will be held at no cost to participants.  This will be a non-residential camp and participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from.

Over the course of three days, Fire Camp participants will be involved in:

• Orientation to Fire Camp: Tour of the facilities, bunker drill, basic overview of activities, expectations, discussion of fire and fire extinguishers, practical exercise with fire hoses and fire extinguishers
• Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA): Physical exercise drills, team building exercise, familiarization of SCBA, SCBA exercises, search and rescue techniques using the SCBA, teamwork exercises
• Interior Fire, High Angle Rescue, Confined Space: Physical exercise drills, team building exercise, watch an interior fire go through the stages of fire development, high angle rescue techniques, confined space rescue
• Vehicle Extrication and Medical Response: Physical exercise drills, team building exercise, visit a fire station, become familiar with different firefighting equipment and apparatus, vehicle extrication exercise, medical response and a ladder exercise
• Demonstrations: Scenario work using all the equipment, public demonstration showing the knowledge and skills acquired throughout Fire Camp

 Applications for Fire Camp 2010 will be accepted until June 1, 2010!

Get more information and submit an application @

http://www.portlandonline.com/fire/firecamp!

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April 19, 2010

The San Francisco, California Earthquake Fire

April 18, 1906

April 18^th marks the 104^th anniversary of one of the United States’ most major earthquakes and fire disasters.

At 5:12 am on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco, California and the cost of Northern California.  The earthquakes magnitude was estimated to be between 7.9 to as high as 8.25. Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and as far inland as central Nevada. 

The earthquake caused fires to start from overturned lamps and stoves and quickly destroyed San Francisco’s water mains.  This made it nearly impossible for firefighters to fight the blaze.  The fire lasted for three days until the decision was made to dynamite entire city blocks just to prevent the fire from spreading. 

The death toll from the earthquake and following fire was estimated to be above 3,000 and is the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California’s history.  The earthquake and fire also destroyed close to 300,000 structures.

How can you better prepare and be ready for a natural disaster such as an earthquake? Visit the Portland Office of Emergency Management’s (POEM) website at http://www.portlandonline.com/oem and learn more about: 

• Preparing for an earthquake
• Basic first aid tips
• How the City of Portland has planned in advance to safeguard life and property before, during, and after an earthquake

Citizens are also welcome to attend a free Brown Bag event today, April 19, 2010 from 12 noon to 1:00 pm, to learn how to sustain food, water, shelter and sanitation necessities for you and your family after a disaster.  The event will be held at the Portland Building located at 1120 SW 5^th in Portland, Oregon in the Second Floor Auditorium.

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April 19, 2010

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April 19, 2010

A few years ago, several local fire departments teamed up with the Multnomah County EMS Medical Director to further develop regional plans and acquire response resources capable of mitigating large scale natural disasters, hazardous material, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) events. 

With assistance from the Homeland Security Grant Program, six CBRNE Heavy Squads were purchased, equipped, and placed strategically around the region.  CBRNE Heavy Squads are large fire apparatus that carry specialized CBRNE response equipment.

On April 19th, 20th, and 21st, Portland Fire & Rescue’s Station 18 and Station 24 firefighters participated in a region-wide Spring 2010 CBRNE Heavy Squad Drill hosted by the Port of Portland.  Six Heavy Squad Teams were brought together primarily to review basic response concepts, medical care point deployment, and equipment familiarization.

Six heavy squads from around the region participated in this drill.  They included:

• Clackamas County Fire & Rescue Squad 5  
• Gresham Fire Department Squad 72
• Portland Airport Fire & Rescue Squad 881  
• Portland Fire & Rescue Squad 24
• Portland Fire & Rescue Squad 18
• Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Squad 66

While the six Heavy Squads have a similar cash of CBRNE response equipment, each squad carries a unique cash of equipment that is specific to a response specialty. For example, Squad 24 located in North Portland is specially equipped with gear and equipment to respond to marine emergencies.  Squad 72 located in Gresham has specialty equipment for confined space/rope rescue emergencies.  In the event of a major CBRNE incident in the region, these squads would be tasked to respond and work together to deploy resources such as emergency VHF communications, medical care points, CBRNE detection equipment, and emergency decontamination sites. 

During the three-day drill, the Heavy Squad teams worked alongside one another to familiarize themselves with newly acquired emergency medical equipment, set up fully functional medical care points (including tents, generators, lights, heaters, and medical equipment) and understand how to best utilize VHF Repeater communication equipment.

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April 22, 2010