In the Moment

The Santa Clara Volunteer Department handles a large portion of the forest fires in the Eugene area and deal with many forest conservation issues.

Madison Tibbetts, a volunteer firefighter at the Santa Clara Rural Fire Protection District Station 1 pulls the stations newest truck out of the garage on a sunny October morning. At the start of every week, the station staff does a manual inspection of the trucks to make sure that everything is running properly. This process is meant to prevent any issues that the trucks might have while out on a call.

Madison Tibbetts straps on her fire safety helmet complete with a set of goggles. These helmets are used specifically when the station goes on calls related to forest fires. They receive about 2-3 calls a month from people whose houses are being damaged by nearby forest fires in the Eugene area.

Madison Tibbetts runs a test on the fire hoses connected to the truck. These hoses are vital to the containment of forest fires. The test Madison is preforming ensures that they will not malfunction when the firefighters need to use them.

Three firefighter uniforms hanging on the wall. Everything the firefighters need when they go out on calls is included in this kit. Each firefighter has their own personal uniform and labeled helmet.

Madison Tibbetts and the fire chief of Santa Clara Rural Fire Protection District Station 1, Randal Wood board the fire truck to prepare the truck for a call. Randal goes over the Equipment and Safety Checklist with Madison because she is a newer member of the station staff.

 

By: Harry Wohl