In the last two weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of talking to many different firefighters affiliated with or formerly affiliated with, the Northern Pendleton Fire District. I’ve learned a lot. There are factions within the department, where one side and the other don’t agree, procedurally or politically. Some of these individuals, I believe, would disagree on everything.
But there are two things they all agree on:
First, Falmouth’s hydrant issue is dangerous. It costs precious time, whether you’re running 1,000 feet of hose or changing variables mid-fire. Every minute lost is time that could mean the difference between containment and catastrophe. Second, Northern Pendleton Fire District is running out of money. They’ve already had to sell an engine. At times, they scramble just to maintain full-time shifts for ambulance runs. Another concerning detail? They’ve nearly abandoned one of their fire stations. From what I’ve heard, they simply don’t have the equipment or the volunteers to keep it active. This is a station that used to serve overflow and store extra equipment.
Station 2, located at 9408 Highway 10 in Foster, is currently unmanned and has no immediate coverage. A quick maps check shows it’s 19 minutes away from Station 1 in Butler… 20 minutes from Station 3 and if Falmouth were able to send help, that’s still a 16-minute drive. That entire part of the district now has poor coverage and when a fire breaks out, precious time is lost before anyone can even arrive.
And if money is the issue, something else they all pointed out:
Why is the new chief being paid nearly double what the last chief made? And why did they buy him a car? Seems like those two expenditures could have been better directed.
This is an unfolding story.
It’s all in the whispers.
Whisper One, Out.