SEQUIM FIREFIGHTERS BACK HOME

District chief congratulates men on successful mission

By Evan McLean
Staff writer

After two weeks of sleeping on a fire engine or in a tent, Clallam County’s firefighters are back home.

California fire officials released the eight Sequim-area firefighters Nov. 4, several days after many other Washington and Oregon firefighters were sent home.

“I was surprised California officials kept them around and assigned them to general calls after most of the wildland fires were contained,” Clallam County Fire District 3 Chief Steve Vogel said. “But they are trained and experienced in wildland and structure fires as well as being full paramedics, so there were a number of skills that community could use while recuperating from the fires.”

In the Oct. 31 Gazette, Clallam firefighters were reported to be in the El Cajon area, 100 miles outside of Los Angeles, mopping up after initial neighborhood blazes while looking for possible hot spots.

After Halloween, the local men were reassigned to the Palm Springs region to prepare for Santa Ana winds, expected to reignite then dwindling flames.

“Everyone is holding out great. We have been sleeping on the fire truck by choice,” Capt. Derrell Sharp said Oct. 31 in an e-mail to Vogel. “With everything around us constantly changing, I guess its just a little comforting knowing where you’ll lay your head at night.”

By the beginning of November, half the Washington firefighters already had been sent home. The remaining crews were stationed as first responders in strategically placed areas around Palm Springs in case fire reignited. But luckily, it didn’t.

“We returned to Station 93, where we have been running calls all day,” Sharp wrote from La Quinta, just outside of Palm Springs.

The firefighters responded to vehicle accident and structure fire calls from the station, much like they would while working in Clallam County, but different.

“What an experience,” Sharp said Nov. 2 about a hotel fire alarm. “It was about the same size as any of our hotels ? with a report of smoke and it was taken very seriously.”

Vogel said the firefighters had specific orders to take mental note of differences in California wildland fires as well as how other departments handle their activities. He said they will bring those experiences back to help other firefighters in the area.

“The more experience the better,” Vogel said. “A different environment can really bring out the best in your skills.”
Sharp said the California communities and fire departments were welcoming, but added he and the rest of the firefighters were excited to begin driving home Nov. 4.

“I’m glad that I sent them down there,” Vogel said. “I have heard from a lot of people locally about their concerns for their friends and families in California. The humanistic effects of those fires traveled all the way up here.”

The Clallam County District 3 firefighters were included in two Palm Springs television news reports, namely one from NBC affiliate KMIR Channel 6.