Multiple Fire Agencies To Train In Oregon City Over Two Weeks

OREGON CITY, OR — If you see smoke coming from the old Blue Heron Paper Mill in downtown Oregon City next week, along with a large congregation of fire agencies, don't worry; it's all part of a large-scale commercial fire training exercise put on by Clackamas Fire District #1, according to district spokesman Steve Hoffeditz.

From Aug. 29 to Aug. 31, and again from Sept. 5 to Sept 7, six fire agencies from the Portland metro region will join Clackamas Fire crews in Oregon City to train under realistic conditions using smoke barrels. The trainings will begin at 9 a.m. each day and will likely bring in five to 10 fire trucks, Hoffeditz said. Residents and downtown Oregon City visitors will probably see light smoke throughout the two-week exercise.

"When we learned that the buildings at the former Blue Heron paper mill were available for training purposes, we jumped at the chance," Clackamas Fire District #1 Training Officer Ted Willard told Patch in an email. "We have built roof props (a fake roof that sits on top of the real roof) so that firefighters can practice vertical ventilation (the process of cutting a hole to let the heat and smoke out of the building). We have also built multiple smoke barrels to use throughout the abandoned mill structure, which will create a realistic training environment for firefighters to work in."

Officials encourage residents and business owners to keep windows closed during the training periods to prevent smoke from getting into homes and downtown businesses.

According to Hoffeditz, Clackamas Fire crews will be joined by Canby Fire District #62, Estacada Rural Fire District #69, Gladstone Fire, Lake Oswego Fire, Portland Fire and Rescue, and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. The Clackamas Fire Training Division will evaluate all firefighters for "skill proficiency and to address any identified challenges that may present themselves when dealing with large-scale, complex commercial occupancies," he said.

Additionally, Hoffeditz said, crews will be evaluated on how well they coordinate with other local fire departments.

"With all the effort that we have put into this training opportunity, we thought we'd share this experience with our mutual aid partners (our neighboring fire departments and districts)," Willard said. "Training with firefighters from other agencies makes us all better! When we all come together to train, we are able to learn from each other's experiences and knowledge. This also allows us to learn how our mutual aid partners operate and the result is that we all come away better from the experience.

"Another positive result of this training is the direct effect it will have on the citizens that we have sworn to protect and serve," he continued. "The fire service exists for our citizens when they need us. When we come together and train, we hope the message to our citizens is that we take our oath seriously. We are telling the citizen that we care about them and that we want to be trained and ready if they ever need our services."

Anyone with questions or concerns regarding the training exercise is encouraged to call Hoffeditz at 503-742-2693.

This post has been updated with comments from Clackamas Fire District #1 Training Officer Ted Willard.

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