Program has fire crews breathing easier.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

VENETA - The volunteer fire department in Malden, Wash., is thankful for this place.

After all, it was in Veneta that fire Chief Dan Harwood found what he was looking for: a passel of self-contained breathing apparatuses - better known in firefighting lingo as SCBAs.

Firefighters in Malden, a town of just 215 about 40 miles south of Spokane, have not been able to enter a burning structure without the essential equipment. After searching the Northwest, Harwood was finally referred to Veneta-based Lane County Fire District No. 1.

Fire departments often deem equipment as surplus after they upgrade, then donate the equipment to departments in need, said Marty Nelson, Lane District No. 1's fire chief. It's a common practice, he said.

Harwood drove into Veneta last week in a rented pickup truck and came away with 12 used SCBAs, and other assorted firefighting gear that the Lane County district station no longer needs.

The Malden department had only one SCBA, but it was outdated and unsafe, Harwood said. Brand-new SCBAs typically cost at least $1,000, Harwood said.

"It's embarrassing not to have equipment for your department," Harwood said.

There hasn't been a structure fire in Malden for five or six years, Harwood said. But at least the department won't have to call in the fire department in Rosalia - a town of about 650 residents - just a few miles to the east, as backup.

The Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association created an "equipment surplus" program in the mid-1990s, said Dave Lapof, a volunteer firefighter with the Keizer Fire Department and the association's president. A storage facility behind the Keizer department holds fire equipment donated from all over the state, from hoses to helmets. For example, the Lowell Fire Department just donated 12 SCBAs, which were then shipped to Green Acres on the Oregon Coast.

Sometimes, equipment is found by word of mouth. That's what happened when Harwood, in his quest for SCBAs, was referred to the Dallas Fire Department, which had already donated its SCBAs. Dallas referred Harwood to Veneta and he found what he was looking for.

The Oregon Legislature passed a law last session that allows agencies to hand down surplus equipment without assuming liability, which was a problem in the past, Lapof said.

It is usually smaller departments that donate equipment, Lapof said, because in larger cities such as Portland and Eugene fire departments often have to go through a lengthy political process to give equipment away. Although the volunteer firefighters association has received donations from Portland, it has received none from Eugene, Lapof said.

Jeff Narin, logistics manager for the Eugene Fire Department, said city policy requires the department to sell or auction unused equipment.

"It's our fiduciary responsibility to get value out of our equipment," Narin said. The department just upgraded about 200 SBCAs, he said, and plans to sell the old ones to other departments around the state for $600 a piece. That's a $120,000 difference for the city.

The Malden department has no money to buy equipment, Harwood said, and is therefore also looking to replace its two pumper trucks, both 1961 models. The department is in the running for a 1968 fire truck up for grabs from a department on the Washington coast, but Malden must compete with six other departments, Harwood said.

The Veneta-based district still has about 12 SCBAs to donate, Chief Nelson said.

CAPTION(S):

Don Culy, Lane County firefighter, shows a breathing apparatus. Please turn to FIRE GEAR, Page C3 Fire gear: Donations help departments Continued from Page C1