Philomath Fire and Rescue’s attempt to deploy two personnel and a fire engine to the Los Angeles-area fires as part of an Oregon State Fire Marshal mobilization team this week didn’t work out as planned.
Fire Chief Chancy Ferguson said the fire district’s Type 3 engine en route to L.A. broke down in Corning, California, which is about 50 miles south of Redding and 115 miles north of Sacramento
“It broke down with a transfer case issue, so it’s in California and we’ll have to take a trip down there to get it,” Ferguson said. “They actually broke down right across the street from a truck shop so they were able to take it directly there and within a few minutes, they had it diagnosed and a fix on the way but it’s going to be four to five days before the parts can arrive and then the work has to be done.”
Philomath Fire and Rescue Lt. Levi Schell, firefighter Faith Huff and Engine 265 left for Los Angeles at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“It was an unforeseen problem,” Ferguson said. “It wasn’t related to maintenance — it was a failure of a pump inside the transfer case.”
Schell and Huff returned to Philomath in a rental car.
Philomath Fire and Rescue’s board held an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon to make a decision on repairs. Ferguson said the board allocated up to $15,000 for the repairs to be done on the engine, a 2015 model built specifically for large-scale tasks and has been used extensively throughout the region.
In all as of Friday, the Oregon State Fire Marshal mobilized 15 strike teams with 300 firefighters and 75 engines assigned to the Palisades Fire, which is burning north of Los Angeles. The firefighters will be deployed for up to 14 days and are protecting homes and other buildings, the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office reported. The teams will be patrolling for hotspots and working alongside CAL Fire and other state and federal agencies.
Others from Benton County agencies that sent personnel and rigs to California included crews from Corvallis and Monroe, Ferguson said, adding that Adair Rural Fire sent personnel but no apparatus.
“The rest of the task force is getting there this morning (Friday),” Ferguson said. “They were held up going through inspections last night.”
Before arriving in Southern California, the teams are required to do a routine safety check with CAL Fire in Sacramento. The inspections are to ensure all engines on an emergency scene are equipped, mechanically sound and able to respond.
“The vehicle safety check process was critical for our teams. With moving this amount of equipment and firefighters, safety has to be our highest priority,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Agency Administrator Ian Yocum said. “Our Oregon strike teams are motivated, committed to what they do, and excited to get out to the line and help where they are needed.”
Ashley Scott, Philomath Fire and Rescue’s public information officer, said she knows Schell and Huff were disappointed that they were not able to get to Los Angeles to help as part of the Oregon task force response.
