Department Information | Giving Back | Staff | Target Hazards |
Work Schedule | Training

SEASIDE VOLUNTEER FIRE & RESCUE

The Seaside Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department was established in 1904 and celebrated 100 years of service in July of 2004. The department serves the city of Seaside and the surrounding rural fire protection district and provides mutual aid for Gearhart, Cannon Beach, and Hamlet fire departments. Since the department was created, it has remained an all volunteer department, with the exception of the paid Fire Chief and Fire Marshall.

Roughly 50 volunteers respond 24-hours a day for fire and EMS responses. The department provides structural and Wildland fire protection, rescue and heavy extrication, EMS service from the First Responder to the Paramedic level, and surf rescue with seasonal lifeguards. In addition, a hazardous materials team and high-angle rescue team are available within the county to supplement our emergency response.

Our volunteers are activated by a pager-response system through the Seaside Police and Fire dispatch center where 911 calls are received. Our volunteers respond day or night, often leaving their family, friends, and jobs to serve the city. The volunteers are expected to maintain the same standard of training as paid firefighters and will become certified as DPSST Firefighters during the course of their training. Additional training is available for firefighters who wish to become apparatus engineers, aerial ladder operators, EMS providers, and vehicle extrication technicians.

The Seaside Fire and Rescue Department is a dedicated and proud group of individuals who enjoy providing a service to the city and its residents. We continue to be a volunteer department because volunteer participation and our level of professionalism is always very high.

Giving Back

In addition to providing fire protection and EMS service to the community, the Fire Department participates in a number of projects to give back to the residents.

• EMS standby at all home Seaside High School football games
• Annual participation in the Fill the Boot for Jerry’s Kids Muscular Dystrophy Association fund raiser
• Holiday food drive and delivery of food baskets in conjunction with the South Clatsop County Food Band and other county fire departments
• Participation with the Seaside Police Department in providing bicycle helmets to children
• Providing smoke alarms to families in homes without them
• Safety patrol and fire watch on the beach during the annual 4th of July Fireworks Display

TARGET HAZARDS

The City of Seaside which was incorporated in 1899 rests at the foothills of the Coastal Range along the Pacific Ocean. Located 80 miles from Portland, it has significance as one of the final destinations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Today, Seaside is a resort area with impressive oceanfront homes, hotels, motels and amusement opportunities for all ages. The Fire Department serves the city and surrounding rural district.

Seaside Fire & Rescue faces numerous challenges, including high-rise fire potential, hazardous materials accidents, surf rescues, and an expanding urban/wildland interface. These specific hazards are in addition to structural fire fighting, EMS, and rescue alarms that the firefighters typically respond to. 

To combat these specific hazards, firefighters have weekly training sessions to train in modern firefighting tactics. Recently, a 75’ aerial ladder apparatus was added to the department specifically for the growing number of multi-story buildings in the downtown core. Additionally, Rescue 6 was reclaimed from the public works department (where it spent many years as a city utility vehicle) and converted to a wildland interface truck.

Seaside Fire & Rescue has the ability to call upon a State Hazardous Materials Reponse team from Astoria for hazmat accidents and the Oregon Department of Forestry to aid with wildland fires. Additionally engine, ladder, and rescue companies are available for aid from surrounding districts.

WORK SCHEDULE

The Chief and Fire Marshal work a regular 8am-5pm five day week. Burn permits may be obtained during those hours. The volunteer firefighters are dispatched by voice pager and are on call 24 hours a day.

TRAINING

The Department is certified to implement the state accredited training program from the Department of Public Safety and Standard Training features in-house training from the National Fire Protection Association. The Seaside Fire & Rescue Department also participates in Mutual Aid Trainings, working closely with other Clatsop County Fire Departments. These trainings provide the opportunity for the various departments to work together to provide emergency services for the outlying areas of our county.

MUTUAL AID

All fire departments in Clatsop County have developed working automatic Mutual Aid agreements. In these agreements, the districts of these departments have been divided into 2 zones, in the city limits, and rural or outside city limits assignments. By doing this, potential problem areas have been identified and action for incidents at these locations is pre-planned.

BUDGET

The budget for fiscal year 2006-2007 is $485,692. The City pays the Department $9.00 for each firefighter responding to a call. The Department also holds a benefit dance which raises $10,000 to $13,000. This money is used to purchase equipment for the Fire Department that is not in the City’s budget.

PREVENTION

The Department conducts school class presentations, Fire Department tours, places posters in public areas, provides prevention material to the media and installs smoke detectors for the needy. The Fire Marshal conducts inspections on all commercial buildings for code violations and sprinkler system maintenance.

FIRE LOSS

For 2005, fire loss totaled $31,930.00
For 2006, fire loss totaled $1,036,010.00

ESTIMATED VALUE OF PROPERTY: $7,902,300,000

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All photos courtesy of the Seaside Fire Department volunteers and their families. This page maintained by Jeramy Houston and the Seaside Volunteers.