The Stayton Fire District provides fire and emergency services from 4 stations to citizens in a 107 square mile area including the communities of Mehama, Marion, Elkhorn, Mt. Pleasant and Stayton. The District has 6 full-time employees and 55 Volunteer Firefighters that respond to over 900 calls for service per year.

The elected Board of Directors for the Stayton Fire District unanimously voted to place a funding measure on the November 2004 ballot. The District estimates that the cost of the bond will be $0.31 per $1,000 of assessed value. For a home valued at $150,000, it would represent approximately $46.50 per year or $3.88 per month. It has been 16 years since voters last approved a bond issue for the Fire District. The last bond measure that passed was for the construction of the Stayton Station in 1988. Repayment of that bond will he completed in 2008 which will reduce the current tax rate by $0.14 per $1,000.

The fire district’s operating budget has been reduced by more than $100,000 per year as a result of Measure 5 in 1990 and Measure 47/50 in 1996, eliminating the District’s ability to fund vehicle and major equipment replacement. Additional funding sources are needed to provide safe, reliable equipment for our Volunteer Firefighters.

The District has identified fire trucks and air packs as specific needs to continue to provide effective service to our communities and safety for our Volunteer Firefighters. Air packs are the equipment used by Firefighters to breathe while working in dangerous environments such as fires and oxygen deficient atmospheres. Our current packs are 20 to 24 years old, do not meet current safety standards, and are increasingly unreliable and unrepairable. The safety of our Volunteer Firefighters is our number one priority. With incidents of air pack failure during practice and on actual calls increasing, it has become an immediate safety priority to replace this equipment. In addition to the safety of our Volunteer Firefighters, this equipment has a direct affect on the safety of our neighboring departments as well. They rely on us for safe, dependable assistance with their fires and other incidents just as we rely on them. Having equipment that is dependable and compatible will assist in providing a positive outcome.

The average age of the vehicles being replaced is 24 years old and include:

• 1960 Ladder Truck

• 1976 Tender

• 1980 Engine

• 1981 Engine

• 1988 Rescue Vehicle

• 1988 Support Vehicle

• 1989 Support Vehicle

These vehicles are becoming increasingly problematic, do not meet current safety standards, and are difficult to operate.

Submitted by,

Jack R. Carriger, Fire Chief

Stayton Rural Fire Protection District