Overview
The Oregon Area Fire/EMS District comprises the Township of Dunn, the Township of Oregon, the Township of Rutland, and the Village of Oregon. We serve approximately 19,000 residents in a 46-square-mile service area. The fire district comprises an urban area served by fire hydrants and a rural area where water is brought to incident locations. EMS services are provided at the Paramedic level, bringing the highest quality pre-hospital care to those in need.
Staffing
The OAFED is a combination department, meaning it is a mixture of career and volunteer personnel. While there are no true volunteer members, this refers to the mix of staff that are in the station ready to respond at a moment’s notice, vs the staff that respond from home, work, or elsewhere to bring additional apparatus and personnel to an incident scene. The OAFED is made up of one (1) Fire Chief, two (2) Division Chiefs, three (3) Captains, and four (4) firefighter/Paramedics for a total of 10 career personnel. The rest of the department is part-time staff and interns, making up the rest of the 45 -50 members of the department. This personnel is responsible for staffing the following positions daily in the fire station available to respond:
Staffing levels 10 years ago were approximately 26 personnel, which included one (1) Fire Chief, seven (7) full-time firefighter/AEMTs, three (3) Interns, and a combination of 15 paid-on-call firefighters and EMTs. This staffing model was able to handle single incidents with minimal responding personnel available for large incidents or simultaneous incidents.
Future Considerations
As this fire/EMS district continues to grow, so do the needs of the fire and EMS resources. Over the past ten years, the OAFED has been able to increase the staffing levels to meet current needs. Future needs of OAFED personnel will include additional paramedics and EMS personnel to meet increasing EMS call volume, increase firefighting personnel to operate fire apparatus, and perform the duties of firefighters at incident scenes. This coincides with the goal of meeting NFPA 1710 standards for staffing levels and response times.