Lakeport Fire celebrates new engine, holds swearing-in ceremony for newest staff
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Fire Protection District celebrated the addition of new equipment and new staff in a special Saturday morning ceremony.
Community members and leaders of city and county agencies gathered in the bay of Lakeport Fire’s Station 50 in the city’s downtown to officially welcome the fire district’s newest engine and five new paid staffers.
The Pierce Enforcer 1500 Type 1 pumper engine can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute and is equipped for up to four crew members, said Chief Jeffrey Thomas.
It has 1,000 feet of supply line, 800 feet of make up attack line and 400 feet of preconnected quick attack line, Thomas said.
Thomas said it’s distinguished from a fire “truck,” which has a ladder.
The engine has special touches including having the department’s logo sewn into its seats, and an American flag painted on its grill.
Thomas told Lake County News that the engine, which was ordered more than a year ago, cost $800,000, and was made possible by the Measure M fire tax, which voters approved in May 2019.
Ten years is the average age for fire engines, but Thomas said it’s not unusual to have the equipment for 20 years.
Having the newer and reliable equipment is important to Lakeport Fire’s mission of protecting the community. “We are the first line of defense,” said Thomas.
Thomas’ staff brought him the idea for the “push in” ceremony. It reenacts how fire brigades used to push the horse-drawn pumper into its stall close to where the horses would be kept.
While more of an East Coast tradition in origin, Thomas said it’s now going to be a Lakeport tradition, noting, “It makes sense.”
He thanked the district’s board members for their support in purchasing the new engine.
In addition to Thomas, speakers at the Saturday morning event included Fire Board Chair John Whitehead, Lakeport City Councilman Michael Green, District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott, City Manager Kevin Ingram and Sheriff Brian Martin.
Green thanked Thomas for his vision. He also noted the nearly 75% yes vote for Measure M offered by the community. “You did this,” he said of bringing the new engine to Lakeport.
Ingram and Martin both lauded Thomas for his work with their agencies to make the community safer.
After the speakers, the group moved outside and the firefighters and board members joined together to push the engine as it was being backed into the bay.
Following the engine’s introduction, Thomas held a brief ceremony to swear in firefighter/emergency medical technician Nathan Barnett, paramedic Derek Reisbeck, firefighter/paramedic John Tyson, firefighter Sean Thomas and firefighter paramedic Travis Hindmarch.
Capt. Jordan Mills said the department couldn’t ask for a better group.
Mills said Measure M also made it possible for the department to restore its staffing up to 12 personnel. Layoffs occurred in late 2018 and had cut staff in half.
In addition to the paid staff, Mills said Lakeport Fire also has numerous volunteers. Thomas said separately during the ceremony that without volunteers, rural fire departments can’t survive.
Mills said the new Pierce engine is the first built-to-specifications equipment the district has purchased since 2004.
In 2014, the department purchased a type three engine for fires in wildland areas. That equipment, which Mills said wasn’t built to spec, cost more than $312,000 and was paid for primarily by an Assistance to Firefighters grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As for the new engine, Lakeport Fire personnel will have to be trained before using it. Thomas said that training should be completed by the end of Jan., but the engine will be on the road before then.
“It’s going to serve the community very well,” said Mills. “We’re excited.”
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