Aeneas Valley Fire District 16

Sources of income

• Taxes - The main source of money for the fire district comes from a property tax assessment. Currently (2015) the district receives approximately $45 thousand per year from this source.
• Grants - District volunteers attempt to maximize our finances by working to obtain various grants and going through DNR to obtain surplus Federal Government vehicles. These are a lot of work and success is not guaranteed but we have done well in the past with over $100 thousand received thus far.
• Labor – While technically not monetary income most of our success is due to district volunteers expending the time and energy to implement those grants and do other district work. This involves a lot of mechanical work and planning. So far we have put together 5 wildland fire engines and 1 medical aid unit. Significant work has also been put into maintaining and upgrading the other vehicles. We conservatively estimate that members put in 4,000 - 6,000 hours per year. Without this FREE labor we would only be a shadow of what we are today.
  
• Contract income – When possible we rent our services (vehicles and personnel) to DNR to bolster our income. So far we have earned around $67,000. The district only receives the monies for renting the vehicles. The firefighters are paid directly by the renting agency.\
• Reserves - in other word - savings. We have a rainy day fund to dip into in case emergency expenses exceed our expectations. Each year that fund is being increased in size.
  

Firefighter and support personnel

While numbers vary over time, generally we have around 20 firefighters backed by 4 dispatchers, a safety officer, lookout and several heavy equipment personnel. As is common with fire districts some folks are filling multiple roles.

Vehicles (as of March 2015) – Total in Service = 12

            Wildland                    5 wildland engines carrying 2500 gallons of water

            Structural                  3 Structural engines with 2250 gallons of water

            Water tenders            2 waters tenders with 4200 gallons water.

                                                    Another vehicle is planned to be converted to

                                                    a 2600 gallong Tender. This may be completed in

                                                    2015.

                                              Another leased  water tender could be brought

                                              into service for 3,000 gallons more.

            Rescue Unit                  Also doubles as a wildland engine

            Medical Aid unit          1 (with a second being readied for service)

            Utility vehicle             1 Doubles as a second Medical Aid unit

These vehicles are distributed around the valley with firefighters to significantly decrease response times in emergencies.



Property

The district purchased a 6 acre parcel of land on Bench Creek road (just off Aeneas Valley road). A fire station was completed in 2014 and work is beginning on getting power to to site.

Water supplies

During fire season we have water caches distributed around the Valley using landowner and district supplied tanks. The current estimate is around 7,000 gallons. In addition, a number of local water sources have been identified for drafting water.

Mutual Aid

While it may seem strange to list mutual aid as a resource it is in fact one of the largest resources we have. Should we experience a major fire we can request help from:

• DNR
• Forest Service
• The other 15 Okanogan fire districts
• And... in a real pinch we can request state mobilization to draw on resources from around the state.





This page contains both the Fire District and Fire department resources.