Washington Fire Chiefs > Sections

HomeExpand
- WFCExpoExpand
MembersExpand
- Fire Service DirectoryExpand
  - Associate MembersExpand
  - County Fire Chiefs AssociationExpand
- NPPGOV Member ProgramExpand
- IAFC ForumExpand
About UsExpand
- WFC BoardExpand
- MembershipExpand
  - Department MembershipExpand
  - Affiliate MembershipExpand
  - Bugle MembershipExpand
- Contact UsExpand
NewsExpand
CalendarExpand
ResourcesExpand
- Legislative ResourcesExpand
- Job AnnouncementsExpand
- Classified AdsExpand
- EVIP InformationExpand
- WFC BookstoreExpand
- LODD ResourcesExpand
- Memorial WallExpand
- Safety CalendarExpand
- LinksExpand
- Volunteer ResourcesExpand
- Timeloss ResourcesExpand
- RFA Implementation GuideExpand
- COVID-19 ResourcesExpand
- WFC MagazineExpand
DocumentsExpand
- Association DocumentsExpand
  - Bylaws & PoliciesExpand
  - FormsExpand
  - Position PapersExpand
  - Minutes & Board BooksExpand
- Chief DocumentsExpand
  - State Chiefs RatesExpand
  - GEMT DocumentsExpand
  - NFIRS Annual ReportsExpand
  - Model PoliciesExpand
  - Training DocumentsExpand
- Legislative DocumentsExpand
- Event PresentationsExpand
- EMS Section DocumentsExpand
- Fire Administrative Support Section DocumentsExpand
- Fire Mechanics Section DocumentsExpand
- Fire Training Safety and Officers Section DocumentsExpand
- Public Fire Educators Section DocumentsExpand
SectionsExpand
- Emergency Medical ServicesExpand
- Fire Administrative SupportExpand
  - DocumentsExpand
  - Discussion Forum & RFI'sExpand
  - Member DirectoryExpand
  - MerchandiseExpand
  - Photo GalleryExpand
- Fire MechanicsExpand
  - Photo GalleryExpand
  - Training & TestingExpand
  - EVT Discussion ForumExpand
  - ScholarshipExpand
  - Award NominationExpand
- Fire Training Safety and OfficersExpand
  - Firefighter ProgramExpand
  - ScholarshipExpand
  - Photo GalleryExpand
- Public Fire EducatorsExpand
- HazMat CommitteeExpand
County Fire ChiefsExpand
- King County Fire Chiefs AssociationExpand
- Pierce County Fire Chiefs AssociationExpand
- Snohomish County Fire Chiefs AssociationExpand
- Thurston County Fire Chiefs AssociationExpand
FRWCExpand
WSAFMExpand

Welcome

The Finest Supporting the Bravest!

The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Augusta's Hartford Fire Station Needs Immediate Repairs to Apparatus Floor

Posted: Apr 4, 2016

Augusta's Hartford Fire Station Needs Immediate Repairs to Apparatus Floor

AUGUSTA - Augusta Fire Chief Roger Audette said the department has gotten a lot of bang for its buck at the 96-year-old Hartford Fire Station. But more bucks are what it will take to make sure the station is operational for years to come.

During a tour of the structure Friday morning, Audette outlined plans to shore up the garage flooring of the station and in 2018 to expand the facility to accommodate larger fire equipment.

The chief said that after inspections in 2013, an engineer recommended the department fix the cracks in the floor, and the city budgeted $60,000 to complete the work. But in a series of meetings several weeks ago, the same engineer recommended that plan wouldn’t make the floor strong enough to hold fire engines.

“We have asked her to come up with a plan to shore up the floor so we can bring the fire engine back (from the Western Avenue station),” Audette said. “We want to get that work done within the next six to 10 weeks.”

The floor has several cracks in its foundation because of constant exposure to water, and the basement space below, used for storage, training and fitness, is only accessible when there are no vehicles in the garage above. The basement weight room, which has more equipment than the average local gym, can be used only during specific hours when there are no vehicles parked above the people working out.

Audette said the plan is to relocate the storage and fill and close the basement, because it doesn’t make sense to have a basement under apparatus-bay floors.

“Water is the enemy of every building,” Audette said. “We’ve done a great job getting it where it is, but it’s time to fix it.”

Audette admits that shoring up the floor would be a temporary fix, but he looked ahead to the bigger expansion project as a way to save money while updating the facility.

“We want to shore it up now, and then after we decide about the addition, we will do it all,” Audette said. “We’ll save money because the workers will already be here.”

Flashback: Portland's Central Fire Station, 1953

In this 1953 Press Herald news photograph, firefighters pose with Engine 8 in front of the Central Fire Station on Congress Street in downtown Portland. The same building still serves as the city's fire department headquarters, as seen below in a January 2013 photograph.

Answering the Call

Brian Lieberg has never forgotten the night his father survived a bad car accident. He was freed from the wreckage of a mangled vehicle by volunteers from the Royalton Township Fire Department.

Now a volunteer for that same department, Lieberg, a lieutenant, rarely misses a fire call or a training session. Every call, he reminds himself, involves someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter.

Lieberg, 47, of St. Joseph is director of surveying at Wightman & Associates, based in Benton Township. He credits his employer for letting him leave work to answer fire calls during the day, a time when when most fire departments struggle to get enough responders.

Lieberg recently was chosen by his peers to be the Royalton Township Fire Department’s firefighter of the year. Herald-Palladium Staff Writer Julie Swidwa caught up with Lieberg at the fire station on East John Beers Road.

How much time do you devote to this?

As a lieutenant now, I would say I average four to six hours a week. There’s a certain amount of mandatory training to keep up with your certifications. We also have a department policy that we want to respond to a certain percentage of the calls. It’s part of my service.

I volunteer to do this, so when I get a call I treat it as if it were my own house, and I respond to the calls.

It helps that I have an employer that will let me leave for calls during the day. That’s nice from an employee perspective that they respect the community enough to allow us to leave. Some guys have jobs that are outside the area, or their employers won’t let them leave to go to calls. I have a pager, and if I get a call while I’m at work I can get up, get in my car, leave, drive here and get on a truck and help out.

Opinion: Study Should Improve Fire Service

It's a good move on the part of Forsyth County commissioners to order an independent study of the county's firefighting system. And it's well worth the $78 grand it'll cost. Facing changes that could have an impact on the fire system, commissioners on Monday approved hiring TriData LLC to conduct a study of our resources and needs.

Facing changes that could have an impact on the fire system, commissioners on Monday approved hiring TriData LLC to conduct a study of our resources and needs. TriData LLC “will analyze call data, the fire-tax district system and the equity of the system, age of equipment in different departments, service areas, impact of annexation, and more,” the Journal’s Meghann Evans reported last week.

After analyzing the information, the firm will make recommendations about improving and sustaining system operations. Then it would be up to officials and fire chiefs to implement the recommendations.

Our firefighters respond when they’re called, any time of the day or night, with the best technology and equipment they can get their hands on. While conscious of the expense to taxpayers, we still always want the firefighting arsenal to be the best available.

But firefighters face many challenges these days, the Journal reported. Fire-service areas and tax bases have been affected by annexations, consolidations and the recession, which in turn affects the fire system’s budget.