Lake Stevens Fire FACTs
“Touching Lives Today ~ Planning for Tomorrow”
Volume 10
Issue 24
December 21, 2016
From the Desk of Chief O’Brien…
It has been a busy fall at Lake Stevens Fire! Two significant events included the 2016
Awards Banquet and the Commissioner’s approval of the 2017 Budget.
The Awards Banquet was held on Friday, November 18. Highlights of the evening
included recognition of the career of retired Paramedic Firefighter Nick Harris. A
bagpiper from the Snohomish County Firefighters Pipe and Drums set the tone.
Nick was presented with his helmet and a shadow box chocked full of memorabilia
of Nick’s career. In Tony Award winning style, Deputy Chief Larry Huff and Paramedic Firefighter Nate Dillon performed “A Day in the Life of Nick Harris, Young
and Old.” Their show had everyone in tears of laughter.
Members’ years of service was presented with special acknowledgement to twentyyear employees Battalion Chief Perry Putnam and Captain Travis Welch.
Honorary Lake Stevens Fire Member Dr. Amy Beth Cook was lauded for many years
of championing Lake Stevens Fire safety programs in schools and her all-around
support of Lake Stevens Fire.
New part-time members were welcomed including Nadia Kukhotskaya, Cody
Hamblin, Owen Amos, Theresa Tozier, Christopher Finley, Geoffrey Jacobs, Collin
Knell, Caleb Littrell, Jack Reeves, Aubrey Schermerhorn, Robert Seda, Josiah
Windle, Lars Moberg and Chaplain Steve Jespersen. We also welcomed new babies
Bowen Thomas Johnston and Ava Grace Kees.
The Lake Stevens Fire Bulldog Award was presented to Captain Ron Rasmussen by
the 2015 recipient Deputy Chief Larry Huff. Each year, the Bull Dog is selected by
the prior year recipient who demonstrates the qualities of respect and kindness for
others, humility, altruism, leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and a strong
work ethic.
New positions and promotional honors were presented to Firefighter David Albert,
Firefighter Chris Robertson, Firefighter Cody Chester, Paramedic Firefighter Jake
Johnston, Paramedic Firefighter Bob Zutter, Assistant Fire Marshal Dave Petersen,
Captain Augie Cardona, Captain Keith Terry, Captain Mike Eagle, and Deputy ChiefFire Marshal Mike Messer.
Quick FACTs
Commissioner
Meeting
Thursday, January 5th
HQ Board Room
5:30pm
Labor
Management
Meeting
Tuesday, January 17th
HQ Board Room
9:30am
Commissioner
Meeting
Thursday, January 19th
HQ Board Room
5:30pm
Battalion Chief
Meeting
Tuesday, January 24th
HQ Board Room
9:30am
Thank You!
Thank you to Firefighters
Adam Blue and Christie Pater
for representing LSF at the
Dicken’s Fair this year!
All in all it was a great evening full of good cheer, lots of laughs, and great respect for
those honored. Thanks to everyone who helped put the evening together!
The Lake Stevens Fire Commissioners approved the 2017 Budget which is focused
on four critical goals; assuring our current level of service is maintained, providing a
safe and healthy environment for employees, meeting the future service demands
triggered by community growth and a rising call volume, and being fiscally responsible in everything we do.
Continued on Page 2
www.lsfire.org
Enjoy a safe
holiday season!
Volume 10 Issue 24
Page 2
Continued from Page 1
LSF is debt free and financially secure with a balanced budget, adequate reserves and another clean audit. However,
expected growth in the community, increasing call volumes, and declining levy rates for fire and emergency medical
service (EMS) are causing us some concern.
In 2015, Lake Stevens Fire responded to 5,164 calls and 75% of these calls were EMS-related. EMS calls alone have
increased 21% over the past five years. More calls mean added costs for personnel, medical supplies, equipment, fuel,
maintenance, and emergency personnel.
Assuring adequate funding is critical. We plan to start the conversation with our community early in 2017 about maintaining emergency service levels.
A hearty thank you to everyone at Lake Stevens Fire for your service and an equally hearty thank you to our community
for their outstanding support!
Take care and stay safe,
Kevin
By Battalion Chief Perry Putnam
At some point, most of us are going to retire. Here are a few things to keep in
mind while planning for that day.
1. Start saving now
 You should start thinking about retirement now. There are many programs available to help you save,
including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, company retirement plans, and personal investment advisors. The
earlier you start, the better your chances of having the money needed to retire when you are ready.
2. Avoid debt / Minimize your monthly expenses
 The less debt you have, the easier it will be to be financially sound. This includes revolving debt such as
credit cards. With debt comes interest on those accounts, which can significantly reduce your total income.
By planning properly, you can enter retirement with limited debt which can stretch your retirement dollars.
3. Stay active and involved
 Research has shown that people who stay active and involved tend to live longer, happier lives. Find a hobby
or activity you like and keep doing it. Volunteer or join a civic group. Activities that make you get up and out
of the house can be beneficial to your well-being.
4. Set aside money for upcoming expenses
 Many of us will set aside money needed for our monthly expenses (car payment, house payment, medical
insurance), but neglect to plan for other expenses. Keep in mind as you age, so do your possessions. Make
sure you plan for these. Home repair (a roof, for example) can eat up a large portion of your discretionary
retirement money.
5. Estate planning
 As you enter retirement, it is good practice to update your legal documents. Ensure you beneficiaries are up
to date and your estate plan is clear. It is a good idea to have your power of attorney set, and to have a health
-care directive. If you don’t have a will, you will want one to avoid your assets going into probate. Probate
can be a costly and complex process of distrusting your assets.
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By Captain Lowe
Did you know that you are entitled to three credit reports per year for FREE?
Don’t be part of the 96% of Americans every year that don’t take advantage of this valuable resource to help keep your
financial health in order. Everyone in the U.S. is entitled to one free credit report each year from the three nationwide
consumer credit reporting companies at annualcreditreport.com.
What is annualcreditreport.com you may ask? This is the official FREE, central site run by the three credit reporting
companies that is required by law to make your credit report available from each company once a year.
To make the most of this valuable resource you might do what I do: Every four months I
go to annualcreditreport.com, I get a report from one company, Equifax, Experian
or TransUnion, then four months later I go back and get one from the next company and
then another four months later I get a report from the third company. I do this every
year to ensure my credit reports are accurate.
Don’t let this valuable, FREE tool go to waste. After the Christmas shopping frenzy, take
five minutes and make sure someone else isn’t having a Merry Christmas with your
credit.
By Captain Tom Withrow
According to FEMA, in 2014 thirteen firefighters died while responding to or returning from emergency incidents, which equals 16% of all Line of Duty Deaths and 12% of the total of firefighter injuries.
Wearing seatbelts may not have saved those who perished, but I’m sure it was a contributing factor in the ones that were
not killed in motor vehicle accidents.
With the inherent nature of our job and all the risks that we have to take, buckling our seatbelts has a direct effect on our
survivability. It’s also the law.
According to RCW 46.61.688 “Every person … operating or riding in a motor vehicle shall wear the safety belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner.” It further states “A person violating this section shall be
issued a notice of traffic infraction under chapter 46.63 RCW. A finding that a person has committed a traffic infraction under this section shall be contained in the driver's abstract but shall not be available to insurance companies or
employers.”
To put it simply, seatbelts save lives and we see that in our response to motor vehicle collisions. Buckle up. One day it
may just save your life.
Volume 10 Issue 24
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By Captain Keith Terry
Functional training is where we as firefighters should focus our efforts. Our peak performance is going to last for approximately 10 to 20 minutes on the fire ground and this is what we need to perfect. How we perfect this is simple and will
make everyone’s job safer and easier.
Fire ground training evolutions are by far the best workout we can do because it is exactly what we need our bodies to do
in an emergent situation with turnout gear on. Having said that, drilling isn’t always an option so take the movements
into the gym, apparatus bay or apron and duplicate those motions we do. Use weights, hoses, ropes or whatever adjunct
fits the scenario and create a circuit of events lasting for 15 minutes.
Below are some simple movements and concepts we should concentrate on to be fit for duty.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Pushing: push ups
Pulling: pull ups or rows
Carrying: dumbbells
Lifting; deadlift
Dragging: dummy drag
Core: planks and wall sits
Cardio Capacity: 3 hours minimum a week
Flexibility: daily stretching
As a firefighter and peer fitness trainer I have always made fitness a priority. I have been through dozens of workout
programs and fads, some good and some not so good. If you want specific information or a workout program designed
for you, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or our other peer fitness trainer, Captain Shane Nelson at
[email protected].
Be safe!
By Captain Keith Terry
EF Recovery is a company that does a great job of getting fire departments reimbursed for the services required while
working on motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Spill cleanup, the use of absorbent and cleaning up after a collision are all
things we do without hesitation, but they are all also things that insurance companies assume they will have to pay for
after an accident. EF Recovery works directly with the insurance companies to make sure we as a department get
compensated for our efforts and supplies on these calls.
Since July of this year we have been able to re-coop almost $3000.00 dollars of expenses directly related to MVC spills
and scene clean up. We have also submitted another $5000.00 in claims that are pending reimbursement.
How are claims submitted? It begins with the officer or acting officer on scene. A good rule to follow is if you’re getting
absorbent out then we need to submit a claim. Claims are pretty easy to get started, see below. We will need three photos
including: probable at fault driver’s license plate, the spill itself and a picture of the spill vehicle.
Send an email to [email protected] with the call number to reference. Please include:
The probable at fault driver name, address, and phone number (this can also just be entered into Aegis and I will get
it from there when I review the report). This is not required, but if available please provide this.
A short summary of the incident including what supplies were used (i.e. Two car rear end MVC at the stoplight on
Hwy 204. Blue Dodge van vehicle leaked antifreeze, used two bags absorbent to clean it up).
And that’s it! Thank you all for your continued efforts on a very beneficial program for our department.
Volume 10 Issue 24
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NFPA Standard: 1851
By Firefighter Brian Kees
Over the last years, fire service has become extremely conscientious with firefighter health and
safety. Proper cleaning, maintenance and storage of our Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
is an essential part in keeping us all safe and improving firefighter health and safety. There are
some misconceptions regarding PPE that could severely hamper the safety and well-being of
firefighters in regards to PPE. Below we will dispel a few myths and reveal the facts regarding
PPE.
Myth: Dirty gear is the sign of a seasoned veteran.
Fact: Dirty gear is the sign of an uneducated firefighter. The truth is that the byproducts of
combustion are combustible. Even with the inherent characteristics, flame and heat resistance
can be compromised if the garment is worn in an extremely soiled condition.
Myth: Where I store my gear is more important than how I store my gear.
Fact: Where you store your gear and how you store your gear are equally important factors.
Gear that is stored wet, or is stored where moisture is present, can develop mold and other
fungi. Additionally, storing soiled gear will cause impurities to become more deeply imbedded
into the fabric fibers. If you are storing soiled gear, you are also storing all of the contaminants
that may be present in that gear.
Myth: As long as I rinse my gear after every exposure, there is no need to launder further.
Fact: While rinsing at the scene is very effective in removing surface soil and debris, it does not
take the place of an advanced cleaning. NFPA 1851 breaks cleaning down to two levels: routine
and advanced. Routine cleaning is done by the wearer at the scene and does not use or require
any mechanical action. Advanced cleaning is always done with a mechanical action (i.e., extractor) and is required to be done at least once a year as a minimum or whenever a routine cleaning is obviously insufficient
to remove dirt and grime.
Myth: Small tears, burns or cuts in my protective gear can be ignored as long as they are just minor.
Fact: A breach in any layer of the protective clothing must be addressed immediately. Smoke, chemicals, heat and
other hazards of firefighting can enter through any rupture in the protective envelope, regardless of how seemingly insignificant.
In conclusion, our PPE is a critical line of defense for our own safety and well-being. Proper cleaning, maintenance and
storage of your gear directly contributes to your health and safety.
Madecai,Mark:Citing source [http://www.firehouse.com/article/12244734/ppe-supplement-clean-maintain-store] Oct. 2016
Volume 10 Issue 24
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Lake Stevens Fire recently
took delivery of a new
ambulance, and expects to
receive a new fire engine in
approximately six weeks.
Special thanks to our
members with the apparatus
committee who designed a
vehicle that will meet the
needs of our community.
I just wanted to say thank you to the Paramedics who came to my aid Tuesday
evening, I don’t remember names, but they were great guys and helped me through
an uncomfortable situation. They made me very comfortable and put my mind at
ease, with their help I was released that same night and able to make a full recovery.
Thanks guys!
You saved my life!
A LITTLE NOTE
OF THANKS
I can’t Thank You enough! Thank you for taking such good care of me. Thank you so much for helping
out my son when he fell off his
scooter. Thank you for your
assistance and service.
You are all a wonderful team. Thank You from the
Lake Stevens Family Center
Thank you so much for participating in our Halloween
Festival! From the trailer to having the fire truck lead our
parade. We appreciate you all continuously going above
and beyond for not only us, but for your community.
Thank you!
Thank You!
Thank you from Mrs.
Armstrong’s Kindergarten Class.
We had fun at the fire station!
Thanks so much for the
added support at our
buildings this morning
on our first day back to
school. We appreciate the sense of community your department continually provides.
On behalf of the Staff and Students
Thank you!
Amy Beth Cook
Volume 10 Issue 24
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Thank you LSF team for all that you do! What a privilege it is to serve our Lake Stevens community!
Volume 10 Issue 24
A huge thank you to the Lake Stevens
community and Ixtapa for their support of
Tips for Firefighters! This year’s donations
provided Christmas for 70+ kids in need
within our Lake Stevens community. Thank
you to Firefighter Pat Cook for organizing
this event each year. Way to go!
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Volume 10 Issue 24
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