by Julie Hall July 6, 2012 8:35 p.m.

The Little Free Library (featured in our Photo of the Week 6/25/12) on The Habitat for the Humanities Shepard Path was set fire this afternoon. Thanks to a quick call by an alert neighbor, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department responded rapidly and kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes and the adjacent woods, but the little library was burned to bits.

Creator of the lovely artful mini library, Donna D., overcame her grief about the loss to make the following statement to our community: “To all who are saddened by this senseless destruction, I ask you to commit an act of joyful kindness to tip the ‘life is good’ scale back to where it ought to be. Now get to it!”

Burned book remnants.

The Little Free Library #892 was installed and filled with books for giving and taking on June 1, 2012. At its inauguration, Donna D. shared one of her favorite literary quotes, by Dr. Seuss from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish: “If you never did you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.”

Read more about her former Little Free Library.

Photos by Donna D.

10:08 p.m.

Today crews completed their investigation of the fire that destroyed The 122 early Monday morning, concluding that the fire was an accident. Because of the heavy damage to the building, they were not able to determine a specific cause, but they found evidence to support a lightning strike as the source of ignition and were able to rule out foul play.

An unusually intense thunderstorm ripped through the area several hours before the 911 call that summoned the Bainbridge Island Fire Department. The thunderstorm was linked to more than 600 lightning strikes.

Investigators spent three days at the scene, digging through ash and debris, interviewing employees, and sifting through lightning strike data.

The building is a total loss. Fire also damaged a large fir tree behind the building, but firefighters were able to save an adjacent outbuilding. Amazingly, the flowers adorning the outdoor patio of The 122 are undamaged. Patio chairs beside the blooming flowers make for an eerie contrast with the burned-out shell of the building.

Fire Marshal Luke Carpenter wants to remind people about ways to minimize loss in a fire: “The Fire Department encourages the installation of fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems in commercial buildings. These systems allow for early detection and suppression of a fire and can greatly minimize fire damage.”

Photos by Sarah Lane.

9:55 a.m.

Saturday, August 4, Lieutenant Phil Hawkins and Officer Walt Berg of the Bainbridge Island Police Department spoke with a man passed out on the sidewalk at Bjune and Shannon Drive. He was intoxicated. They asked him where he lived, and he gave them an address on Ferncliff. Lieutenant Hawkins gave him a ride to that address in his squad car.

Later that day, at about 10:16 p.m., the BIPD received a call from Cencom advising them of a physical altercation at the same home on Ferncliff. Berg responded to the scene and met an elderly man waiting for him at the end of his driveway. The man said that his intoxicated adult son had pushed him to the floor. Berg asked the man for details about what had happened.

The man said that his son who does not live there had showed up earlier in the day. Berg told the man that the police had dropped the son off there at his request. The man said his son couldn’t remember where he had left his truck in town. When the son had gone upstairs to lie down, the man and his wife had driven into town to look for the truck. They found it parked at a property they own. It had very little gas, so the man stopped to fill it and then drove it home.

When he returned, he found his son in the kitchen trying to cook something. He began to argue with his son. He asked his son to leave, but he refused. Then the son decided to leave and asked for the keys to his truck, but his father wouldn’t hand them over because he didn’t want his son to drive while impaired. The son pushed him and then pressed his forearm against his father’s neck. Then he shoved him, knocking him down and breaking his glasses.

The father grabbed the phone and dialed 911. The son tried to stop him, but when he realized the call had been dialed, he left the house on foot.

Officer Dale Johnson and Lieutenant Hawkins now arrived at the scene. They asked to speak to the man’s wife. He said she had not witnessed the events. He explained that his son had been kicked out of a treatment center so they had agreed to let him live there for a couple of days since he is homeless.

Meanwhile, one of the officers had located the son 25 feet down an embankment behind the house. The man told police that, from that point, it is another 75 feet down to the beach. Berg looked over the side and saw the son nestled in a thicket of heavy brush and blackberries. He called the Bainbridge Island Fire Department to respond with rescue equipment.

Fire crews arrived. They rigged up ropes and harnesses and a ladder and a firefighter descended down the embankment to secure the son and put him in a sling. The firefighter said that the only thing keeping the man from falling was the thick brush. The son was brought up, covered in scrapes and cuts. He also complained of pain to his collarbone. Medics checked him and determined that he needed to be transported to Harrison for evaluation. The son told the medics he knew the police were there to arrest him.

Police went to Harrison to take the son into custody upon discharge. They cited the man for domestic violence assault.

Photo by Tim Walker.

by Sarah Lane and Julie Hall with Maya Edwards, September 2, 2012, 2:27 p.m.

No, this is not a fake police blotter title. A house at 13720 Sunrise Avenue on Bainbridge Island caught fire early this afternoon in one of the home’s bathrooms. Two Bainbridge Island fire trucks, an ambulance, and a Poulsbo fire truck and fire car responded immediately to a prompt call from the homeowner.

According to Bainbridge Island Fire Department Captain Lundin, in charge at the scene, a toilet cracked as a result of the fire’s heat, releasing water that put out most of the flames.

Firefighters extinguished the remaining flames with a hand pump. No one was injured, and the Poulsbo firefighters were sent away, unneeded, with gratitude.

Lundin reported that the cause of the fire is as of yet unknown and being investigated.

Photos by Sarah Lane.

Update: September 14, 2012, 8:20 a.m.

The fire was contained at about 2:30 a.m., and Highway 3 is fully open to traffic again. But please read on about the red flag fire alert on Bainbridge Island.

Original posting: September 13, 2012, 4:15 p.m.

Fire crews from around our region are fighting a three-alarm brush fire on Highway 3 near Imperial Way, close to the Bremerton Airport. This is the most serious level issued by our County. Highway 3 is closed in both directions at Lake Flora Road. Heavy smoke in the area is making travel dangerous and drifting as far away as Central Kitsap because of windy conditions.

The Bainbridge Island Fire Department has dispatched one fire engine and one brush rig to the scene.

The Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management asks citizens to avoid the area if possible, as the fire conditions are unpredictable. You can monitor the situation on their facebook page. 

Red Flag Fire Alert

Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter has issued a red flag fire warning for Bainbridge Island. This is the highest fire danger level. Because of extraordinarily dry conditions, a warm September, and wind, he recommends people avoid making any kind of fire at this time.

Photo courtesy of Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management.

2:45 p.m.

Throughout the month of October, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department will be sporting pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month and to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure campaign that funds both research for a cure as well as treatment for under-insured women and men suffering from this disease.

The month of October has been utilized nationally in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness, and the International Association of Firefighters is showing its support with fire departments across the country wearing pink.

This particular cause is close to home for a few members of the fire department who have close family members fighting and surviving breast cancer.

The Department’s Health-Wellness committee urges its membership and community to get annual screenings for cancers, such as breast, prostate, and colon, that appear to have a higher likelihood of successful treatment when identified in the early stages.

Donations for the Susan G. Komen campaign on behalf of our department can be made online through www.passionatelypink.org. Click on “give to a team” and search for Bainbridge Island IAFF Fire Department. Donations are made under the team captain’s name, Firefighter Kyle Moerke. Checks written out to Susan G. Komen for the Cure also can be dropped off at the Department’s business office, located at Station 21, 8895 Madison Avenue NE.

Members of the BIFD are challenging other local departments to get their pink on!

Photo courtesy of BIFD.

10:58 a.m.

The Bainbridge Island Fire Department’s Board of Commissioners has voted to break with its long tradition of being the only department in Kitsap County that doesn’t charge for ambulance service. The Department has been considering this move for over a year as a way to bridge the mounting gap between costs and dwindling revenue.

The new fee structure means that basic life support transports will charge a $600 fee, advanced life support 1 transports will charge $875, and advanced life support 2 transports will charge $975 plus $18 per mile. (The difference between ALS 1 and ALS 2 has to do with the numbers and types of procedures that are used.) However, Fire Marshall Jared Moravec wanted to make it very clear that patients will not carry the direct burden of this new fee structure: “The goal is for no one who is transported to have to pay.” I asked Moravec how that works exactly, and he explained the department works with a billing agency. He said that only insurance companies will be billed by the agency. Whatever the insurance companies don’t cover will be waived. And, if a person doesn’t have insurance, nothing will be billed.

Moravec explained that this system ensures that the department can take advantage of a revenue source that is already in place without placing any direct additional burden on patients.

I asked Moravec if this move will facilitate the staffing of Station 23, the one at Phelps and 305, which often sits empty. Without Station 23 being staffed, the BIFD is unable to reach all homes on the island within the ideal 9-minute window. Moravec said no, that this move will simply support continued operations for the department until the next levy, which is not scheduled until 2014 and won’t disburse funds until 2015.

Moravec said they’ve had some feedback about the decision from the public. Mostly, he said, people have contacted them for clarification about what the decision means.

Fire Chief Hank Teran pointed out that helicopter transport and off-island ambulance service already charge for their services. He said that charging these fees will reduce the levy amount. He said that a decision will be made in February about the next levy.

The commissioners did not make this decision easily. A year ago, the BIFD brought together a focus group of citizens to explain the complicated fee structure under which it operates and to present some funding options and get feedback on how well accepted they might be. The members of the focus group (I was one of them) unanimously supported the option to charge the ambulance fees provided the cost would not be born directly by patients and provided people with no insurance would not be charged.

Related Stories:

• Fire Station Sits Empty Leaving North Islanders in Hot Spot
• Transport Fees: The Bainbridge Island Fire Department Considers Breaking Tradition
• Creative BIFD Staff Keeps Inadequate Station 22 Operational

Photo by Eugene Peretz.

7:52 p.m.

Volunteer firefighter Tien Tran, who has contributed more than 5,300 hours to the Bainbridge Island Fire Department since becoming a member in 2009, was recognized by the Bainbridge Island Fire Department on December 31 as the Volunteer Member of the Year. The Department also recognized Josh Foley as Career Firefighter of the year.

The award is presented by Fire Department peers in recognition of outstanding contributions to the department and the community.

In a press release issued by the department, Tran is praised for his “positive attitude and his willingness to learn and accept new challenges.” Foley is described as “instrumental in the training of firefighters in the area of water safety.” Hired in 2009, he was praised for his “leadership and work ethic.”

Tran and Foley were selected from among 21 nominees. They will have their names engraved on the perpetual Member of the Year plaque.

An extremely hirsute local movie star named Shamen, a member of the canine species, was treated to a heroic four-hour Bainbridge Island Fire Department high-angle rescue last night. Shamen had been missing for two and a half days and his human family, John and Marcia Fox, had been searching desperately for him. They could hear him whimpering somewhere near their home but couldn’t locate him. Desperate, they called the Fire Department for help.

BIFD searched for the dog for three hours, as Shamen’s whimpering became fainter and fainter. The occasional sound seemed to be coming from over a large embankment nearby overlooking Agate Pass, but rescue crews were unable to locate the dog, and it was getting darker.

Captain Dave Hannon wanted to give the search one last try before it grew too dark and they had to call it a night. Local volunteers who had been helping with the search had to be moved to safety first. Then firefighter Carol Mezen, strapped into a harness and carrying a thermal imager (which firefighters use to locate victims in a fire), was lowered over the bank. About 75 feet down, she picked up the thermal image.

Shamen was weak, dehydrated, and trapped in some brush. Mezen wrapped up the dog for safety and was lowered with him to the beach at the bottom of the 100-foot drop. From there, crews were able to get the dog via a neighbor’s beach access to transportation so he could be taken to the emergency vet. With rehydration, Shamen seems to be recovering well.

Shamen, an Irish terrier, is one of the numerous canine stars of the 2007 Disney movie Firehouse Dog, featuring Josh Hutcherson of Hunger Games fame.

Photos courtesy of BIFD and John and Marcia Fox. Featured photo shows firefighters Carol Mezen and Mike Finley with a relieved Shamen.

The Bainbridge Island Fire Department wants you to be fireworks ready for the Fourth and to understand the laws and how to have fun safely. Consumer fireworks are legal on Bainbridge Island only on July 4th (not the 3rd, not the 5th) and then only between 5:00 and 11:00 p.m. You’ve been warned. On that one day and during those hours, be careful.

The BIFD is sharing the following horrific statistics—not to put out your metaphoric inner sparkler, but to make sure the fun stays fun: Nationwide in 2011, fireworks caused an estimated 17,800 reported fires, including 1,200 structure fires, 400 vehicle fires, and 16,300 outside and other fires. There were 9,600 hospital visits for fireworks-related injuries. Follow these guidelines to keep it safe:

• Only adults should light fireworks. Keep small children away from fireworks—sparklers can burn at 2,000 degrees.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose nearby.
• Keep fireworks at least 25 feet away from buildings or other combustible objects.
• Don’t use sky lanterns even though they make you feel like you’re in a Miyazaki movie. They’re dangerous and can travel long distances while burning, which means they can land on things that can combust.
• Ensure the safety of pets; the loud sounds make them nervous. More pets become lost on this day than any other. They panic and leap through open windows, break tethers, hop fences. They also get hit by cars.
• Be considerate of your neighbors and the environment. Maybe the young couple with the baby next door doesn’t enjoy an M-80 rattling their bedroom window.
• Follow directions on the packaging.
• Be sure all fireworks are safely extinguished.

And, remember: Not all fireworks are even legal in the State of Washington (like that M-80). Look here:

Photo courtesy of Fire Protection Bureau. Featured photo by USCPSC.

by Sarah Lane and Julie Hall

This morning at 9:23, a Bainbridge police officer driving nearby spotted smoke coming from the vicinity of the two North Madison AM radio towers.

The Bainbridge Island Fire Department (BIFD) dispatched three trucks and a tender. Upon arrival the firefighters found a radio shed at the foot of one of the towers destroyed by fire and still burning. The blaze was threatening to spread into the dry brush surrounding the large property, which is located directly south of the Grange.

The BIFD doused the flames with water and, as an added precaution, used a stable aqueous foam to suffocate the fire. They also dug a trench around the incinerated shed to further contain the fire.

An investigator is on the way to the scene to determine cause.

Photos by Sarah Lane. 

Having left home today, August 27, at about 9 a.m., a woman and her children returned to their house on Southern Cross Road in southeast Bainbridge at about 3 p.m. to the sound of smoke alarms and the sight of black smoke billowing out through cracks and eaves.

The homeowner, whose cell phone was uncharged, screamed for help, and a neighbor who happened to be driving by called 911. Fearing a huge blaze, the dispatcher called upon fire department responses from Poulsbo and North Kitsap to join Bainbridge Island firefighters. Ten units arrived at the large two-story home.

What they found proved to be a mystery. According to Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter, although the house was full of dark smoke no flames were located, and a thermal imager located no source of heat. Poulsbo and North Kitsap units were sent on their way as Bainbridge firefighters continued to hunt for the source of the smoke.

Carpenter explained that the fact that the air conditioner had been on in the house for a few hours made finding the source more difficult, because it had circulated the smoke throughout the house via vents.

Firefighters investigated the furnace but were unable to determine conclusively if it was the smoke source, though they believe it to be. After a thorough investigation, the BIFD ruled at approximately 4:45 p.m. that the home was “cold,” or not in danger of burning. They recommended that the homeowner have her furnace checked and call in professionals who specialize in cleaning smoke-damaged homes.

A concerned neighbor told Inside Bainbridge she invited the family to have dinner and spend the night.

Photo by Sarah Lane.

by Luke Carpenter, Assistant Chief, Fire Marshal, Bainbridge Island Fire Department

Are you prepared to handle a disaster? September is National Preparedness Month; it’s a good reminder to make sure that you and your family are prepared to cope with the effects of a disaster in our community. On a larger scale, it offers your fire department the chance to look at the community we serve and gauge our ability to handle a widespread disaster. An earthquake or regional weather event will affect many communities and require the services of local, state, and federal responders. Bainbridge Island will become part of a larger response effort and our needs may not be addressed quickly.  Are you prepared to be self-sufficient for three or more days?

With all of the technology available to us today, nature is always ready to remind us how fragile that connection is. We live on an island but seldom think about what that really means. When the Agate Pass Bridge is closed for a few hours our traffic comes to a standstill. What if it was closed for days—or longer? When the ferry is late, our schedules get disrupted—what if it was out of service for a week? Now is a good time to look at these things and to see what preparedness improvements you can make in your own home and neighborhood.

Local programs—like Map Your Neighborhood, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) sponsored by the Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management (www.kitsapdem.org) and the Bainbridge Island Fire Department (www.bifd.org), and BainbridgeIslandRecovers sponsored by Sustainable Bainbridge’s Prepared Neighborhoods and the BIFD—provide resources for homeowners and communities to help them get ready to cope with the immediate and long-term effects of a natural disaster. Local community groups such as Sustainable Bainbridge (http://www.sustainablebainbridge.org) support us in these efforts.

Preparedness is a grassroots effort: It starts with you. Local emergency responders, police and fire, will be stretched beyond their capabilities and many will have the same issues you are experiencing—damaged homes, caring for family members, etc. Your ability to rely on your own resources is crucial to improving the outcome of the event. Get yourself ready. What do you need to get by for three or more days without electricity or running water? Some of the needs are easy to prepare for, such as food and water. But some require a little more forethought:

• How about that cell phone? How will you charge that without electricity? Do you have a car charger that you can use to charge your cell phone and other devices?
• Don’t forget your pets—they need food and water too.
• If you take prescription medications, do you have enough to go for a week if the pharmacy is closed or you are unable to get out of your house?

Often, it’s the little things that we forget that become important. The Map Your Neighborhood program has lots of tips for preparedness that are easy to do.

Map Your Neighborhood also encourages you to expand preparedness to your surrounding neighbors. In a disaster, teamwork plays a huge role in the success of your recovery. As a group, you can leverage the strengths of your neighbors to benefit everyone. For example, if someone has a chainsaw that can be used to clear fallen trees, then access to your community can be improved. A home with a generator may be able to shelter people who cannot care for themselves without electricity. CERT members can be integrated into the large-scale response and recovery efforts on the Island.

We can look at recent storms on the East Coast for lessons on preparedness and response and gain valuable information to help us prepare. The New Zealand earthquake in 2011 provided valuable information on earthquake damage and response in an urban environment. On Bainbridge Island, it’s estimated that a magnitude 6.5 earthquake may damage one-third of the Island’s homes. History has shown us that relief efforts from outside agencies can be slow and sporadic, especially if the event is regional, and so the need to be self-sufficient is crucial. Armed with this knowledge, families and communities can prepare with just a few hours of time and not a lot of cost.

Take some time this month to look at the websites, download the information, and have a discussion with your family.  Reach out to your neighbors and plan a community event to get prepared for natural disasters.

If you would like more information, contact me at lcarpenter@bifd.org or Susan May of the Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management at SMay@co.kitsap.wa.us.

Related Posts:

• Island “Pre-Recovers” from Emergency? Get Ready at the Disaster Prep. Event March 2nd
• Preparing for Emergency
• Preparing for Emergency: Developing Resilience Within a Community
• Preparing for Emergency: Starting with Food
• Preparing for Emergency: Water—The Precious Resource
• Preparing for Emergency: Come on Baby Light My Fire
• Preparing for Emergency: Gimme Shelter
• Preparing for Emergency: Keeping the Lines of Communication Open
• Preparing for Emergency: Localmotion
  
• Preparing for Emergency: Come Together
• Preparing for Emergency: Security
• Preparing for Emergency: Opting out en Masse
• Disaster Preparedness Part 5: Bainbridge Hoods Organizing
• Disaster Preparedness Part 4: Your New Year’s Resolution
• Disaster Preparedness Part 3: Family First
• Disaster Preparedness Part 2: People Get Ready
• Disaster Preparedness Part 1: The Fire Department Takes Over 
• Map Your Neighborhood Party This Evening: Get Prepared

Photo by Cory Doctorow.

The 500 Club has nothing to do with Pat Robertson. It is a bar in San Francisco, but I’m not talking about that here. Neither am I referring to accumulated home runs. On Bainbridge, the 500 Club is an elite membership belonging to Fire Department volunteers who have put in 500 volunteer hours in just a single quarter and are rewarded with a commemorative gold coin.

Do the math. Five hundred hours in one quarter comes out to four hours a day for more than 120 days. Members of the BIFD’s 500 club are so dedicated that they’re spending more than half of their work weeks working for free, serving our community for no reason other than that they want to.

But their volunteering is not just something that anyone who has a hankering to hang out in the fire station can do. The BIFD requires two certifications for the volunteers: Firefighter 1 National Certification requires 11 weeks of training in  North Bend. EMT training requires 160 hours (16 per week) in Bremerton. All BIFD firefighters need to go through both.

Fire Marshal Luke Carpenter said that the department set the bar high for volunteers because they wanted there to be absolutely no visible difference between a paid, full-time firefighter and a volunteer. That’s an important criterion for a department that is about one-half volunteer staffed, with 35 volunteers and 33 career employees. In other jurisdictions it is not uncommon for volunteers to have their own stations and even engines. Not so on Bainbridge, where volunteers are fully integrated with the career firefighters, wearing the same uniforms, responding together to the same incidents.

The volunteers not only go out on calls. They also conduct fire prevention inspections, work on station maintenance, participate in ongoing training, offer free CPR classes to the community on the fourth Monday of every month, work at the annual pancake breakfast—and clean toilets.

Fire Chief Hank Teran said they’re doing all they can to be fiscally responsible and that includes using volunteers for service. “We’re committed to having this be a combo department,” he said. “It’s best for the community and keeps costs down.” Carpenter explained that the volunteers put in 2,000 hours per year, and the career firefighters put in 2,086, which means, he said, that having a volunteer is basically like having a full-time employee but at a fraction of the cost.

Except not for free. Jay Rosenberg, a half-time employee, is the volunteer coordinator for the department. He explained that the volunteers actually do get paid: a whopping $10 reimbursement per call for the two station resident volunteers and $10 for every two volunteer hours for nonresidents. This money comes out of the BIFD budget.

There are other costs too. Sending volunteers to North Bend for training costs money. So does getting them gear, which runs $2500 per person. Carpenter said that air packs are $4,500 apiece.

Three Volunteers

Among the 500 Club elite, toilet brush-wielding volunteers are Tien Tran, Kristin Braun, and Peter Gibson. Tran and Braun have received the 500 Club commemorative coin four times each. Gibson has earned it once. Tran and Gibson live at Fire Station 21 full time. Their residency requires that they put in 120 volunteer hours per month, or 360 per quarter. Those hours are not figured into the 500. Last quarter, Gibson put in 680 hours plus the 360 residency hours.

Tien Tran

Tran, who hails from Rainier Valley, said he manages financially as a volunteer by living carefully and not spending much money. He has lived at the station for three years. When he’s not working at the station, he’s studying, completing his bachelor’s in Fire Service Administration. Tran said, “I enjoy what I do. I think it’s more important than having a Mercedes or a Lexus. My dream is to be in a department.”

To achieve that dream, Tran has been actively testing for five years. The way the process works is a candidate completes the testing required by a particular fire department of interest. Each fire department conducts its own testing, and the tests vary from department to department. Once the testing is complete, if the department is interested, they put the candidate on a waiting list. If an opening in the department should occur, the department looks at the list for replacements and puts the candidate on an interview list. That’s why the process can take so long.

Braun, a former station resident, has volunteered for BIFD for nine and a half years. She’s also a full-time nursing student and will graduate in June. When Carpenter announced proudly that Braun has maintained a 3.5 GPA in her nursing program, she humbly downplayed it, saying that maintaining a 3.5 GPA is a requirement.

Peter Gibson

Gibson has only been at the BIFD for nine months. Prior to that he was stationed in Edmonds and Port Ludlow, and before that he was an intern with the Snohomish Fire Department. Like Tran, he’s looking for a fire department career and is actively testing. Gibson said he very much appreciates “an in-house test” because it better matches up a candidate with what a specific department is looking for. He said he does a fair amount of research before targeting a department for testing.

Gibson said he’s never been on a single call that’s been like any other. One of the most memorable calls was one for which he actually got to find out the ending. The call was for an unknown medical situation. One day months later, Gibson happened to run into the former patient who told him he’d been having a heart attack. He said, “You guys saved my life.” Gibson said it was “really nice getting that closure,” something that’s never happened after any other calls. But he also appreciated getting the information about the man’s condition. He said that, since then, he tries to figure out if they’re missing something hidden—like the man’s heart attack—when working with a patient.

(A fourth member of the club, Travis Lande, was not available for an interview.)

One Team

About the volunteers, Carpenter said, “My big thing is you can’t tell the difference.” Teran said, “There is no B crew. They’re all on the varsity.” Rosenberg said that one advantage of the BIFD is “the way the volunteers fit in seamlessly. That’s a big draw for volunteers to come to this department.” He added, “This used to be an all-volunteer department. So that’s the way it’s always been and always worked for us.”

Rosenberg, who used to work in Biotech, said that working for the Fire Department is a completely different experience. “You get a sense of giving back to your community. You get to be part of an organization that’s bigger than yourself. You learn how to care for your family and friends.”

Tran said that, for him, it’s been about accumulating life lessons. “I’ve learned how to communicate. It’s helped me mature. I’ve bettered myself physically and mentally. It’s not just a 9 to 5 situation. You never stop learning.” The way he thinks about volunteering is that “You don’t clean toilets at 8 a.m. You get to.”

He said volunteering for BIFD “changed my life completely.” He proudly showed me his 500 Club coin, which he always keeps in his pocket. “Other departments don’t offer this recognition,” he said.

Since 2009, BIFD volunteers do not have to be island residents. Teran said that the change “provides diversity for the department, which is important. It has also increased participation.” Rosenberg added that they had just received a call from a volunteer firefighter at a somewhat humdrum outpost in Montana who was interested in the BIFD because they get more life-saving, firefighting action. Are you interested? Contact Jay Rosenberg at VPC@bifd.org.

Before class even started this morning, October 14, Wilkes administration evacuated students and staff when the fire alarm was activated just before the 7:50 bell. The Bainbridge Island Fire Department arrived and disabled the alarm before conducting a thorough search for the cause. So far, they believe that the alarm was either pulled or accidentally activated by being hit with a backpack as students stowed their belongings.

When the alarm went off, students were still arriving at school so attendance had not yet been taken. Teachers gathered with their classes, and incoming students waited with adults in the covered plaza area until they spotted their teachers and classes and could join them. About three students were unaccounted for because they were either late or absent, and school administration called the experience “a great drill” as it required them to figure out how to handle an unexpected situation.

Students returned to the building after about ten minutes. The Fire Department is continuing to investigate what tripped the alarm.

Photo by Ben Schumin.

The saga of the sunken tugboat over at Bainbridge Island Marina may have drifted from your thoughts, but you are paying for it.

On October 2, the 60-foot, 100-ton, 98-year-old Chickamauga sank in Eagle Harbor following several days of unseasonably heavy rain. Boats sink all the time, but this one had some 400 gallons of fuel on board, enough to cover our entire 1.5-mile -long Eagle Harbor and devastate the ecosystem we all cherish.

Fast work by the Bainbridge Island Fire Department caught most of the fuel that initially spilled into the Harbor from the tug, and a crew hired by the Coast Guard was able to remove five of the six fuel tanks onboard before the boat listed to the side and conditions became too dangerous for the crew’s diver to continue her work. That left one tank rolling around in the old tug, which had been parked derelict at the Marina since last spring with missing and separated planking.

The boat was so old and dilapidated, in fact, that many at the Marina, including Manager Doug Crow, wanted it removed. Crow told me the tug had been an ongoing problem since it was parked there last February at night when he couldn’t fully see its poor condition. Crow said the tug’s owner Anthony Smith left him two month’s rent for the Chickamauga and a promise of insurance—a standard requirement of the Marina for all of its vessels—before leaving town.

Crow waited a few days for proof of insurance. He said he tried calling the owner about the insurance a few times, the last on February 13. “I didn’t follow up after that. . . . I got busy,” said Crow.

But when the rent checks did not arrive, Crow spent all spring trying to get Smith to remove the boat. “The owner wouldn’t return calls, and bills were being returned,” he said. “Finally after June I figured he dropped the boat on us, and I started researching how to get rid of a derelict vessel.”

Crow explained that the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) does not have the money to handle derelict boats: “If I had filled out the paperwork to declare the boat derelict I would have had to take possession of it and become responsible for it.”

As long as the sunken tug had fuel still aboard, it remained the responsibility of the Coast Guard to protect the environment from the danger it posed. On October 10, the Coast Guard hired a contractor to bring in a (huge) barge crane to pull the tug out of the water so the fuel tank could be removed. While engines pumped out the water from the boat the crane lifted the vessel up via powerful straps wedged underneath it by a diver. The crane succeeded in pulling up the tug and removing the remaining fuel, at an estimated cost of $150,000, according to Seattle’s Coast Guard 13 spokesperson Jordan Akiyama. “The money comes out of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which appropriates funds through taxation of each barrel of oil produced and traded in the United States,” explained Akiyama.

To the surprise of many, the tug remains afloat in the Marina with no assistance. Its massive length and girth are now fully visible. Crow says that he has been in touch with Smith, who told him he plans to bring friends to remove the vessel. It remains to be seen if the tug can withstand upcoming rains or a journey out of the Marina let alone in open water.

When I asked Crow what he thought caused the tugboat to sink he said, “The boat was out of the water all summer. I think the heat and dryness dried the wood and seams—and with the big rain, water probably got in and exposed the seams.”

Crow told me there were bilge pumps on the tug that click on alarms if water in the boat reaches a certain level. He wasn’t sure if the pump alarms sounded the morning the tug went down, but he said he never heard them. When I asked him if he had checked to make sure they were in working order, he said that he hadn’t because he didn’t know how. Luckily Crow noticed the sinking boat quickly and, he said, “the fire department did a yoeman’s job—I was very grateful for their professionalism.”

“I would have been smart not to take possession of that boat,” said Crow.

Here is a photo gallery showing the sunken tug, the process of lifting it out of the water with a barge crane, and the floating tug afterward.

[portfolio_slideshow id=60867]

Related Stories

• ‘Absolutely Preventable’ Sinking of Tug Still a Danger to Eagle Harbor and a Problem for the Coast Guard
• Large Tugboat Sinking in Eagle Harbor
• Sunken Tug in Eagle Harbor Leaking Oil Poses Potential Pollution Threat

Huge thanks to the ever adventurous Colleen Byrum for reporting and photo assistance. Thanks also to Lynn Smith, Robert Dashiell, and Luke Carpenter for photo and reporting assistance. Photos credits (alphabetically) by Colleen Byrum, Luke Carpenter, Robert Dashiell, Julie Hall, Sarah Lane, and Lynn Smith.

First, you might be wondering what a fire commissioner does. Here’s what the RCW (52.14.010) has to say on the matter:

The affairs of the district shall be managed by a board of fire commissioners composed . . . of registered voters residing in the district. . . . The board shall fix the compensation to be paid the secretary and all other agents and employees of the district. The board may, by resolution adopted by unanimous vote, authorize any of its members to serve as volunteer firefighters without compensation. A commissioner actually serving as a volunteer firefighter may enjoy the rights and benefits of a volunteer firefighter.

And here’s some more information from RCW 52.14.100:

The board has the power and duty to adopt a seal of the district, to manage and conduct the business affairs of the district, to make and execute all necessary contracts, to employ any necessary services, and to adopt reasonable rules to govern the district and to perform its functions, and generally to perform all such acts as may be necessary to carry out the objects of the creation of the district.

In other words, a fire commissioner has a lot of say over what happens to your Fire Department. In fact, because fire protection districts are political subdivisions of the state and municipal corporations, the commissioners are the sole authorities on administrative operations.

In this election, for which you have probably already received your ballot, there are four (out of five) fire commissioner positions open on Bainbridge Island. Positions 2 and 5 are six-year terms, position 3 is a four-year term, and position 5 is a two-year term. So whatever happens has the potential to have a large impact on the Department.

So how do you decide?

Your answer to the following questions should help you decide among the competing candidates:

1. Is it a good or a bad thing for the candidate who will oversee the “affairs of the department” to be a member of the department?
2. Is it more important for the candidate to have firefighting experience or managerial experience?

Here is information provided by the candidates to the Kitsap County Auditor to help guide your decision:

Commissioner Position 2 (6-Year Term)

YongSuk Cho (Nonpartisan) I am a first generation immigrant. I came to Bainbridge Island at the age of 17 from South Korea in 1988. I have been a resident in Bainbridge Island for 26 years. My Fire and EMS experience include: 22 years as a volunteer firefighter/EMT for Bainbridge Island Fire Department; 14 years as a career firefighter/EMT for Seattle Fire Department; 8 years as a member of FEMA-Disaster Medical Assistance Team (Federal deployments include the Atlanta Olympic bombing, North Dakota flooding, and Northridge earthquake); 7 years as a volunteer/EMT for Bainbridge Island Ambulance.

Statement: Bainbridge Island Fire Department has a long and proud history of providing the highest quality of emergency services to its citizens. The fire stations on Bainbridge Island are staffed by the most dedicated professionals (both Career and Volunteer) that I have ever known. I have had the honor and privilege of serving the citizens of Bainbridge Island for the last 22 years as a volunteer firefighter among those professionals. As a member of the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, I have been involved in the Cadet program, the Resident program, Technical Rescue program, Training program, and various committees involving policy changes and capital improvements. In the coming years, the Department will need to make difficult decisions regarding staffing, capital improvements, and emphasis in different programs. I hope to use my knowledge and experience to help make optimal decisions regarding these issues, and to continue to improve the high quality services provided to the citizens of Bainbridge Island.

David H. Lynch (Nonpartisan) David Lynch, Ph.D., worked at the National Cancer Institute and the University of Utah Medical School before moving to Bainbridge Island in 1988. He lives with his wife and 14-year-old stepdaughter. He has written articles for numerous scientific publications and spoken at international symposia. He has served on both governmental and corporate scientific advisory boards and grant review committees. Locally he has served on the Bainbridge Island Harbor Commission and played a significant role in obtaining a $2M settlement from the Washington State Ferry system that has been designated for waterfront improvement projects on the Island.

Statement: I’ve lived on Bainbridge Island for 25 years. In the past 2 years I had the opportunity to spend significant time with the last Business Administrator for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department and to discuss many aspects of the Department: its operations, needs and challenges. Currently there is a significant “change in the guard” occurring with the turnover of 3 of the 5 Commission seats, and thus a need for strong guidance to ensure the Island has a vibrant Department that provides optimal coverage while remaining fiscally prudent. My educational and corporate experiences will be of value in solving both the current challenges the Department faces and providing critical oversight and guidance in creating and implementing a financially viable strategic development plan for the future. As current Fire Department plans include asking voters for additional funds, it is imperative that the new Board be free from perceived conflicts of interests such as having family members work for the Department or vying for future employment with the Department. The Department has made significant strides in becoming more professional and providing increased services. As a Commissioner, I am committed to continuing that trend.

Commissioner Position 3 (4-Year Unexpired Term)

Dan Morrow (Nonpartisan) I am a lifelong Kitsap County resident, over 27 years of which I have lived on Bainbridge Island. I currently serve as Chair of the Bainbridge Island Fire Department Board of Commissioners and in the past have served Bainbridge Island as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and as a career firefighter/EMT. I hold a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington. I have worked as an Equity Trader/ Financial Analyst and served as CFO of a successful law firm specializing in medical malpractice and personal injury cases.

Statement: In the role of Fire Commissioner I will continue to champion for fiscal accountability through ongoing financial and process audits while balancing an expectation of high levels of service for career and volunteers of BIFD alike. I strongly support prevention through public education and continued training for all personnel. I also encourage the development of strong inter-agency relationships with the hope of opportunities for shared resources thus reducing the overall tax burden Bainbridge Island citizens will experience.

Commissioner Position 4  (6-Year Term)

William (Bill) Ruddick (Nonpartisan) I have worked as a controller, general manager, and vice president in large corporations and have consulted to over 150 companies in 10 different countries. Past president and board member of the National Wood Window and Door Association. Graduated from the University of Puget Sound with degrees in Business Administration and Economics. Board member and Vice President of Accelerate Kitsap, Past President and Board member of Sunset Hills Water Association, volunteer for Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce.

Statement: I have lived on the Island for over 30 years. My goal is to assist the Fire Department to address the critical issues facing us in external, internal, and financial areas in order to be prepared not just for today, but also in the future. Objectives will include the maintenance and growth of a strong and dependable volunteer program to keep costs down and assist our career firefighters. This will also enhance the ability to better cover the spikes in both cars and people due to increasing ferry traffic.

Eileen A. McSherry (Nonpartisan) Eileen McSherry, a long-time resident of Bainbridge Island, serves as Manager of Human Resources for Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue. She has served in Senior Management positions for the Social Security Administration and worked in Labor and Employee Relations for the Navy. Specializing in Conflict Resolution, Human Resources and Communications, Eileen has Masters in Public Administration and in Counseling, both from Seattle University. As personnel costs make up most of the costs of running the Fire Department, she looks forward to offering her expertise to ensure that the department financial and personnel practices best serve the population of Bainbridge Island.

Statement: My priorities as Commissioner will include: Maintaining the role of volunteers: The Bainbridge Island Fire Department has evolved from a primarily volunteer organization to a combined department with volunteers and career professionals. Maintaining the role of volunteers will be one of my priorities. Expanding Service: Ensuring the Department continues to expand services to the northend of the island and maintains appropriate funding. In 2009 the Department adopted plans to staff both the northend and the southend fire stations but, to date, has only staffed the southend. Optimizing new opportunities: The Fire Service is entering a period of rapid changes as federal mandates and incentives will change the way care is provided. My background will allow me to help Bainbridge Island navigate these changes in the most advantageous fashion. Rigorous Planning: I will ensure that the allocation of resources for personnel, equipment and facilities is integrated and well planned. Transparency: Since the Fire Department is a public agency using public funds, I will ensure that the Department meets the highest standards of accountability and transparency with the adoption of comprehensive performance measures. Labor Relations: I will promote collaborative working relations between management and the union.

Commissioner Position 5 (2-Year Unexpired Term)

Holly vanSchaick (Nonpartisan) Holly is a Nationally Certified Firefighter and Washington State Certified Paramedic. She began her career in emergency medical response starting as a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT) with the Bainbridge Island Ambulance Association and went on to become a career Firefighter and Paramedic. She has had the opportunity to work in a variety of urban and rural environments and has experienced firsthand the challenges met by the departments and the needs of the community. Her professional experience includes Kitsap, Yakima, Clallam and Skagit Counties. Holly is also a busy parent raising four children on Bainbridge Island.

Statement: I will benefit the Board of Commissioners by offering the insight of a currently active emergency response professional, island homeowner and parent. I am passionate about my work and want to give back to this vibrant community in the best way possible. As a mother raising four children on Bainbridge, it’s a personal concern to me that my children are in the care of the best possible emergency services should the need ever arise. Joining the Board would allow me to bring my diverse experiences home and combine them with the unique geography and resources of our beautiful island.

Theresa (Teri) Dettmer (Nonpartisan) I had the pleasure of practicing law for twenty-five years in the areas of health care, employment relations, risk management, insurance defense and professional responsibility. My practice involved representation of individuals, corporations and governmental entities, including physicians, hospitals, state government, county government, city government and fire districts. As a law firm partner, I helped manage budgets, resources and employees to maximize the outcome for all involved. I have lived on Bainbridge Island for over eighteen years, and my husband and I have two children at Bainbridge High School.

Statement: The commissioners are responsible for managing the department’s $7.4 million budget and making such decisions as whether to submit levy requests to the voters and at what amount, whether to construct and/or remodel fire department facilities, and how to staff stations, including the now unstaffed Phelps Road station. This undertaking requires commissioners with significant managerial and administrative experience, as well as an understanding of the law governing the department. As a commissioner, I would assure the department continued to provide the premium level of emergency services we currently enjoy, while searching for ways to improve and be more cost effective. My priorities include employing maximum transparency in all transactions, assisting residents with disaster preparedness, and maintaining a strong volunteer program. Almost 80% of the calls to the department are for medical services, and I look forward to using my years of experience representing health care providers to assist the department’s mission to provide emergency care in a safe and speedy manner. I am especially committed to staffing the Phelps Road station to ensure that residents in the northern part of the island have the same access to swift medical services as now enjoyed by us south end residents.

Commissioner Glen Tyrell resigned in April, and his position has remained open since then. The terms of Commissioners Paul Bang Knudsen, Maureen Halligan, and Dan Morrow are ending. Morrow replaced Susan Cohen who stepped down in April of 2012.

Photo by Sarah Lane.

Last night (October 31) around 10, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department was called to a chimney fire at 13910 Ellingsen Road. Three tenders, including one from North Kitsap and one from Poulsbo, and two Bainbridge engines responded with a total of 18 firefighters.

When firefighters arrived, the home’s two occupants had already evacuated. The fire had spread from the metal chimney to the roof and into the attic. Firefighters laddered the roof and opened a four-foot section of it. They also broke through a portion of drywall and removed insulation in an effort to contain the fire and ensure it couldn’t spread further.

After extinguishing the fire, crews covered the roof to protect it from the elements.

Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter said there were no injuries. About the fire, he said, “For the second time in as many weeks the island has experienced a chimney fire that spread to the roof. Occupants escaped both fires but both homes were damaged. Please remember to have your chimneys cleaned and inspected once a year by a certified professional.” He added that the creosote buildup in a dirty chimney produces more heat and can contribute to a problem. He said that especially with brick chimneys, chinks in the mortar can develop. Professional chimney sweeps are trained to look for such problems.

Related Stories

• Old Mill Road House Fire Contained with Damage
• House Fire on Old Mill Road

Photo by Luke Carpenter.

The parking lot incident yesterday morning (October 31) at Bainbridge High School that concluded with a police response was handled by everyone involved in “textbook fashion” according to Police Chief Matt Hamner. The incident began when a student going to park his car in his assigned spot near the tennis courts discovered another car in his spot. The man who was parked there was blasting loud music from the car and smoking.

The student went to the school office to report the problem to the school resource officer, Michael Krysinski. He, in turn, checked out the situation and asked the man to move his car. The man lunged at him and then displayed a Swiss army knife on the dashboard of his car. That’s when Krysinski called 911.

Two police officers responded immediately to the scene and were swiftly followed by backup. In addition to the Chief, Officer Ben Sias, Detective Scott Weiss, and Lieutenants Chris Jensen and Denis Giuntoli responded to the scene. They boxed in the man’s car with their own vehicles to prevent him from escaping.

Hamner said that they communicated to the man that they wanted to help him and wanted to know what it was that he needed. Hamner said it was clear that the man “was having a mental health crisis at that moment” and that his behavior “was not typical.” The man refused to speak with officers. To avoid having to leave his car, he urinated in a cup. When he rolled down his window to pour it out, Sias reached in and unlocked the door, giving officers the opportunity to open the door and apprehend the man. Hamner said that once he was handcuffed in the back of a patrol car, they offered him a jacket, food, and water.

Later a source alerted the police to the fact that the man had posted threats on Facebook. An investigation is underway, and information is being forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

Hamner said he would give everyone involved in responding to the situation an “A+. As soon as they realized there was an issue, they called us. They worked hand in hand with us. What occurred is what should have occurred.” He also gave kudos to Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter and the Fire Department for their response, which was to stand at the ready on scene with an ambulance in case the incident escalated.

Hamner also said that the police made sure no students were in the area during their response. About the precautions they took, he said, “We didn’t overreact or underreact.”

I spoke with Carpenter, who supervises our community’s emergency response program. Carpenter said that he met with the high school last year for what is called an “active shooter tabletop.” He has so far met with four of the five public schools. The sessions are designed to help school administration and staff prepare for the types of violent incidents we have seen in select school across the nation.

Carpenter said, “Bainbridge Island is Newtown, Connecticut. We are an “affluent, predominantly white, high median income community. We’re no different from them.” The tabletop sessions, which are also attended by a police representative, involve a scenario based on a real incident but tweaked to meet the specifics of the school. After Carpenter presents the scenario, the police present how they would respond. Then administration is asked to discuss how they would respond.

Carpenter explained that during such an incident law enforcement’s job is primarily to stop the event, a policy that developed directly out of the Columbine experience. He said the event stops either when the police kill the shooter, the shooter kills him- or herself, or the school is barricaded to prevent further violence. He said the Fire Department’s job is to care for the injured. “The school district is responsible for everything else.”

After a tabletop at Wilkes, Principal Sheryl Belt asked Carpenter to return to meet with some of the teachers who had additional questions. Carpenter and Police Lieutenant Jensen walked through each teacher’s classroom and gave pointers on where students might hide during an event.

Like Hamner, he was very pleased with the school’s response to the situation.

Photo by Joe Logon.

The forty-seven chilly, physically fit, mostly young people lined up outside the fire station on Madison at 305 early this morning, November 4, were hoping for one thing: to get on the Bainbridge Island Fire Department’s job waiting list. Several dozen firefighter hopefuls spent the night camped out, having arrived as early as 7 p.m. Sunday night. Although the fire department has announced they are accepting applications from firefighter candidates until November 15, they will cut off the list at 150, and that’s why candidates camped out and lined up early.

Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter said there isn’t even a job opening: “We are testing to establish an eligibility list for the next one to two years. The fact that they are willing to camp out just to get on a list is a comment about the job.” Full-time firefighter jobs are so coveted that last week 8,000 candidates took the Seattle firefighter test. And many of the candidates on Bainbridge today said the same thing: There aren’t enough jobs to go around so when you hear that a department is taking applications or offering a test, you show up.

Most of the people in line are already firefighting volunteers from all over Washington. Jeff had come in from Kirkland this morning, Ted is a volunteer on Vashon, and Mike drove in from Port Orchard. Ted said, “Most of the time you don’t even know if there’s going to be a job when you apply.” He added that with the Seattle exam, he won’t even find out until mid-November if he will advance to the next step in the application process.

Phoebe from North Bend and Nathan from Maple Valley, who are both volunteers in Black Diamond, got up at around 4:30 to get to Bainbridge this morning. Their nearby line neighbor Ryan, who is a volunteer at Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue, spent the night in a sleeping bag in a camp chair. He said he queued up at about 11 p.m. A lot of candidates said that any firefighting job would be good, but Ryan was specifically interested in a Bainbridge job. He said the location, right in the middle between Seattle and the rest of the county, is ideal because it means staff keep busy and “get a lot of Seattle transports.”

Shawn and James from South Kitsap arrived at 7:30 last night and set up tents along the west side of the station where they had been given permission to camp. Unlike Ryan who seemed slightly frozen, they were merely chilly, but they said there had been ice on their tent when they woke up.

Juanitta, who lives in Kingston but is a volunteer in Poulsbo, was one of the older candidates. Like Ryan, she had spent the night in a sleeping bag in a chair. She said that when the first candidates arrived, they had a discussion about the honor system and agreed that planting your chair meant you could sleep in your car or your tent. Juanitta said that she works as a designer-contractor. She and her husband used to work together, but then he became a firefighter volunteer and eventually got a full-time job. She started volunteering too and, like him, fell in love with the work. She said, “Plus, our kids are used to the lifestyle by now.”

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Photos by Sarah Lane.