Chelan Fire and Rescue talks budget, new hires, recalls

CHELAN – Chelan Fire and Rescue (CFR) District 7 commissioners met Wednesday, Nov. 8, for a regular monthly meeting, as well as a public hearing on the station’s 2018 Budget.
After an itemized breakdown of revenue, expenses, and allocations, CFR 7 will be looking at a revenue base of $3,329,000 with approximately $2,457,000 going toward expenses, the end of the year balance for 2018 is estimated to be around $872,000 in the general fund, which is a little less than what was started with this year according to Fire Chief Tim Lemon.
As the meeting progressed into the monthly meeting agenda, Assistant Chief Mark Donnell provided an update on volunteer and permanent fighter status’. In completing the chief exam and interview, a conditional offer has been made to Austin Murdock of Chelan, and comes fully certified as EMT and Firefighter said Donnell. Murdock will be joining the fire and rescue crew toward the end of November, “he was pleased as peaches when I called to offer him the position,” chuckled Donnell. In lieutenant promotion testing, Donnell stated that written tests have been completed and are in the midst of finalizing the last portions of the assessments. Those who pass the lieutenant’s exam will be place on a list that will be referred to for future openings and will also be used for acting positions. Starting in 2018, each shift will have a lieutenant and an eligible acting lieutenant.
Another highly important topic discussed during the meeting was the emergency safety recall on Kidde brand fire extinguishers. The extinguishers, recalled on Nov. 2, 2017, can become “clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency,” according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, “in addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard.” Immediately contact the Kidde company for replacement if you have a recalled extinguisher. Refer to recall number 18-022 and call Kidde toll-free at 855-271-0773 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, or online at www.kidde.com and click on “Product Safety Recall” for more information.