Story and photo by Gary Bégin, Managing Editor, NCW Media
CHELAN - “The main highlight for our last Board of Commissioners meeting was moving forward with our Citizen Advisory Group. At this time, I am collecting the names submitted by the Board and reaching out to theses participants to determine availability for scheduling the first meeting,” Chelan Fire Chief Mark Donnell said.
Regarding a rumor that some fire departments would be merging, Donnell set the record straight, “The East Wenatchee District information that you heard was incorrect. Douglas County Fire District #2 (East Wenatchee) and Chelan County Fire District #1 (Wenatchee) are looking at having one Chief (Brian Brett from CCFD #1) for both fire districts while they explore the possibility of regionalizing their respective districts into a single fire district,” Donnell said.
“Even though we are not directly involved with this merger we are in discussions about regionalizing shared services (training, technical rescue, mechanic services, administrative) with our mutual response partners, including CCFD #1,” he said.
In an annual report to the District employees, citizens and interested parties, Donnell stated, “2020 marked the first full year of my tenure as Fire Chief and to say that it was not challenging is an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic placed tremendous pressure on our organization not only in the delivery of emergency services but also our ability to prepare and manage a serious issue that has had a tremendous impact on our community. Through the commitment of our personnel to stay true to our mission, we have been able to rise-up and work together with many of our partner agencies. Together we have met those challenges, keeping our community safe and healthy. We still have much work to do, but we know that together we will get through this,” stated Donnell.
He continued, “Operationally, Chelan Fire & Rescue responded to 929 calls for emergency service in addition to participating in numerous state mobilizations throughout Washington and California (See sPie Chart).
“We faced our own major fire challenge on September 7 with the Apple Acres Fire that required statewide assistance to mitigate. This fire was just one of many that plagued Washington State that day leading to the largest single day fire loss in our state’s history,” Donnell said.
On a different topic, Donnell said the training burn offered by Chelan of a city of Chelan building is sometime in the near or far future.
“The live fire training at the City Public Works building is tentatively scheduled for March 6, but may be delayed until the fall depending upon the direction from the city,” concluded Donnell.
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