The Hoodland Fire District’s (HFD) board of directors welcomed a new member
on Sunday, March 13, when Darcy Lais was sworn in.

Lais, who has lived on the mountain for ten years, spent 28 years working for
the Clackamas Fire District (CFD), retiring as a lieutenant in January 2012.

“I thought that since I spent that much time working for the fire district, it
would be kind of nice to give back and spend some time to see what I could
do to help my own community and the fire district up here on the mountain,”
Lais said.

Lais noted during his time with CFD and in addition to his regular duties, he
was part of the process of ordering new fire engines. He also worked with
current HFD Deputy Chief John Ingrao when Ingrao was a battalion chief at
the CFD.

Ingrao noted Lais’ experience at CFD will help him serve HFD, including
spending time at both rural and urban fire stations, working with and training
volunteers and responding to complex scenes, such as structure fires.

“Kind of all the things that we have here, he did there,” Ingrao said. “As a
board member he’s going to be very well attuned to our needs and desires.”
Lais noted one of his priorities is to get 24-hour coverage with paid personnel
for the HFD.

“That’s something that I would definitely like to see happen and hopefully we
can make that happen,” he said.

Lais added that he is also heavily involved with his church, Village Fellowship,
while he also likes to camp, fish and hunt and loves living on the mountain.
“The hardest part about living on the mountain is you actually have to drive to
town,” he said.