Debra Sinz and her husband, Mike, manage 85 properties through their
business, Mountain Retreats. And as a volunteer for the Hoodland Fire District,
Debra is on call for both duties 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Luckily for Debra, her husband can help pick up the slack if she responds to a
fire call in the middle of the night – something she did with regularity last
year. That type of dedication earned Debra the Firefighter of the Year award
at the district’s annual banquet, held Saturday, Jan. 19 at The Resort at The
Mountain.

“This is my neighborhood and I want to make it safe for everybody,” said
Debra, a Mountain resident for 26 years who started volunteering at the
district three years ago. “I try to be there any time I can. There’s a lot of
people that work, there’s a lot of people that have things going on.”

Fire Chief Mic Eby noted many qualities that made her stand out as a
firefighter, including participating in a high number of drills and responses,
participating in many workshops and training out of the district (and out of
the state), her dependability during late night and early morning calls
regardless of the weather or the nature of the call, being highly responsible
for the station and fire equipment and her work with the district’s Community
Emergency Response Team.

“She is truly dedicated to this community, to the people of this community, to
serving them, helping them and supporting them,” Eby said. “She’s got a
wonderful, sharing, caring spirit that is just amazing to me.”

Other award winners included Evan Jarvis as the district’s EMT of the Year and
Karin Powell as the Rookie of the Year.

Jarvis, who started as a Fire Explorer in 2003 and joined as a volunteer in
2007, was recently certified as a National and State of Oregon Paramedic.

“Over the past few years Evan has demonstrated a large amount of personal
growth,” Eby wrote in an email. “He has greatly increased his knowledge and
skill level on both the fire and medical side. I feel that he has a bright future
not only in EMS but also in the fire service as a whole.”

The district also honored Purdy’s Towing with the Above and Beyond
Community Appreciation Award for more than 30 years of supporting the
district.

Eby noted that the company’s contributions including transporting the East
County Fire Simulation trailer, supplying vehicles for various drills, showing
care and compassion to accident victims and removing vehicular debris.

Meanwhile, Eby also reported the district received 18 applications for the
district’s volunteer training academy, which started last month.

Eby noted the number of applicants is the most he recalled in the past 20
years, with a typical year seeing four to 12 applicants.

The training academy will take up to six months, meeting up to three times
each week, but Eby added that three current EMTs and one firefighter in the
academy will be fast-tracked and would be able to respond to calls sooner.

The district also started using the Active911 system, a messaging system for
iPhones and Droids that provides maps and response information and allows
responders to monitor a situation in real time.

The district tested the system last fall and began using it full time in
December at a cost of approximately $11 per unit per year (Eby reported
there are currently 25 units with the system).