More than 30 years ago, Linn Norgard was a wild land firefighter living on the
Mountain when he decided to sign up as a volunteer at the Hoodland Fire
District. Since then, he’s served as a training officer and seen countless others
join in to help the district, serve the community and make a difference on the
Mountain.

“After 30 years, it’s kind of like watching a bunch of your kids grow up; it
makes you feel proud that you’ve helped support folks in their later careers,”
Norgard said. “Volunteer fire fighters are still the backbone of the fire service.
Without volunteers doing so many different programs out there, this country
would fall apart.”

This January, the HFD will once again welcome a new batch of potential
volunteers with a new training company, and applications for interested
community members are available at the district’s main station, 69634 Hwy.
26 in Welches. Applicants must live or work in the district, be at least 18 years
old, pass a criminal background check, have a valid Oregon driver’s license
and be physically fit.

Fire Chief Mic Eby, who first served the district as a volunteer, noted the
volunteer force has dwindled in recent years to a total of 26, down from a
height of nearly 50. He sees the economy as a large reason for the decline,
especially since the time needed for volunteers to participate in training has
increased over the years.

“If they have a family and a full time job, there’s not much time left,” said
Eby, noting that a training class will now take more than 144 total hours,
versus the 26 total hours when he first joined.

But as those who volunteer have already discovered, the benefits for helping
their community are worth the price.

Josh Baker, president of the Hoodland Volunteer Firefighters Association,
celebrated 11 years of volunteering last month and reflected on what he gets
out of it.

“Being able to help somebody feels really good (and) it’s also exciting, so
that’s a double-edged perk,” Baker said. “It’s a lot of fun, it feels very
rewarding to help the community.”

Eby noted approximately 80 percent of calls the volunteers respond to will be
ones dealing with a medical issue. Fire fighting makes up between 5 and 10
percent of calls (whether structural, vehicular, land or other), while other calls
may involve trail rescues, water rescues, fire education, fire prevention or a
variety of other tasks.

Those interested in volunteering may also elect to be a member of the
district’s Special Task Group and focus on limited duties, such as strictly
medical calls, fire photography or driving, rather than the full compliment of
volunteer activities.

The training company will begin in January (no firm date has been selected)
and will take between four to six months, depending on the size of the group,
meeting between one and three times each week, including some weekends.
And while Norgard has seen many volunteers use the opportunity to
springboard into a career in firefighting, he also appreciates the ability to
network with a wide range of professionals from other fields.

“One of the most interesting things is you get people from all walks of life,
from electricians to car mechanics to home builders to grocery clerks,” he
said. “You get the full array of people and with that array of people, if you
need something you’ve always got the means of support. The networking with
other volunteers that have different talents makes a volunteer organization so
much fun to be around.”

For more information, visit the main station, or hoodlandfire.com or call 503-
622-3256.