When he was a teenager growing up in Cedar Mill, Scott Kline was an avid skier. On one of his many trips to Mount Hood to compete in alpine events, he made a stop at the Government Camp Post Office.
It was there that he saw a flier seeking volunteers to help fight fires on the mountain he loved to race down. That has led to a 38-year career as a firefighter, starting in 1984 as a volunteer and joining as a full-fledged staff member in 2004.

He traded in his ski poles for a firehose.
“I used to race all the alpine events,” Kline said. “Downhill, slalom, the giant slalom and super-G.”
Today he is a deputy chief, fire marshal and paramedic at Hoodland Fire District No. 74 in Welches, where he also resides. The district is in charge of protecting 45 square miles of mostly dense forestland from Sandy to Mount Hood.

“Recruiting and retaining volunteers is a major concern,” Kline said. “We have to have lots of volunteers.”
The district relies heavily on volunteers. There are only 9 paid full-time staff members with the rest of the 32-person roster volunteering their services.

These days, Kline is helping property owners prepare for the fire season, which runs from June to November. Home owners are encouraged to keep a safe distance between their house and flammable material that could fuel a fire. The threat of fire is great in such dense wildland areas as the Hoodland Fire District.

As fire marshal, Kline performs fire investigations and fire inspections. He also serves as public information officer for the district, providing information to the media and giving fire safety talks at local schools.
Kline, a certified paramedic, estimated that the district gets about 130 calls a week. Most are for medical emergency services. In fact, about 80 percent are medical and not fire-related.

As for fires, he said Hoodland responds to about 8 to 10 calls a year. A low number considering that the district averages around 1,050 total calls for emergency services per year.

When he’s not busy helping protect the mountain he skied down as a youth, Kline maintains an active lifestyle. He counts fishing, hunting and riding his motorcycle among his favorite pastimes. Not to mention he still hits the slopes when the conditions are right.

Kline, 57, and his wife live in Welches. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.