For years, a remodeled fire station in Government Camp has been on the
wishlist of the Hoodland Fire District (HFD). Now, with work complete, the
station is ready to serve as the base for three student residents, who will help
reduce response time and provide greater coverage in the community.

“The ability for Hoodland Fire District to project staffing and emergency
response to the Eastern most environs of the District has a dramatic impact
on the Citizens and visitors we protect,” wrote HFD Chief John Ingrao in an
email to the Mountain Times. “The staffing of the station may at times reduce
current response times by 20 (minutes) and provide a faster level of service
for medical emergencies, traffic accidents and fires. Currently all District
responses come from the Welches Main Station and the response times are
dependent on weather and road conditions as to arrival times.”

“In addition, staffing of the Government Camp station allows the District to
‘have a presence’ in the Community that has been lacking for many years,”
Ingrao added. “The goal is to provide the same level of service throughout the
entire District providing Public Safety as the District’s Prime Goal.”

The remodeled station, located at 87600 E. Government Camp Loop, will be
opened to the public at an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday,
March 7, featuring self-guided tours, a chance to meet HFD staff and
volunteers, information on volunteer opportunities and refreshments.
Matthew Garcia has volunteered in the district since 2019 and joined the
student resident program in 2019. He will serve as the station’s Building
Manager and noted that the program now includes three students who work
48-hour shifts alongside the district’s paid staff.

“We are essentially the fourth body on a shift,” Garcia said, adding that each
shift includes one student resident at the Welches fire station.

The remodel at the station primarily consisted of interior portions of the living
quarters, including the living room, kitchen and bathroom. The work included
gutting the walls to the studs due to a water incident a few years ago that
created mold behind the drywall, Garcia noted.

“It needed some love and care,” said Garcia, who is enrolled in the College of
Emergency Services in Clackamas. “I think this remodel is really what’s going
to make it comfortable for the students living there.”

The students will be at the Government Camp station when they are not on
shift or at school, where they will be available for calls. Two vehicles will be
housed at the station: a brush rig with advanced life support (the residents
will be able to help prep patients before more help arrives on the scene) and
an engine for structure fires and motor vehicle accidents.

Garcia added that the resident program helps solve one of the difficulties with
Government Camp: the challenge of finding volunteers, largely due to the
numbers of seasonal residents.

“Because there’s not volunteers in the area, there’s no response in the area,”
he said. “The big picture is to get this ball rolling so we can start to add on to
the students.”

Garcia added that he hopes community members will stop by during the Open
House and will also feel comfortable dropping by at other times with questions
or just to say hi.

“We just really want to be a resource for them when we are available,” he
said.

For more information, visit www.hoodlandfire.us.