Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department News

Fall 2006

Our Seventh Fire Chief --- Jim Maloney---1999-2002

Jim Maloney was born in Sierra Vista and graduated from Buena High School in 1978. He took classes at Cochise College and Pima Community College and received his Paramedic Certification from Pima College in 1987. His history in this part of southeastern Santa Cruz County is a long one. His maternal grandfather was James Parker, a part of the family for whom Parker Canyon is named. Many acres of land in this area were part of a homestead belonging to the Parkers. His fraternal grandfather was Jack Maloney of Portal, Arizona. His mother, Jewell Parker, married his father, George Maloney, and, as they say, “The rest is history.” In the Maloney family there is Jim - grandfather Maloney, Joyce – grandmother Maloney, Jim - dad Maloney, Jackie - mom Maloney, and Jimmy, Justin and Joel - sons Maloney. Too bad they didn’t have a girl so they could name her Judy. The family has four generations of firefighter - great-grandpa Maloney, grandpa Maloney, dad Jim, and sons Jimmy, Justin, and Joel. Great-grandpa Maloney was a Fire Chief in Ft. Huachuca, grandpa Maloney was a Fire Chief in Sierra Vista and Ft. Huachuca, and is now with the Forest Service. Dad Jim was a Battalion Commander with Fry Fire, Jimmy was a Engineer/Paramedic with Fry Fire (he’s now in the Mesa Fire Department), Justin is with the Forest Service, and Joel is a cowboy on the Empire Ranch as well as a Reserve Firefighter/EMT with the Tubac Fire Department. ALL the Maloneys run their ranch and have numerous head of cattle.

Jim was the best qualified to be a SEESI Fire Chief of all the Chiefs we have had. He went to work for Fry Fire Dept. in 1980, became an Engineer in 1985, and a Captain in 1986. He is a member of the Technical Rescue Team. That includes Swift Water Rescue, High Angle Rescue (caves, mines, mountains - all include the use of ropes), Confined Rescue (Apache Nitrogen Plant in Benson - very dangerous). Jim is certified and has taught classes in all these rescue modes both in the Fry Fire Dept., other Fire Depts., and to private organizations. The Arizona Fire School in Phoenix asked him to teach wildland classes. He certified and taught Wilderness Medicine. He has been a paramedic for 18 years, and has taught paramedic classes. Obviously he knows his stuff. He was telling me he went to Clown School. I thought he was pulling my leg, but it was really a class, called Public Education--Fire Safety, to be taught to schools. The selected firefighters all dressed up like clowns, had names (his was Burnie), and traveled to schools in Phoenix, Flagstaff and Arizona locations, plus schools in New Mexico. What a great way for children to learn fire safety!

Jim was Vice President of the Arizona Fire and Burn Educators Association. He was asked to apply to the National Fire Academy in Maryland, and was accepted twice, once for Public Education Administration and once for Management of Emergency Medical Services. Quite an honor!

Jim became SEESI’s Chief Maloney in 1999. His main interests as Chief were getting his people certified in the areas in which they were engaged. Bringing the trucks “Up to snuff” was also a main priority. When our new brush truck was bought in Georgia, Chief Maloney flew out and drove it back. He was definitely interested in forming a Fire District and an auxiliary station. His greatest challenge - the Ryan Fire! What a challenge!!

Because Jim was working full time at the Fry Fire Dept., and trying to work almost full time at SEESI, he decided it had to be one or the other. As things turned out, the Fry Fire Dept. won out. He retired from SEESI in 2002.

As for hobbies--does he have time for hobbies? He works his ranch. Tile work was in the picture for a while, but it became too hard on the knees. After all he is a grandfather once and soon to be one twice.

In June, 2005 Jim retired from FFD with 25 years of service. Did he stay retired long? No! He applied to Air Evacuation in July 2005, was accepted and sent to Phoenix for more paramedic training. This was called Critical Care Paramedic - MORE SCHOOL!!!

Jim, Chief Maloney, schoolmaster, clown, Helicopter Medic, whatever your title, we appreciate your many qualifications, your varied knowledge, huge expertise, but most of all your time. I have never seen Jim without a smile on his face. What a great addition he was to SEESI. The Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department thanks you very much for being a part of our department. We wish you only the best in the future.

NINE NEW FIREFIGHTERS!

What do a university professor, Navy veteran, college student, general contractor, environmental driller/fabricator, cosmetologist, nurse, retired police officer, and an Air Force veteran have in common? On September 29th, at a Firefighter Induction Ceremony, they took an oath, were inducted as Firefighters, and awarded badges.

In September, nine Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department personnel successfully completed Cochise College’s Firefighter I and II course work, and the State Fire Marshall written and practical skills exams. The course work consisted of four semesters starting in January and going through the end of August. The students persevered through about eight months of lost Saturdays and Wednesday nights. The State exam included 150 questions. The Practical Exam involved five randomly chosen tasks from a pool of over 200 tasks. This class was the first in Cochise College history to have a 100% passing rate.

Chuck Balke, an experienced fire fighter from Sierra Vista Fire Department taught the course. Chuck also volunteers as the training Captain in Whetstone. His teaching style is very much hands-on. After discussing the methods in the classroom, the students were able to perform the tasks in drills at the station and at the Palominas Training Area. For example, students rescued simulated victims from buildings while in full gear including breathing apparatus with their mask blacked out. Major tasks included rescue, vehicle extrication (Jaws of Life), live fire vehicle scenarios, live fire building scenarios and confined space scenarios requiring breathing air tanks to be removed and carried without breaking the seal on the breathing mask. The training scenarios were designed to expose the students to what they would face in an actual emergency. The training also included a 24-hour Hazardous Materials Operator class, wildland tasks, and medical tasks.

By completing the coursework, the written exam, and the practical skills test, the students were awarded the Firefighter I and II certification by the State Fire Marshall.

Fire District News—by Pete Daniels

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, following the final public hearing, determined that we had exceeded the statutory requirements to form a fire district and, on August 30, 2006 created the “Order of Establishment of the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District.” The official start date, 30 days following the “Order”, was September 29, 2006.

Of the five members appointed by the County Board of Supervisors to comprise the Organizing Board of Directors for the Fire District, Beth Sullivan submitted a letter of resignation stating that she did not have the sufficient time to dedicate to that position and it was determined that John Slattum did not meet the eligibility requirements at the time he was appointed. At the first regular meeting on October 9 th, the remaining Board members, Doug Ruppel, Mickey Parker, and Pete Daniels appointed Ron Izzo and Sheila Bambauer to complete the organizing board of directors. Pete Daniels was elected to serve as the Chair of the Board and Sheila Bambauer was elected to serve as Clerk of the Board. Pete Daniels and Doug Ruppel will serve two year terms, their positions up for public election in November 2008. The remaining three will serve four year terms.

SEESI will continue to provide all services until a formal transition occurs. We expect this to happen within 9 to 12 months. A tax levy will be applied to property within the Fire District beginning in January 2007 and reflected in your property tax bill in September 2007. The Board of Directors is committed to maintaining the levy rate at or below $1.50 per $100 Assessed Full Cash Value. The Fire District will not begin to receive the property tax revenue until the end of next year. We encourage area residents to continue to support the Fire Dept. by paying your 2006 membership dues if not yet paid, and by supporting SEESI’s ongoing fund raising events.

Regular meetings of the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District Board of Directors will be held on the 2 nd Monday of each month, in the Training Room, at the Fire Station, located at 3173 Highway 83, Sonoita, at 6:00 p.m. All meetings are open to the public. We encourage your attendance and value your input. Notices of meetings will be posted at the Post Office in Sonoita, and, as consistently as possible, published in The Bulletin. Agendas for each meeting will be available at the Fire Station, not less than 24 hours prior to the meeting.

This is an exciting time as we gear up to meet the challenges of the future. The Fire Department will continue to provide the services that our community has come to expect. It is the commitment of the Fire District Board of Directors to grow the capabilities of our service in a fiscally responsible manner to meet the escalating demands of our developing community

Fire Prevention--Kid Style—by Lieutenant Kathe Prentice Barry

Harvest Christian Academy teacher Mrs. Ruppel gets a lesson on the hose.

This year’s fire theme is “Prevent Cooking Fires-Watch What You Heat”. This is a national week long project in October created by the National Fire Prevention Association. We had a lot of fun presenting at the Elgin and Harvest Christian Schools. The children learned the dangers that can occur in the kitchen and outside on the BBQ grill, as well as ways to prevent and handle a mishap. Basic fire education skills such as crawling low through smoke, knowing two exits from each room, practicing a fire escape plan, and testing your smoke detectors were also covered. The outdoor fun activity included familiarization with our medical, structure fire, and wildland fire vehicles. As usual, the big thrill was spraying water through the fire hoses. Education packets and “goodies” were provided for home sharing and practice to all the classes (Kindergarten through 8 th grade). A big “Thank You” is extended to the Patagonia Regional Community Foundation which provided a grant that funded all of the education materials and supplies. We hope everyone had fun and we look forward to seeing you again next year!

Elgin third graders Annika Coleman and Tanner Lyman "man" the hoses.

Training and Certifications—Keys to Emergency Services—by Capt. Jeff Glaze

On a Monday morning in 1990, a network technician who worked in the same office with me in the capital of Turkey was killed when a bomb planted by terrorists exploded in his SUV.

It was on this day that I fully understood the value of training and education.

We had enough on our plates already, trying to deal with our grief, but we still had customers calling in from all over the Mediterranean region needing help. The network technician had loaded new software onto our email server that weekend. We soon discovered that most of the existing scripts were not compatible with the new software and that we really had no clue how to correct it—that was his job we thought.

But it wasn’t his job, it was our job—the team. This life lesson underscored for me how important it is to have multiple people trained to complete each task. This lesson applies to most jobs, but definitely applies to emergency services.

By definition an emergency requires a high degree of flexibility by those responding. For example, if the Incident Commander has several people trained and certified to complete a task, managing the response is greatly simplified. This is one reason why training is such a high priority in emergency services. Another reason is that more highly trained people are less likely to get hurt on an emergency scene.

This past year, SEFD has taken major steps towards the generalist training that I am talking about. It is a testament to the professionalism of our SEFD people that we have so many giving up time and money to get this additional training.

On the other hand, in a volunteer department we will always have specialists—those that prefer to stick with one or two special skill sets--and that is a good thing! Specialists make great trainers. Specialists provide excellent continuity when others come and go. Specialists perform tasks that free up those who have the other skills that may be needed in a response effort.

But training alone is not enough. Emergencies required trained people. Training is available. We need the people. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Captain Glaze or Chief DeWolf by calling 455-5854.

Call Load Analysis

The Sonoita-Elgin area is visibly growing—it seems as if every time you turn around there’s a new house going up. The fire department’s call load is going up even faster. In the first nine months of 2006, our personnel have already responded to 265 calls—more than the total of 247 for all of 2005. In fact, if you compare January-September last year with the same period this year, our call volume has risen by more than 31%!

Here’s a comparison of 2005 and 2006 to date:

Call Type	2005 (Full Year)	2006 (First 9 Months)
Medical	90	73
Motor Vehicle Accident	85	68
Public Assist	11	29
Walk-Ins to Station	7	20
Structure Fires	0	3
Wildland Fires	19	32
Vehicle Fires	1	2
Fire Standby	19	21
Stood Down/Nothing Found	15	17
Total Calls	247	265
Patients Treated	249	288

As you can see, every call category has shown an increase. Having the station staffed during the day has also increased community access to emergency medical service. In all of 2005, we had only 7 walk-ins to the station, but just in the first nine months of 2006, we have already had 20.

Your fire department is working hard to provide professional fire response and emergency medical response to a growing community.

 

Can You Fill These Boots?

It takes a special person to fill the boots of a
Volunteer EMT, Firefighter or Dispatcher.

It takes someone with a desire to do something important for the community,
someone with courage and dedication, who isn’t afraid of hard work,
and is willing to accept the challenge of a difficult job.

If you are this kind of person, you’re needed as a volunteer EMT, firefighter or dispatcher.
We might be able to fit you with a pair of boots.

Contact Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department at 455-5854

Top: Phil Callahan, Buck Tegowski, (Nick Quiroga of Rio Rico Fire Dept.), Kyle Lange, Kevin Venos, Scott Hurt, Dee Demski, Chuck Balke (Instructor) Bottom: Kathe Prentice Barry, (Aarron Schreiber of Patagonia Fire Dept.), Pat Robinson, Jeff Glaze