Oregon State Fire Marshal

Congratulations to OSFM Deputy State Fire Marshal Rich Holloway for being honored with the prestigious Donald G. Petruzzelli Award of Recognition by the International Association of Arson Investigators! This award, presented at the Oregon Chapter 31 conference earlier this year, celebrates Rich’s dedication and passion for fire prevention and investigation throughout Douglas County. Rich’s commitment to educating and supporting local fire agencies has made him a valued resource in the community. His enthusiasm and expertise inspire everyone he works with. Thank you, Rich, for your incredible service to Oregon!

Our team in North Carolina returned home after helping with Hurricane Helene recovery in Yancey County. Our agency sent two teams over the last month to help with response and transition to long term recovery. We can't thank our incident management team members enough for stepping up and helping when our fellow Americans were in need.

The November issue of The Gated Wye is here! Read about safety for the upcoming holiday season, our incident management team's work in North Carolina, hazmat training, updates from local fire agencies, and more. We're also recruiting for our incident management teams this month. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gqMvujbX

Our education division hosted an exciting training opportunity today for the Oregon fire service and our partners, the nationally recognized Steps to Safety program from the NFPA. NFPA’s Director of Public Education Kelly Ransdell led the group through how to deliver engaging educational presentations, conduct home safety visits, and create community resource networks. The group also heard from others like Bend Fire & Rescue and the Alzheimer's Association on better engaging with older adults. About 40 professionals from around the state joined the training for a day full of learning - and a little Tai chi.

Congratulations to Garnet Cooke, the 2024 recipient of the Silver Sparky Award! For the last eight years, Garnet has been a tireless advocate for wildfire preparedness, attending local events, fairs, and other gatherings to share wildfire preparedness information. Her engaging presentations, including her hands-on demonstrations about reducing fire risks, have helped countless Oregonians better protect their homes. What is so special about Garnet is that she does this all on her own; she is not affiliated with any organization. She understands the importance of wildfire preparedness and works tirelessly to share that information with her community. Her dedication and passion for wildfire prevention have made a lasting impact, and we're proud to honor her with this award! Thank you, Garnet, for your hard work and commitment!

September is here, and so is our monthly newsletter! Read a fire season update, information about National Preparedness Month, meet our newest employees, and more. The Gated Wye: https://lnkd.in/gD65Ua6d

Our monthly newsletter, The Gated Wye, is here for August! Read about our wildfire season response so far, some success stories, and more. If nothing else, check out page seven for a couple of cute therapy dogs. ?? See it here: https://lnkd.in/gbin3dAM

Cooler and more moderate weather is helping firefighters on several of Oregon's wildfires today. Our teams continue their work to protect communities threatened by wildfire across Oregon. Check out the latest updates on the www.osfminfo.org blog. A huge thanks to all the men and women out on the fire lines and helping to coordinate the response. Help our firefighters by paying close attention to the conditions and practicing wildfire prevention. We still have August and September ahead of us. PREVENT WILDFIRES: https://lnkd.in/gnqysKPq

We are continually posting wildfire updates to our incident information blog: www.osfminfo.org. Our team and the Oregon structural fire service are currently on the Larch Creek, Lone Rock, Cow Valley, and Falls fires. We're working in tandem with our wildland partners at ODF and with the federal teams. ? As we get information, we are posting it as soon as we can. Tell your local firefighters they're doing a great job when you see them! It's been a busy week. ? ( Photo: Gilliam Co. Sheriff's Office)

Our drive team is off to the Cow Valley Fire in Malheur County. For us, it's all hands on deck for a conflagration or immediate response. From administration to fire safety education staff and everywhere in between, our team pitches in. We're filling shifts in our agency operations center, staffed 24 hours a day until all crews arrive back home, and shifts on our drive team, taking equipment and supplies to our incident management teams to support them. We can't say thank you enough for the work of this team! For more information about wildfire updates, visit our blog: