Central Coast Fire getting $460,000 water tender under state wildfire program

WALDPORT – The Oregon State Fire Marshal has awarded the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue district a grant for a water tender valued at $460,000.

The district was one of three in Lincoln County to get major equipment under a $25 million state program to distribute fire engines and water tenders to 76 districts across Oregon. North Lincoln Fire & Rescue also got a water tender; the Depoe Bay Fire Department received an engine that can be used for both structural and wildland fires.

But it could be nine months or more before the Central Coast tender is built by a national manufacturer and delivered, said COCF&R Chief Jamie Mason. When delivered, Mason said, the tender will be placed at the district’s Tidewater station and a tender/pumper there will go to Five Rivers.

“That’s where our forest interface is,” he said. “The goal is to have it before next fire season.”

A 1989 tender now at Five Rivers will be sold at surplus, Mason said.

The tenders are built to pump or shuttle water to firefighters in hard-to-reach areas that don’t have hydrants or other water sources.

“This is a big deal because it’s $460,000 that the community doesn’t have to come up with to replace old equipment,” Mason said.

In a news release, the Oregon State Fire Marshal said it developed a program to purchase and strategically place new firefighting equipment across the state to help local response, regional mutual aid, and statewide conflagrations. Local departments will share ownership with the state for five years but will not be required – only encouraged — to respond to statewide mobilizations.

Mason said the district is still awaiting word from the Federal Emergency Management Administration on its application for a water tender or main engine.