Chief's Monthly Report
West
Valley Fire Department
Yakima
County Fire District 12
For
the Meeting August 11, 2026
Agenda Topic: Department
Monthly Progress Report
Prepared By: Chief
Nathan Craig
Date
Prepared: August 5, 2026
The purpose of
this report is to update the Board of Fire Commissioners, Officers Management
Team, and fire personnel on recent department activities and progress on
strategic objectives.
Personnel
- Current Staffing: Department staffing 101 personnel, including
89 on-call members: 62 operations members, 11 support members, 12
recruits, 12 staff/board, two members on light duty, and two members on
leave. One Station 53 member resigned after relocating to East Valley.
Department Training and Safety
Prepared by Cpt
Nickolaus
July drill
topics included equipment checks, heat awareness, OTEP for pediatric and
neonatal emergencies, team building, SCBA quarterlies, search and rescue, RIT,
and carcinogen exposure training.
August drill
topics will dispatch and communications training, equipment checks, budget
requests, OTEP training for special populations, search and rescue in large
area structures, forcible entry, laddering with aerial apparatus, and
ventilation.
Outside
training has been limited due to the busy fire season our state
is experiencing but expect a renewed effort to host training and seek
training for our members throughout the county and state as fire season winds
down in the fall.
As always
during fire season, we are continually reminding members about the importance
of fitness and maintaining readiness through proper nutrition and
hydration. Our fitness competition is in full swing, and the
22 members that have signed up should start to see some results!
Recruitment
/ Retention Preparedby Cpt Nickolaus
The new recruits
officially began employment on August 1st. Of the 12 offered
positions, 10 accepted and began the onboarding process at orientation on
August 3rd. Two firefighters have been issued gear
and pagers and are eligible to respond to Station 54 and as part
of Day Crew respectively. The remaining 7 probationary firefighters
and 1 cadet firefighter are in the process of
completing Advanced First Aid and will begin the structural
firefighting academy on the 13th. Updated numbers
for the fall academy are as follows: 20 from West Valley, 4
from Highland, 2 from Naches, and 1 from Gleed.
Operations Preparedby DC Johnston
In July there were a total of 129 alarms
in the district, 36 were ambulance calls.
Incidents: YTD Incidents by Zone YTD Zone
Station 51 14 48 35 156 (24.6%)
Station 52 26 110 53 267 (42.0%)
Station 53 19 79 31 158 (24.9%)
Station 54 4 27 10 54 (8.5%)
Station 50 29 186 635
Yakima
1 3
Ambulance
Only 32 154
Ambulance
Lift 4 28
Total 635
Incident
Type: Month Type YTD
Fire 26 7 bldg(7-M/AA), 17 Veg
(14-M/AA), 0 M/AA Spec 92
EMS 68 4 MVC, 5 AMA 415
Service Call 20 8
Lift, 7 AFA, 3 Service
89
No Emergency 15 15 outdoor burning 39
Action
Taken: Month Type YTD
Canceled enroute 14 2
EMS, 7 M/AA. 56
Extinguishment 19 3
bldg(3-M/AA), 14 veg (11M/AA), 0 burn, 2 veh 71
Provide BLS 61 364
Assist Invalid 8 54
Investigate 22 11
burn, 3 AMA, 4 AFA, 2 pwr, 1 mvc,
78
Other 1 equipment 8
Automatic
Aid Received (both agencies respond) Automatic
Aid Given
From
Highland 1 To Highland 5
From Yakima 1 To
Yakima 3
From Gleed 0 To Union Gap 1
From Union
Gap 1 To BIA 1
YTD 12 YTD 40
Mutual Aid
Received 2 Mutual
Aid Given 7 (1 Dist 3, 1 Dist 4, 5
Dist 5)
YTD 3 YTD 13
One garage fire (with several vehicles),
one building fire, and two vehicle fires resulted in $671,600 losses. 35 acres of wildland burned.
July
51-
10/12- 83% 52- 12/23- 52% 53- 8/17 47% 54- 3/4 75%
July
Total 33 out of 56- 59%
On-Going
Total- 164 of 227- 72%
On-Duty Turnout Time: 80 seconds non
fire, 100 seconds fire response.
July 19 out of 23-
83% On-Going
Total- 102 of 140- 73%
NFPA 1720Responses
for rural areas (6 FFs on scene within 14 minutes, 80% of the time). Incidents:
2 mo., 9 yr, target met mo. 2 (100%), yr 7 (78%), target not met: mo. 1 (50%)
yr. 2 (29%).
Re-cap of Fourth of July: All was well a
majority of the day until about 19:30 when we were dispatched to a brush fire
west of Richartz Road on Gilbert Road.
The reporting party stated that a firework went off course and started a
brush fire. The fire quickly spread across a dry grassy field into several
structures as the first crews were arriving on scene. Due to the circumstances a 2nd
Brush followed by a 2nd Structure Alarm were requested by the
Incident Commander. This fire started
off our busy night.
A second fire was reported around 21:00
off Washington, a Command Officer from West Valley responded from the Gilbert
Road fire, along with Engine 343 and Engine 94 – nothing was found.
A third fire was reported around 22:00
off Summitview Extension, one Brush Truck and a Command Officer responded to
this fire, it was extinguished upon arrival by the property owners.
Around 22:30 a fourth fire was reported
off South 90th Ave, enough crews were able to free from the Gilbert
Road fire to extinguish it, this fire totaled about ½ acre.
At about 23:30 a fifth fire was reported,
this one involved a structure. A West
Valley Command Officer responded along with one West Valley Engine and a Yakima
Engine. Due to being already at a 2nd
Alarm on Gilbert Road a 3rd Structure Alarm was requested for this
incident. The structure fire involved
two detached garages, about 20% of the residence, and numerous vehicles. One firefighter was injured – he suffered
some thermal burns on one hand and an ear.
The probable cause of the fires were
fireworks related.
On the weekend of July 24, 25, & 26
West Valley assisted Yakima County Fire District #5 with their fires in White
Swan. One apparatus received some
damages due to a downed powerline – a de-energized line came down as the
apparatus was driving to an assignment.
The line tore the light bar off the roof of the truck; the apparatus has
since been repaired minus the light bar.
We also sent one crew to a State Mobe
fire in Franklin County the July 16 to 19.
Fire Prevention/Public Education: Prepared
by Officer Boisselle
The
District participated in the “Lighted America 250” Parade on July 3rd
in the City, however, we were the only truck/float that was lit up!!!
The
day crew took a truck to the Summer daycare program at Cottonwood. The kids got to check out the truck and then
got a spray down!
The
3rd Edition of the District newsletter was mailed out the beginning
of August.
Budget/Finance:
Prepared by Officer Boisselle
It’s
time again to start the budget process for 2027. Officers were tasked to submit their station
budget requests by August 24th.
We will then compile all of the requests, tour the stations for anything
that was missed, and present a list to the Board at the September 8th
meeting.
Logistics:
- Apparatus
Updates:
- Tender
52: Returned
July 30 and was placed in service for the weekend. It was subsequently
sent to RWC for completion of several remaining items and is expected to
be fully complete during the week of August 10.
- New
Engines:
Final inspection is scheduled for August 16–19, with delivery anticipated
by the end of September.
- Tender
53: Tank
installation is scheduled for the week of August 10. Emergency lighting
will be reinstalled after the tender returns.
- Engine
253: With
Tender 52 returned and the new engines expected soon staff requests Board
authorization to declare Engine 253 surplus. An interested buyer has been
identified.
· Facilities and Equipment Updates.
o
Station
52 & 54 Generators:
The Station 52 generator has been installed, with commissioning scheduled for
the week of August 10. The Station 54 generator is expected to ship in
mid-August; the pad and conduit are already in place for installation.
o
Completed
Projects: Planned
crack sealing, SCBA flow testing, and rescue tool servicing have been
completed.
o
Projects
in Progress: Quote
requests for the Station 52 parking lot project are scheduled to be issued
August 24. Carpet Administration-area installation is scheduled for late
August. The Station 53 HVAC replacement scope has been revised to a heat-pump
system, and updated quotes are pending.
Interagency and External Coordination:
·
WSRB:
Review of all
schedule sections has been completed. As WSRB completes each revised section,
they are providing the draft to the subcommittee for review and confirmation.
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner has established a deadline for
submission of the updated schedule. The Washington Fire Chiefs Association has
requested an extension to ensure the final schedule reflects the work completed
collaboratively by WSRB and the fire service.
·
Verisk:
Wildfire-related
insurance availability continues to be a concern within the District and across
Washington. Verisk provides wildfire risk assessment scores used by many
insurance companies, drawing on data analytics, technology, scientific
research, and industry information. I attended a meeting with Verisk to better
understand its 0–30 scoring model and discuss how fire-service capabilities and
community wildfire mitigation efforts are considered. Additional meetings are
planned to explore opportunities to improve the accuracy of local risk
assessments.
Community Engagement and Events:
·
Chip
it, Don’t Burn it: The final event of the year was held
July 18 at Station 54, with another strong community turnout and significant
participation by department members.
·
Association:
A car wash and bake sale fundraiser is scheduled for August 15.
·
Blood
Drive: The July 13 blood drive collected 32 units.
The next drive is scheduled for August 26.
Respectfully,
Nathan Craig
Fire Chief