This year’s wildfire season continues to be one of the state’s worst-ever, with no nightly newscast complete without the latest fire update. Operating sometimes under the radar, Oregon AFSCME members are involved in battling the blazes in a number of ways.
See a photo gallery of AFSCME members on the fire lines this year and last
Literally on the front lines, in some cases, are our Department of Corrections members. Working in conjunction with the Oregon State Forestry Department, DOC members take inmate fire crews out to the fires for as many as 22 consecutive days. At this writing, there have been 42 deployments in 2015, which translates to well over 400 inmates and approaching 100 officers on the lines.
“On the east side of the Cascades, our members take the inmate crews right up to the fire lines and supervise them there, as well as back at the fire camp,” says Council 75 Corrections Coordinator Tim Woolery. “They work 16-hour days, and are generally scheduled to go out for two-week time blocks, although that can be extended to 22 days if necessary.
“On the west side, our members are chiefly only doing DOC camp security, and the inmates are supervised by state forestry personnel on the lines — that’s the Department of Forestry’s protocol,” Woolery continued. “And we do now take women out to fires from Coffee Creek in Wilsonville, but those are day trips only, so limited to west side fires.”
While only minimum security inmates certified for work crews are allowed on the fires, Woolery notes they are still convicted felons that require close supervision, especially given their access to various equipment.
“There’s lots of opportunity for mischief,” says Woolery. “It’s dangerous work for our members, and long periods of time away from their families.”
While AFSCME Corrections members are frequently on the fire frontlines, other union members are playing a role as well. Fraser Wick of Local 3765 says he is one of about 10 AFSCME-represented Oregon State Fire Marshal employees who provide a variety of logistical support under specific circumstances.
“OSFM gets involved if a wildfire threatens a community and/or its structures,” says Wick. “If it’s a forest fire out in the middle of nowhere, we’re generally not involved. But when a fire creeps near a community — like the John Day fire this year, for example — then we provide support and back-up to the local fire departments.”
Wick says Local 3765 members typically provide support in three areas: logistics, finance and communications.
“Logistics includes making sure firefighters have adequate food and water,” said Wick. “The finance area includes going on scene into communities and garnering contracts for items such as food. We’ll also be in the field testing and providing radios and repeaters to ensure that fire communications go smoothly.”
Oregon AFSCME Local 3241 represents members at the Office of Emergency Management. OEM Public Information Officer Cory Grogan says his agency, including workers in the union bargaining unit, play a limited role in the wildfires.
“We have a team that is a liaison to the local emergency managers throughout the state,” said Grogan. “Mostly, we are a conduit for information through our Emergency Coordination Center. This is true for any type of emergency, but especially for wildfires each summer season. But our role is mostly to help make sure information gets passed along correctly as needed.”
Again, here is the link to the photo gallery. Once there, make sure you are in the “Details View” (the link should take you there). It’s then easiest to click on the first picture on the upper right and, once that picture opens, use the arrow buttons to navigate through the rest of the photo gallery.
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