The tugboat made its way along Lake River in Ridgefield, pushing a prized possession of the Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue (CCFR) team to its dock.
The fire and rescue boathouse is back, repaired, and just about ready for use again.
An accidental fire in December damaged the original structure, and it had to be moved for a repair job. That job now finished, the boathouse was returned to Ridgefield on Wednesday.
Since December, the large fire boat has been secured inside a fence near the parking lot of the Ridgefield Boat Ramp. The smaller rescue boat was stored at a nearby fire station.
Soon, both boats will be back home, on the water, secure in the boathouse.
Keith Graham, coordinator of the Marine Division for CCFR, said not having the boathouse has resulted in a delay in responding to calls. He said it could take up to 15 minutes to move the fire boat from the parking lot and into the water.
“It really speeds up our en-route times, to be on the water,” Graham said. “We’re excited to have the boats on the water, ready to go. That greatly affects our ability to get out there and get people taken care of.”
Fire Chief John Nohr noted that the fireboat is used day and night and all times throughout the year. The busiest time is coming up, though, with recreational river users.
CCFR gets calls from boaters in distress, or kayakers or paddleboarders who overestimate their abilities, for example. Recently, someone had a heart attack, got himself to shore on one side of a river, called in the emergency, and CCFR was able to pick up the person.
The fire boat does more than help people in the CCFR district. It can go on calls to Portland all the way to Astoria. The CCFR boat is part of the Maritime Fire Safety Association, which includes more than a dozen fire departments from Portland to Astoria on both sides of the Columbia River. The fire boat was paid for in 2013 by a grant from Homeland Security.
It was stored in the original boathouse that was built through donations from the Paul B. and Deborah D. Speer Fund of the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington.
The plaque from that dedication from 2013 remains on the repaired boathouse today.
The boathouse repairs, covered mostly by insurance, cost $222,500, according to CCFR.
Even Construction in Oregon completed the repair job.
“Anything to help out firefighters and the community, that’s everything,” said Jett Even, president. “We’re a small, family business. To help a community is huge.”
Nohr pointed out the great timing for the return of the boathouse, as extreme heat is in the forecast for this weekend. He wanted to take this day to remind river users that while it will be hot this weekend, the waters in the area lakes and rivers will still be cold. He advised people to wear life vests.
