Chiloquin Fire & Rescue

Chiloquin Fire and Rescue (CF&R) wants to support breast cancer awareness month by honoring the women of our department. The women of CF & R are both career and volunteer firefighters and are sometimes the first ones responding to an emergency. One of our long-standing members of the department is Angela Montoya, a Firefighter/EMT who has been working with CF&R for 17 years states “We don’t do the job for ourselves; we do it for the community”. 

Like Firefighter/EMT A. Montoya, women have been in the fire service for many years. In fact, women have been fighting fire for almost 200 years; however, the number of women in the fire service is low. According to a 2020 study by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), 9% of all firefighters – both career and volunteer – are female. That number is down from 11% in 2018. However, the women of CF & R make the department stand out above the numbers. For the women of the department make up approximately 33% of the force. Lieutenant Carla Baker stated, “I love being able to volunteer. Giving back to the community and helping people in their time of need.”

Firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation with high rates of injuries and fatalities. The career and volunteer members of CF & R train frequently to try to mitigate any potential safety risks while they respond to emergencies. Every Tuesday, the department trains on many different subjects from firefighting to emergency medical calls to rescue emergencies. All this training is there because the emergency calls the department receives vary so greatly. Some of the calls include fires (both structure and/or wildland), vehicle fires, medical emergencies, traffic accidents, hazardous material incidents, water rescue operations, rope rescue operations, and natural disasters. According to the US Fire Administration, about two-thirds of the calls to the fire department are medical emergencies. At CF & R approximately 75% of emergency calls are medical emergencies. Because of this high number, the majority of the members of CF & R are licensed Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) with various levels of training and experience. 

Our members play a valuable role not only in responding to emergencies but in the prevention of fires and/or other dangerous events from occurring in the first place. Many members of CF & R take extra time outside their day and/or duties to go to events within the community to provide information to the public about fire safety prevention and education. On top of that, CF & R also has programs available to the community such as the Chiloquin Wildfire Initiative, First Aid/CPR training, Car Seat Installation, and more. According to Lieutenant Baker, “We are here to serve the community by educating them on different things they can do to help them protect themselves. Whether that be clearing debris away from your house, to become fire-safe or fire-ready if an emergency happens in your home. We are always putting in the time and effort to help the community to meet this goal.” 

As mentioned before, our members of the CF & R are both paid and volunteer. Whether they are paid or volunteer, many of the members of CF & R call the town of Chiloquin their home. The number one rule of CF & R is family first. This rule has motivated many of the members to volunteer because they are putting their family first, and their community. Applications to become a volunteer at this family-oriented organization can either be found on the website or at the main office located at 201 S. First Street in the town of Chiloquin. 

The women of CF & R have had a lasting impact on the department in its efforts to reach their full potential in serving the community and providing a higher level of service that strives to meet the community’s needs. 

Written By: Lt K. Lanning Firefighter/EMT-I