Fire District Approves Contract For Boots

Valley Fire District commissioners accepted a bid from Kroesen’s Inc. that will allow the district to purchase wildfire boots for all of its firefighters.

Under the agreement, the Seattlebased company will supply Valley Fire with the boots for $106 a pair, meaning the department will spend almost $12,000 to outfit 112 firefighters.

The boots were the only piece of the uniform the district did not supply.

Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries called the contract a “good bid,” saying that comparable bids were as high as $135 a pair.

The boots feature a leather reinforced toe to protect firefighters’ feet from heat when crawling. They also meet current OSHA and Labor and Industry specifications for fighting wildfires.

Humphries said there is growing concern throughout the department about the possibility of fighting wildfires in areas where houses are surrounded by trees.

Also, firefighters frequently trudge around in the burned debris leftover after a fire, leaving their feet susceptible to burns.

“We have such a potential around here (for wildfire),” Humphries said. “We don’t have a lot of firefighters, so if I can keep them active for a longer period of time we’ll be in better shape.”

Humphries said purchasing the boots is part of the department’s active effort to prepare itself for wildfire.

Humphries is also putting together a research paper on wildfires as part of a four-year program he is taking to become a state fire executive officer.

When finished, the paper will be on reserve in the U.S. Fire Academy Library to be used as a resource by departments throughout the nation.

A study released in the aftermath of Firestorm ‘91 piqued Humphries’s interest in wildfires.

Although Valley Fire only battled one blaze during Firestorm, Humphries is fearful that Valley residents may be ripe for a similar fire.

He said many of the houses in outlying areas are covered with pine needles that could start a fire.

, DataTimes