Gaston Rural Fire District

By 8:30 in the morning, you could tell that the day was going to be beautiful. It would be a perfect day for a summer picnic, a trip to Hagg Lake or just a bike ride with friends.

But on July 12, eight young women from our community were willing to give up their beautiful Saturday to learn how to become better babysitters.

Gaston Fire is all about keeping you safe. Fortunately, we have some good friends in that effort.

Two of our best friends are from the Washington County Sheriff's Office: Jason Hermann, Resident Deputy, and Julie McCloud, Crime Prevention Officer.

In case you're wondering, Jason is as big as he looks, but he's a gentle giant who is there to help.

The heritage of Gaston Fire is deeply rooted in the history of western Washington and northern Yamhill counties.

For generations, the finest families of the area have served their community, without pay and without fanfare, fighting fires and rescuing sick and injured neighbors.

We can't change the "without pay" part of the previous sentence, but we would like to correct the "without fanfare" part.

Imagine you're Gaston firefighter Brad Shinpaugh.

You just spent all day at a "flashover" drill at Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. A flashover drill involves running into rooms with temperatures as high as 1,200 degrees at times.

Next time you see the Gaston Rural Fire District in action, remember that nearly everyone you see is a volunteer.

And some of those volunteers are full-time professional firefighters.

Confused?

It's pretty simple. Most of the folks you see out there risking their lives work as log truck drivers, contractors or some other profession to earn a living.

Four of the volunteers, however, are firefighters for neighboring districts when they're not helping out here.

We don't have much traffic congestion in the Gaston area, so traffic moves pretty fast.