Dear Orting Valley Fire and Rescue Citizen,

Orting Valley Fire and Rescue (OVFR) has been very fortunate to have your support.  With the passage of our Fire Benefit Charge (FBC) in 2021 we have been able to add additional staffing to better serve you.  In August of 2022 Station 43, on the Orting Kawposin Hwy has been staffed 24/7 with a Paramedic and Lieutenant.  This has been a huge step in improving the service to the citizens of our community.   In 2013 when I started, OVFR had 19 employees, today we have 34 with 3 new firefighters in 2023.  The passage of the FBC also aligns OVFR’s tax structure to that of Central Pierce Fire and Rescue and Graham Fire and Rescue.  

In 2019 OVFR started a new program with an emphasis on Sudden Cardiac Arrest and purchased new equipment and implemented industry leading best practices in CPR.   I am proud to announce that OVFR has nearly tripled our cardiac arrest save rate in 3 years.  Our program which was developed from many best practices from across the country is now being shared with our neighboring departments. OVFR is one of the regional leaders in Cardiac Arrest save rates. 

OVFR is always looking for opportunities to improve service while being good stewards of your tax dollars.  We are working with our neighboring fire departments to reduce duplication of services and be more efficient.   The efficiency leads to more money focused on firefighters on the street rather than administrative tasks.   In 2022 OVFR was one of five agencies to sign an interlocal agreement to provide training services to our firefighters.  As of today, the Pierce County Fire Training Consortium provides training, to include a recruit academy, to over 800 firefighters in Pierce County.  The Training Consortium members are East Pierce Fire and Rescue, West Pierce Fire and Rescue, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue, Graham Fire and Rescue and Orting Valley Fire and Rescue.  This means our firefighters across Pierce County will be training together to improve operational consistency. This will allow firefighters to operate safely and efficiently on a scene regardless of the location of the incident.

In March of 2023, Orting Valley Fire and Rescue and Central Pierce Fire and Rescue Fire Chiefs, the Firefighters Union and Fire Commission Board Chairs met to look at other opportunities for further cooperative efforts.  Beginning in April 2023, the two agencies will explore what opportunities exist to improve services to both agencies.   All areas will be examined to determine how to best reduce duplication of administrative services and improve services to the citizens.  We have not determined what those services will be, but service to you the citizen and being good stewards of your tax dollars, will be the number one priority.  

Look for future information regarding our cooperative efforts on our web site at www.ovfr.org or on our Facebook site.  If you would like to know more about our organization or would like to be a part of our citizens advisory committee or just have a question for me, please feel free to email info@ovfr.org or call 360-893-2221.

 Thank you,

Zane Gibson, Fire Chief