History
badge picture badge picture badge picture
In 1946, a group of ambitious citizens formed the Volunteer Fireman’s Protective Association. Orville Dove was elected Chief of the Volunteers and Ray Naas was Treasurer. Thus began the first formal organization of the volunteers for Boring Fire Protection District. This group, though donations and fund raisers, purchased two pieces of firefighting equipment, a 1946 High Pressure Fog Truck and a used 1936 Dodge pumper, taking delivery in the first half of 1947. Gresham Fire and First Aid Service donated $3,000 of the total $6,000 to the fund-raising effort of the volunteers which was used to purchase apparatus.
     
1946 High Pressure Ford           1936 Dodge
Before 1946, fire protection for the Boring area was provided by Gresham Fire Department or Clackamas County Fire District from Oregon City. Due to distance, a delay in response times was inevitable and fire protection signified saving surrounding exposures from fire. "Good saves" for structure fires were not part of the Fire District’s terminology at the time. For these reasons, the insurance rating for the District was a Class 10, the poorest rating allowed, which was certainly justified.

On April 18, 1947, a petition was filed and granted by the County Court of Clackamas County to form a Rural Fire Protection District as provided by law to be known as Boring Rural Fire Protection District No. 59 with the first election for a Board of Directors to be held May 23, 1947. The prior Volunteer Fireman’s Protective Association disbanded and donated the equipment to the District and became the volunteer firefighting force for the District. While circulating the petition to from the District, enough donations were received to build the original fire station on “B” Street in Boring. The District was protecting an area of about 53 square miles.
     
Boring Station on B Street
     
1946 Auto Car 1,500 gal tanker            2000 gal tanker
Equipment and training became the priorities of the District, much as it is today, and in 1948 a 2,000 gallon tanker was purchased to provide a water supply for the two pumpers. In 1949, a second tanker, capacity 1,600 gallons (know as the White Tanker) was added to the inventory to assure a continuous flow of water at a fire. In 1950 the new volunteer fire fighter organization purchased an oxygen-powered resuscitator to complete their first aid supplies and eighteen of the twenty-five men had Red Cross First Aid cards; two members qualified as instructors.

In the summer of 1951, the volunteers purchased three of the first two-way radios for the District which cost $1,757. The majority of funding came from the sale of the 1950 Yearbook and from donation and fund-raising events held by the volunteers.

In 1957 the District purchased its first self-contained breathing apparatus so that it could begin phasing out the older, inefficient and dangerous filter type masks. The older 2,000 gallon tanker was replaced with a newer 1,600 gallon tanker (know as the Red Tanker). The Department also took delivery of a new FWD pumper with a 750 gallon per minute pump that carried 1,000 gallons of water. The FWD was purchased through a five-year serial levy approved by the voters and was the District’s first NEW piece of fire apparatus.
     
Autocar “White“ Tanker and FWD pumper
June 1958 featured annexation of the area south of Eagle Creek into the Boring Fire District which enlarged the District area to its present 64.2 square miles. At the end of this year, a pumper was stationed in a barn in Eagle Creek. Unfortunately, a lack of continued response by the volunteers in the area resulted in the pumper being returned to Boring until 1967, when citizens in the area once again became available as volunteers.

In July 1960, a pumper was stationed at Damascus and an air horn alerting device was installed on the roof of a local business to alert the personnel of a call. Until this installation, the volunteers had to be able to hear the siren in Boring or be called on the phone to effect a response from the Damascus area.
     
Damascus Station circa 1965
Late in 1964, tone-activated radios were put into service as a result of another volunteer sponsored fund drive. These radios allowed all of the fire fighters to be alerted at once in their homes and gave them the location and type of alarm without delay. The radios also permitted recruiting volunteers from outside of the audible siren range.

Through a five-year serial levy, the District took delivery of a 1,000 gallon per minute pumper that carried 500 gallons of water in 1965. Another five-year serial levy witnessed the delivery of a 1,000 gallon per minute pumper in 1967.

1967 was a year of change. The District hired its first full-time paid Fire Chief, Matt Shields, in October. Up to this date, the Fire Chief had been a volunteer and was often employed outside of the District, leaving the District without a Chief much of the time. The volunteers donated a used panel truck for use as a rescue unit. Until this time, the first aid and rescue equipment had been carried on either a pumper or in the Chief’s car. The volunteers began construction of the fire station in Eagle Creek once again financing the materials through donations.

Effective June 1968, the voters approved a $330,000 bond issue to build a new main station and to purchase a pumper and a tanker. The paid personnel, with the assistance of the volunteers, converted the retired 1936 Dodge pumper into a brush truck. Because of its narrow width, it was ideal for maneuvering through brush and field fires.
     
1936 Dodge pumper modified as brush truck
In 1969, the District purchased a used 4,000 gallon tank and a Freightliner chassis which was developed into a tanker by the career and volunteer staff. The District moved into its new and current main station located on Highway 212 east of Boring.
     
Main station in Boring Hwy 212
The District took delivery of a 1,250 gallon per minute pumper and a 2,500 gallon tanker. The new station, and the new apparatus were a part of the $330,000 bond issue approved in 1968.

In 1970, the voters approved a tax base for District operations of $150,000.

January 1971 proved noteworthy in that, after many years of effort, the Fire Insurance Rating Bureau of Oregon (now the Insurance Services Office of Oregon) re-rated the District facilities as well as the capabilities of the Boring, Damascus and Eastmont Water Districts. The result was an improved fire insurance rating of Class 6 within 1,000 feet of a rated hydrant in the Boring Fire District and a Class 8 in other areas of the District. The change was due to the innovative "Rural Water Supply Procedure" developed to meet Insurance Rating Bureau requirements. This water procedure was adopted by Departments throughout the State and was published in a national fire service magazine.