Oregon Fire Recruitment Network
Providing resources to recruiters across Oregon to help recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.
Volunteer Firefighter Recruiters
Meet Your Oregon Area Recruiters
Co-Founder of OFRN
Meet Jennifer Motherway, Jennifer worked for Columbia River Fire & Rescue and Scappoose Fire from 2012 - 2023 and handled the recruitment and retention, social media and public information officer efforts during her tenure. Jennifer earned her Associates Degree from PCC and has a Bachelors in Management & Organizational Leadership from George Fox University. She is also one of the founders of the OFRN and also is an instructor for the IAFC as a subject matter expert in recruitment and mentorship. Jennifer currently volunteers with Estacada Fire District. Jennifer can be reached at 971-328-2478 or EMAIL.
Estacada Fire District & Co-Founder of OFRN
Meet Matt Aalto. From 2016-2023 Matt served as Captain/Training Officer for the Gaston Fire District and took a Battalion Chief position with Estacada Fire in July 2023. Matt earned his Associate's Degree in Fire Science and has a Bachelor's Degree in Fire Administration, and his MBA in Public Administration, along with a Certificate in Leadership Effectiveness from Notre Dame's College of Business. Matt has also worked directly with the IAFC, NVFC, and NFA as an instructor and subject matter expert. Matt can be reached at 503-932-7875 or EMAIL.
Banks Fire District
Meet Christopher Perry. Christopher is a Lieutenant/Paramedic and Volunteer Coordinator for Banks Fire District #13. Chris began his career in the EMS and fire service in 2018. Chris is the main contact for recruitment, internship and volunteer opportunities. Chris can be reached at 503-324-6262 or EMAIL.
Jefferson Fire District
Meet Chelsea Chavez. Chelsea handles the recruitment and retention efforts for both Jefferson Fire District and the Scio Fire District. Chelsea started her career at Jefferson Fire as a resident volunteer and quickly grew a passion for the job. Chelsea became an EMT-B, Engineer, and AIC. In 2021 she was hired by Scio Fire to work with recruitment to represent both great departments. Chelsea can be reached at 541-327-2822 or 503-394-3000 or EMAIL.
Sutherlin Fire District
Meet Brandan McGarr. Brandan was hired by the Sutherlin Fire Department as a Battalion Chief in 2018. On November 1, 2021, he was promoted to Division Chief. DC McGarr currently serves as Sutherlin Fire Department's Training Officer, Volunteer Coordinator & Logistics Chief. DC McGarr holds an associate degree in Fire Science and is working towards his bachelor’s degree in Fire Administration. DC McGarr also serves as a trainee member of the Oregon State Fire Marshals Incident Management Team. DC McGarr was hired as part-time faculty at Umpqua Community College in Fall of 2023 teaching for the Fire Science Program. Brandan can be reached at 541-459-1394 or EMAIL.
Jefferson County FD #1
Meet Kasey Skaar. Kasey has been with Jefferson County Fire District #1 for over a decade. Kasey started as a student intern in 2005 and in 2008 became a volunteer Lieutenant. In 2015 Kasey was hired as the Recruitment and Retention Coordinator under a SAFER grant. Kasey loves his community and and is looking forward to making a positive impact on his department. Kasey can be reached at 541-475-7274 or EMAIL.
Brownsville Rural Fire District
Meet Kevin Rogers, Chief Rogers is the Chief of the Brownsville Rural Fire District which was established in 1932 and provides fire, rescue, and first responder emergency medical services to the citizens of Brownsville, Oregon and the surrounding communities in mutual aide. Located in the heart of the historic City of Brownsville, the mission of the Brownsville Rural Fire District is to serve the people in the Fire District, respond to emergencies and to protect life, property, and enviroment. Chief Rogers can be reached at 541-466-5227 or EMAIL.
Lebanon Fire District
Meet Russell Duerr, Russell joined the Lebanon Fire District in 2008. Russell started his career as a volunteer firefighter, he then became an intern firefighter before getting hired full time. Russell is a Paramedic and served as an Engineer/Medic prior to promoting to Lieutenant. Russell is currently serving as the Volunteer Recruiter and Retention Coordinator for the Lebanon Fire District. Russell earned his associates degrees of Fire Suppression and EMS from Chemeketa CC and his Bachelors of Science in Public Health from Oregon State University. Lebanon Fire District provides both fire protection and Emergency Medical Services. Its fire protection area is 134 square miles, while EMS protection is 416 miles. Lebanon has five fire stations and is currently recruiting for volunteer firefighters and its student programs. Russell can be reached at 541-451-1901 or EMAIL.
Charleston RFPD
Meet Chief Michael Sneddon. Michael is the Fire Chief for Charleston Rural Fire District. Charleston Fire has 3 fire stations near South Western Oregon Community College in Coos Bay Oregon. Chief Sneddon can be reached at 541-435-7071 or EMAIL.
Keizer Fire District
Meet Hector Blanco, who began his career as a United States Air Force Firefighter. Hector currently serves as the Division Chief of Administration for Keizer Fire District. Keizer is a combination ALS transport department with 43 career members and average 15 volunteer firefighters. Hector is the recruitment & retention officer, and also manages the Community Risk Reduction Program. Hector has an Associate Degree in Fire Science, Certified as an Officer IV, Instructor III, and Fire inspector II. Hector belongs to the OFCA, FDSOA and IAFC. Hector can be reached at 503-390-9111 or EMAIL.
Mt. Angel Fire District
Meet Bill Hauth, Captain Hauth handles the Recruitment and Retention efforts for Mt. Angel Fire District. Captain Hauth can be reached at the Station at 503-845-2438 or Cell 503-480-4285 or EMAIL.
Molalla Fire District #73
Meet Dustin Hamilton, Dustin handles the recruitment for Molalla Fire District #73. Molalla Fire's backbone is volunteers supported by Career Firefighter/Paramedics who transport for Molalla and Colton Fire. Dustin has been involved in the Fire Service since 2001 as a volunteer for Keizer Fire. After Keizer, Dustin moved to Sublimity where he volunteered for nearly 10 years and was a FF/Engineer and Training Officer. In 2018 Dustin was hired at Molalla Fire to continue the recruitment and retention efforts. Dustin can be reached at 503-829-2200 or EMAIL.
Aurora Fire District
Meet Nate Smith. Lt Smith was appointed as the recruitment and EMS officer at Aurora Fire District in Nov of 2019. Nate began with the district in Dec of 2009 as a resident volunteer then progressed through the ranks for volunteer Lt. Nate has worked as a Paramedic for Woodburn Ambulance, AMR, and Turner Fire prior to being hired at Aurora. Nate was able to volunteer while obtaining his degrees for Fire Science and Paramedic at Chemeketa Community College, work full time, and support his family. Lt Smith can be reached a 503-678-5966 or EMAIL.
McKenzie Fire & Rescue
Meet Captain David Sherwood. Captain Sherwood is the Training Officer, in charge of training, recruitment, and retention, for McKenzie Fire & Rescue. The District was established in 1959 and provides fire, rescue, and first responder emergency medical services. Captain Sherwood has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and has 14+ years under his belt in the EMS/Fire service. Please feel free to call at 541-466-5227 or EMAIL.
Sublimity Fire District
Meet Brad McKenzie, Brad currently serves as the Assistant Chief and retains his EMT-P. Brad was hired by the Aumsville Fire District after serving for over 10 years at Stayton Fire District as a Firefighter and Lieutenant. In 2023, Brad moved over to the Sublimity Fire District. Brad also served as a Captain for a private contracted firm as a firefighter in the Middle East for 2 years at Al Asad Air Base. Chief Makenzie can be reached at 503-749-2894 or EMAIL.
Westport Fire
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue
Meet Tina Quintal. Tina has been with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue since 2010 and as the Sr. Employment Coordinator is responsible for the volunteer and career recruitment efforts. Tina can be reached at 503-259-1112 or EMAIL.
Boardman Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Stephanie Irons, Stephanie is the Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Coordinator for Boardman Rural Fire Protection District. Boardman Rural Fire Protection District provides a full range of services which include fire prevention, public education, fire suppression, rescue, and initial hazardous materials response to an area of 330 square miles. Stephanie can be reached at 541-481-3473 or EMAIL.
Illinois Valley Fire District
Meet Brian Mavity. Lt. Mavity has been with the Illinois Valley Fire District for just a short 2 years. In that time he has completed his fire academy training, pump operator training, driver, Oregon EMT and promoted to Lt. in charge of Recruitment and Retention. Lt. Mavity has been taking advantage of the onsite Homeland Security courses and recently completed his 6 day CBRNE course (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive training) in Anniston Alabama. The Illinois Valley Fire District is located in a rural part of Josephine County and covers Selma, Cave Junction, O’Brien and up to the California border. Brian can be reached at 541-592-2225 or EMAIL.
Crook County Fire & Rescue
Meet Russ Deboodt. Russ was hired by Crook County Fire & Rescue in September of 2014 after starting as a volunteer in 2013. He currently serves as a Firefighter/ EMT and the Volunteer Coordinator for the department, among other roles. Russ earned his BA in horticulture as well as an MBA from Oregon State University. CCF&R is a combination department and consists of three stations serving a fire district of 400sq. miles. Russ can be reached at 541-447-5011 or EMAIL.
Lake Chinook Fire & Rescue
Meet Don Colfels. Chief Colfels oversses the operations at LCF&R. The Department responds to all calls from the Cove Palisades State Park on the Deshutes arm of Lake Billy Chinook to Green Ridge which is an area of approximately 40 Sq Miles. Chief Colfels can be reached at 541-977-0988 or EMAIL.
Nestucca Fire & Rescue
Meet Brian Jones, he is the Batallion Chief of training as well as the Volunteer Coordinator and started in September in 2012, promoted to the current position in September 2017. Brian can be reached at 503-392-3313 or 503-812-7635 or EMAIL.
Hermiston Fire and Emergency Services
Meet Nate Stephens. Nate has been int he fire service since 1993. Currently he is a Lieutenant and the Resident Intern Coordinator. In addition to his coordinator responsibilities, he is also a Paramedic and member of the Haz-Mat team #10. Nate can be reached at 541-567-8822 or EMAIL.
Sweet Home Fire District
Meet Ryan Paul. Ryan can be reached at 541-367-5882 ext. 219 or EMAIL.
Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue
Meet Rob Torrey. As of January 2018, Rob became the Division Chief of Training and the Volunteer Retention/Recruitment coordinator MCFR in the Dalles. Chief Torrey started out as a volunteer firefighter in 1979 in Federal Way, Washington and turned his passion for the fire service into a career with the Redmond Fire Department (in Washington state) where he retired as a Captain after 31 years (1984-2015). The past two years, Chief Torrey served as the fire chief of an all-volunteer department in Superior, Montana (2016-2017). Chief Torrey can be reached at 541-296-9445 or EMAIL.
Dallas Fire Department
Meet April Welsh. April, a former Dallas police detective, simply had to cross Jefferson Street to begin her new career as the department’s community service officer. April is in charge of volunteer recruitment and retention and community relations. Her responsibilities include building the volunteer base which is a critical role as all firefighters in Dallas are volunteers and more are needed. She also coordinates public outreach through events, social media and emergency information services. April can be reached at 503-831-3532 or EMAIL.
Dexter Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Lucas Gilbert. Lucas is the Training Officer at Dexter Rural Fire Protection District. He has been with the District since June of 2023 and has been in the fire service since 2016. Lucas can be reached by phone at 541-937-3045 or by email EMAIL.
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Lane Fire Authority
Meet Mark Boren, Mark has recently taken over the recruitment roll and will be continuing this full time, part time after he retires October 1, 2018. Mark volunteered for 6 years starting in 1997 prior to being hired as the Training Officer with Lane County Fire District #1 in 2003. Mark is one of two training officers with Lane Fire Authority after a consolidation then merger 5 years ago with Lane Rural Fire Rescue and a recent consolidation with Santa Clara Fire. Lane Fire Authority provides fire, life safety and emergency medical services (EMS) to 45,000 residents over 282 square miles in the scenic Willamette Valley. Our team of 100 career and volunteer personnel responded to approximately 4,800 calls last year, 81% of which were EMS-related. We operate out of 16 stations, 3 of which have career staffing 24/7. The 11 remaining stations are supported by more than 70 dedicated volunteers from our community and the surrounding area that do 24 hr shifts out of two of our stations every 6th day. We operate an ALS ambulance service with an Ambulance Service Area that includes several fire districts and extends into two other counties. Contact Mark at 541-935-2226 ext. 225 or EMAIL.
Olney Walluski Fire & Rescue District
Matt Ron Tyson, Chief Tyson is the Chief of Olney Walluski Fire. Chief oversees an all volunteer fire district and currently lives in Astoria. Chief Tyson can be reached at 503-325-5440.
Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Shaunna White. Shaunna served in O.E.F as a F.E.T member with 2/11, as a Corporal in 2012. She started volunteering in 2014 with Cannon Beach Fire after serving in the U.S Marine Corps. White missed the comradery, challenges, and pride of serving, but found a new family and exciting set of new challenges within the fire industry. She earned her Associates Degree in Fire Science from CCC utilizing the G.I bill. In 2019, she was hired as the Recruitment and Retention Coordinator for Cannon Beach and Hamlet Fire Departments. Shaunna can be reached at 503-739-3174 or EMAIL.
Marion Co. Fire Dist 1
Brian Woodley began his fire service career as a Volunteer Firefighter with Marion County Fire District #1 in November of 2000. Brian advanced to the rank of Volunteer Lieutenant in October of 2004 and then Volunteer Captain in July of 2006. Brian completed an Associate in Science degree in Criminal Justice and earned his BS in Business Administration at Corban University. In June of 2012, Brian completed the National Fire Academy for Training Program Management and continues personal development in related fields. Brian manages the volunteer program for Marion County Fire District and also serves on the Oregon State Fire Marshals incident management team as well as volunteers his time performing dive recovery missions for Linn Co Sheriffs Office. Brian can be reached at 503-485-4142 or EMAIL.
Amity Fire District
Meet Mike Jones, Mike began his volunteer fire career with Little Lake Fire Protection district in Northern California where he served as an Engineer/EMT for 5 years. In 2014 Mike moved to Oregon and in 2016 started as a volunteer firefighter for Amity Fire District. Mike currently serves as volunteer Engineer/Public information officer and has the duties of managing the districts Social media and online presence. In 2018 Mike began working towards an Associate’s degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern university and in 2019 Mike became the Volunteer recruitment and retention coordinator for Amity Fire District. Mike Can be reached at 503-820-9448 or EMAIL.
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Stayton Fire District and Sublimity Fire District
Meet Marcus Andrews. Marcus started as a volunteer firefighter with Stayton Fire District in 2018, and in 2019 he was hired by Stayton Fire under a SAFER grant as the recruitment/retention coordinator. He is responsible for the recruitment and retention for both Stayton Fire and Sublimity Fire District under a joint agreement. For information about becoming a volunteer at Stayton, he can be reached at 503-769-2601. For volunteer opportunities at Sublimity fire he can be reached at 503-769-3282. He can be reached by EMAIL.
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Gearhart Fire
Meet Josh Como. Josh grew up in the fire service and was 6 years old when his Dad joined. Josh joined as a cadet when he was 15 and has been involved with the fire service ever since. Josh is a Lieutenant-Training Officer and can be reached at 503-738-7838 or EMAIL.
Sisters-Camp Sherman, Cloverdale & Black Butte
Meet Tyler Smith. Tyler started his fire career by working in the wildland field for approximately 9 years. He joined the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department as a student and earned his fire certifications along with recently obtaining his paramedic license. Tyler accepted and took over the position as Recruitment & Retention Coordinator for Northwest Fire (Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire, Cloverdale Rural Fire, and Black Butte Ranch Fire) in June of 2020. He can be reached here at (541) 549-0771 or EMAIL.
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Scappoose Fire District
Meet Henry Oberbarnscheidt, Henry handles the recruitment and retention efforts for the Scappoose Fire District.
Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Craig Bensen. Craig Bensen was a volunteer for the URFPD for three years before being hired in 2018. He currently serves as the recruitment/retention coordinator, training officer, fire marshal, and oversees our resident intern program. For information about becoming a volunteer or applying for our resident intern program, please feel free to contact him at 541-922-3718 or by EMAIL.
Williams Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Nicco Holt. Nicco started his fire service career in 1988 with a small fire district in Lane County. He completed is EMT-4 (now known as Paramedic) certification in the early 1990's and spent a year working for a private ambulance service in Portland before moving to Southern Oregon in 1993 to work for the Rogue River Fire District until his retirement in June, 2020. He joined the Williams Rural Fire Protection District in 2019 and continues to fill the roles of Training Officer, Recruitment/Retention Coodinator and EMS Officer. He also serves as Secretary for the Rogue Interagency Training Association. Outside of work, Nicco spends his time doing a variety of recreational and family activities. Please contact him at 541-846-7644 or by EMAIL.
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West Side Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Matt Adams. Matt is a Captain with West Side RFPD in charge of Volunteer recruitment and retention. Beginning in 1995 as a Student Firefighter and serving until 2016 with Hood River Fire & EMS. Mat joined West Side RFPD as a Volunteer in October of 2019 and was hired full-time in February of 2022. Additionally, Matt worked as a wildland firefighter with the USFS and Washington DNR for 8 seasons. Please contact Matt by EMAIL.
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Alfalfa Fire District
Meet Chad LaVallee from Alfalfa Fire District. AFD is an all-volunteer agency just east of Bend Or. Alfalfa Covers 64 sq miles ranging from private land, to BLM and ODF land. We are always looking for new volunteers. Please contact Chad by EMAIL.
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Lookingglass Rural Fire Protection District
Meet Justin Fox from Lookingglass Fire District. Captain Fox served 9 years in the military and after his years of military service, went directly into the fire service in 2016. Captain Fox was hired on at the Dexter Rural Fire Protection District as a shift lead and training officer in 2022 and was also appointed the Recruitment and Retention coordinator for Lookingglass Fire. Captain Fox is the first fulltime employee in Lookingglass's 60 year history. Please contact Justin at 541-670-0241 or by EMAIL.
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