Columns 
East County Fire and Rescue (ECFR) is the 60-square-mile fire district located north of the cities of Camas and Washougal. Each year since 2015, the district’s board chair has written this column as part of our outreach to our citizens. This is a recap of 2021. It is by no means comprehensive, but does give an overview of how the ECFR District is doing.
Once again, the pandemic is front and center of how fire and emergency services are operating. Much revolves around decisions to remain safe, provide the best service possible under continuous stress and the need to remain resilient. Hope comes in brief waves and then gets dashed as more variants challenge our ability to get back to “normal.”
Our ECFR staff and professionals have maintained their health by getting all of the recommended vaccinations and wearing masks on the job. More recently, the necessary mandate that personnel maintain closed office doors and restart masking at work prevented optimal communication within the building.
Changes and turnover are part of any fire district, and 2021 brought our share of both.
One major change in our administrative staff came with the retirement of Linda Durrett, our administrative specialist. Linda has been with ECFR for over 30 years, and her institutional knowledge will be missed. Her career began when we were an all-volunteer department. While she was a facilities specialist, she went on administrative leave to respond to calls as a volunteer. Many times, she was the first to arrive at a medical or fire scene. Her proficiency with apparatus was apparent on one call where, while alone in an engine, she put water on a fire from a defensive position until more help arrived.
