District Personnel Completed 12,516 Hours of Training in 2024. 

As the busiest emergency services organization in Eastern Oregon, ongoing training is essential to ensure personnel have the specialized skills to safely respond to over 6,000 fire and medical emergency calls each year. 

Many of our employees are licensed Paramedics, who must have a minimum of an Associate's Degree and are subject to certification and strict training requirements outlined by the State of Oregon. All firefighting personnel must be trained as Emergency Medical Technicians are hold certifications required by the state. Areas of on-site District training include firefighting tactics & strategy, fire attack, emergency driving, personnel management, hazardous material management, wildland firefighting, and medical care for the sick and wounded. 

In 2024, UCFD#1 was given the opportunity to conduct a controlled training burn on a house generously donated by a community member. This provided staff with invaluable experience offering realistic, hands-on training to improve skills and further education on fire behavior and fire management of a fully-involved structure fire. During this training, we were also able to certify Live Fire Instructors, ensuring a higher level of expertise within the District.

The District strives to meet the minimum training standards set by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Special Districts of Oregon, Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, National Fire Protection Association, Insurance Services Office, National Wildfire Coordinator Group, and Oregon Health Authority. 

In 2024, fire suppression staff completed maintenance recertification. The District completed many on-site trainings at our 12-acre training groups, equipped with a four-story training tower and props to simulate various firefighting and rescue scenarios. The Training tower is also used by Blue Mountain Community College's fire science program, which contributed $348,000 towards the building of the tower. 

UCFD#1's Training Division is responsible for the recruitment, hiring, health, safety, and retention of all Resident Interns and Volunteers. In 2024, we hired three career Firefighter/Paramedics & EMTS, and four Resident Interns, each of whom completed a twelve-week academy plus a two-week probationary Apparatus Operator Academy.