Mid-columbia Fire And Rescue

What Mid-columbia Fire And Rescue does

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue is a special fire protection district organized under Oregon Revised Statutes 478 (Rural Fire Protection Districts), serving The Dalles and surrounding Wasco County in north-central Oregon. The district provides fire suppression, emergency medical services (EMS), wildland fire response, rescue operations, fire prevention education, CPR training, residential burn permits, and community risk assessment. It operates from a single headquarters station at 1400 W. 8th Street, The Dalles, and maintains A, B, and C shift career personnel augmented by volunteers, with mutual-aid and automatic-aid agreements extending coverage across a 5-county area on both sides of the Columbia River. The district is described as one of the most frequent users of Oregon State Mobilizations under the Conflagration Act for wildland fire response.

The district's revenue model is fundamentally governmental rather than commercial. The primary funding mechanism is a property tax levy of $2.1004 per $1,000 of Tax Assessed Value within the fire district boundaries. Supplementary revenue streams include ambulance billing for EMS transport, the FireMed subscription program that protects subscribers from out-of-pocket fire and EMS costs, compensation received for wages and apparatus during State Mobilizations, and administrative fees for public records requests. Customer concentration is structurally distributed across all property owners and residents within the district, with no enterprise-style accounts.

Operationally, the district has expanded its daily staffing from 6 firefighters to 11 firefighters plus single-role EMS personnel through a partnership with the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal, while average EMS response times of near 7 minutes remain well below the Oregon state trauma goal of 15 minutes. Strategic partnerships with the Oregon Department of Forestry, the US Forest Service National Scenic Area, and a healthcare provider (Adventist Health Columbia Gorge) underpin its wildland and EMS capabilities. The organization is governed by an elected volunteer Board of Directors, with leadership appointed by the board; David Jensen serves as Fire Chief following a 2024 promotion.

Name

Mid-columbia Fire And Rescue

Legal name

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue

Website

https://mcfr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue is a tax-funded rural fire protection district serving The Dalles and Wasco County, Oregon, providing fire suppression, emergency medical services, wildland fire response, and fire prevention education under Oregon Revised Statutes 478.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Safety and Emergency Services

NAICS

Fire Protection (92216), Fire Protection (922160), Ambulance Services (62191), Ambulance Services (621910), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Fire & Rescue Services (Fire Suppression, Rescue) (BPAIAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Operations & Dispatch (HLAJAGAC), Integrated Forest Health & Fire Management Planning (AFAMAEAK), Wildfire Suppression & Incident Response (AFAMAEAE), Community Safety Administration (Fire/EMS, Emergency Management) (BPAIACAL), Firefighter & Fire Service Training (EDAOAMAB)

Keywords

• Fire protection services
• Emergency medical services
• Wildland fire response
• Fire prevention education
• Community risk assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

The Dalles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenue: Property tax revenue based on taxed assessed value at $2.1004 per $1,000 of Tax Assessed Value within the fire district boundaries.
2. Ambulance Billing: Ambulance service billing for EMS responses within the Ambulance Service Area.
3. FireMed Subscription Program: Subscription program for residents to protect against emergency fire and EMS costs.
4. State Mobilization Compensation: When participating in State Mobilizations under the Conflagration Act, the Fire District is compensated for wages of all employees and apparatus assigned to the mobilization.
5. Public Records Fees: Fees for public records requests including $0.25 per page, $10 for first page, $35 per hour research fees, $20 for sound recordings, and certified copy fees.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, wildland fire response, and fire prevention education to residents and property owners within the Wasco County fire district. Services are delivered by career firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics from Station 1 in The Dalles, with mutual aid extended across a 5-county area and Oregon State Mobilization deployments under the Conflagration Act.

Product overview

Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue is a fire protection district providing a comprehensive suite of emergency and community services. The organization operates as a unified emergency services provider offering core fire suppression and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) alongside specialized programs including a Wildland Fire Division for regional wildfire coordination, community education through CPR classes and fire prevention programs, and administrative services such as the FireMed membership program and ambulance billing. The district also publishes formal Standards of Cover and Community Risk Assessment documents and maintains The Dalles Fire Museum for historical preservation. Services are delivered through career personnel across multiple shifts with support from volunteer firefighters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fire Response Services Emergency fire suppression and response services for residential, commercial, and wildland fires within the MCFR district boundaries and through mutual aid agreements. Delivered by professional firefighters from Station 1 in The Dalles.
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Emergency medical response services delivered by paramedics and EMTs, maintaining average response times of approximately 7 minutes, well below the Oregon state trauma goal of 15 minutes. Available to residents within the ambulance service area.
• Wildland Fire Division Specialized wildland firefighting capabilities with partnerships with Oregon Department of Forestry, US Forest Service National Scenic Area, and regional counties for coordinated wildfire response. MCFR is one of the most common users of Oregon State Mobilizations for wildland fires.
• Fire Prevention and Public Education Public education programs including fire safety awareness, Firewise USA participation, defensible space surveys, home hardening guidance, and community outreach initiatives for residents of the fire district.
• CPR Classes CPR training certification classes offered to community members for emergency response preparedness within the fire district.
• FireMed Program Annual subscription membership program that protects families financially against ambulance billing costs for emergency medical services within the MCFR service area.
• Ambulance Billing Services Billing and payment inquiry services for emergency ambulance and EMS transport services provided to patients receiving emergency medical response within the ambulance service area.
• Residential Burn Permits Permit issuance and regulatory oversight for residential outdoor burning activities within the fire district boundaries.
• The Dalles Fire Museum Museum located in one of the original fire bays at The Dalles City Hall, commemorating the history of fire service in The Dalles dating back to 1862 and honoring those who risked their lives to protect the community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average EMS response time of near 7 minutes, well below the Oregon state trauma goal of 15 minutes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Adventist Health Columbia GorgeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2024Healthcare provider partnership for inter-facility transfers and EMS coordination. MCFR issued press release and clarification regarding misinformation about services in June 2024.
• Oregon Department of State Fire MarshalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership enabling staffing expansion from 6 to 11 firefighter positions per day plus single-role EMS personnel. The Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal provides positions funding that has been critical to meeting the national standard of 16 firefighters for structure fires.
• Oregon Department of ForestrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for wildland fire management. The area west and south of MCFR's boundary is under Oregon Department of Forestry protection, creating an effective system of cooperation for fire response.
• US Forest Service National Scenic AreacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for wildland fire response in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Collaboration is part of decades of work breaking down silos to provide effective firefighting force.
• Five Counties on Both Sides of the Columbia RivercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMutual-Aid and Automatic-Aid agreements covering a 5-county area. MCFR gives and receives aid to neighboring agencies who also provide aid to MCFR for structure fires and wildland fires exceeding local capacity.
• City of The Dalles Urban Renewal CommitteeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirector Diana Bailey represents MCFR on the City of The Dalles Urban Renewal Committee, ensuring coordination between fire services and city development planning.
• West Side Fire District (Hood River, Oregon)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJosh Beckner started his fire service career as a Student Firefighter with West Side Fire District before being hired full-time and eventually joining MCFR in 2023.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Medford Fire-Rescue: Southern Oregon fire and EMS agency providing integrated fire suppression, EMS, and wildland response with similar Conflagration Act participation; comparable operating scale and rural-urban interface mix.
• Clackamas County Fire District #1: Special fire protection district in Oregon providing fire, EMS, rescue, and prevention services under a similar statutory framework (rural fire protection district / special district); comparable operating model at larger scale.
• Bend Fire & Rescue: Oregon municipal fire and EMS provider with a comparable mix of structural and wildland response, prevention, and public education programs in a district similar in geographic character to MCFR.
• West Side Fire District: Oregon fire protection district in Hood River County with overlapping service profile (fire suppression, EMS, prevention); referenced as a direct talent pipeline for MCFR (Josh Beckner began his career there).
• Hood River Fire & EMS: Neighboring Oregon fire and EMS district operating in Hood River County along the Columbia River Gorge; provides the same combination of fire suppression, EMS, and wildland response as MCFR and participates in the same mutual-aid network.

Broad incumbents

• Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue: One of the largest fire and EMS districts in Oregon; offers overlapping fire suppression, EMS, and prevention services as part of a broader portfolio and represents a scaled-up comparable for service scope and revenue diversification.
• Portland Fire & Rescue: Major metro Oregon fire and EMS bureau operating under a comparable regulatory framework with substantially broader service scope; serves as the established-incumbent reference point for staffing, response standards, and EMS billing.
• Eugene Springfield Fire: Regional Oregon fire and EMS provider serving Eugene and Springfield; comparable in offering integrated EMS, prevention, and training programs with substantially larger scale and budget.

Others

• US Forest Service (Region 6 / Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area): Federal wildland fire partner within the National Scenic Area; operates overlapping wildland response capabilities and provides interagency coordination comparable to MCFR's wildland division function.
• Oregon Department of Forestry: State agency partner that manages forest lands west and south of MCFR; a coordinating wildfire counterpart rather than a competitor, but materially comparable in wildland fire operations and incident-command structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MidColumbiaFireRescue
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mid-columbia-fire-and-rescue

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mid-columbia Fire And Rescue