Lewis County Fire District 2 currently has seventeen volunteers, who donate their time to serve the citizens of Toledo and outlaying areas. Lewis County Fire District 2 extends over ninety-eight square miles and is inhabited by approximately 5,395 residences.
ALERT — Lewis County Fire District #2 does not recommend nor endorse any private home safety companies.

Lewis County Fire District #2 does not phone solicit for funds to support your local fire department.
*ANNOUNCEMENT*
At this time the Toledo Fire Department is CLOSED TO PUBLIC ENTRY
For Emergencies please call 911
April 2021 Dist 2 Call Statistics
68 Responses

Jan-Dec 2020 Dist 2 Call Statistics
615 Responses
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Jan - Dec 2019 Dist 2 Call Statistics
681  Responses

Jan - Dec. 2018 Dist 2 Call Statistics 
684 Responses 

Outdoor Burning Info

Effective 8:00 a.m. on April 27, 2021, Lewis County will lift the current burn restrictions on outdoor burning for all lands regulated by Lewis County, WA . Restrictions are lifted subject to an open burning application and permit. Please refer to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources for restrictions applying to outdoor burning conducted on DNR-protected forestlands, which include state parks. The burning of garbage, paper or other refuse is strictly prohibited at all times. You may obtain additional information at www.lewiscountywa.gov/communitydevelopment or by calling the 24 Hour Automated Information Line at 360-740-1133.


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First Aid / CPR Class
None Scheduled 
Please check the First Aid phone line
option #4
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8 Worst Spring Allergy Triggers (and How to Avoid Them) Spring Allergy Triggers: Knowledge and Prevention
  • Pollen is the most common trigger for spring allergies. If you’re a spring allergy sufferer, inhaling your allergy triggers puts your body’s defense system on alert. Once it detects the pollen, your immune system interprets it as dangerous and, in response, sends antibodies to attack it. This releases compounds called histamines that trigger symptoms like sneezing, itchy or swollen eyes, and congestion. Thankfully, with an increased awareness of eight common triggers, you can prevent springtime allergy attacks from happening.
  • 1. Tree Pollination                                                                                                                    Tree pollination begins earliest in the season, so if you tend to experience allergy symptoms just as the seasons change, then blooming trees may be the culprit. Birch, cedar, and oak trees are common allergy triggers, as they release pollen that causes highly allergic reactions. Some people are allergic to olive trees, which also bloom just as the weather begins to warm. Getting an allergy test from your doctor can reveal which specific trees are your triggers, and then you can avoid them when possible and take allergy medication beforehand when you can’t.
  • 2. Grass and Weed Pollination
    After trees bloom, grass and weeds begin releasing their tiny grains of pollen into the air—usually a bit later in spring and into the summer. (Although if you live in a tropical climate, grass pollinates over a longer period of time.) Ragweed is the most common cause of weed allergies, along with tumbleweed, lamb’s quarters, sagebrush, and pigweed. Do some research to see if these plants are common in your area. If so, and if your allergies tend to hit in late spring, avoiding these during this time may prevent your springtime allergy symptoms from setting in.
  • 3. Mold
    In addition to pollen, mold is another springtime allergy trigger that can spark allergy symptoms. Mold growth happens in the spring, or when the combination of rain and warm temperatures create optimal conditions for it to grow and multiply in certain areas of your home. This is especially true if you live somewhere with high humidity. Be vigilant about wiping up moisture that gathers in such places as around windows, in bathrooms, and in enclosed spaces like attics. If you do notice mold accumulating, immediately spray the area with a combination of water and white vinegar to treat it.
  • 4. After the Rain
    Although rain washes away pollen, pollen count levels can skyrocket following a rainfall. Rain promotes plant growth—and therefore pollen growth—and when it comes with wind, this stirs up allergy triggers in the air, which can intensify symptoms as the weather dries up. Pollen count refers to the concentration of pollen in the air. Sometimes these online reports will also include details about the specific types of pollen present. This is important if you know which pollens are an allergy trigger for you and what levels are considered high or very high.
  • 5. Pollen Buildup
    By the end of the day, even if you’ve managed to avoid going near your springtime allergy triggers, pollen will still likely have built up in your hair and on your clothes and skin. To remove it, and avoid experiencing spring allergy symptoms into the night and indoors, wash your hair (or your child's hair) before going to bed to remove pollen from your head—and skin—and ensure it stays out of your bed.
  • 6. Time of Day
    Even though the air can seem heavier toward the end of the day, the pollen count tends to peak in the earlier hours in later spring. While during grass and tree season—earlier in the season—levels tend to be highest in the evening. This means that throughout the season, it’s smart to keep an eye on pollen counts throughout the day. Opt to take your workouts inside when pollen counts are high, even if it’s first thing in the morning when the air seems fresh.
  • 7. Letting in Pollen
    Even if your windows are screened, they won’t prevent pollen particles from floating indoors. It’s also nearly impossible to prevent pets from bringing pollen into your living space. To keep allergy triggers outside as best as possible, be vigilant about keeping doors and windows shut during spring allergy season. Keep an eye on shelves, vents, and windowsills—where pollen that makes its way in can accumulate and aggravate your allergies—and ensure that they remain dust-free. If springtime allergies are following you or your pet inside, using an air purifier in your home may help, along with a central air conditioning system with an asthma and allergy filter.
  • 8. Vacuuming
    Unfortunately, while keeping your floors and carpets free of allergy triggers is an important part of combating spring allergy symptoms, vacuuming tends to stir up the pollen, mold, and dust that aggravate allergies. To make vacuuming minimally uncomfortable, first try to get someone else—a non-allergy sufferer—to do it. If that’s not an option, wear a NIOSH-rated 95 filter mask to protect yourself from the particles being stirred up and put on a pair of gloves too, to keep the dust off your hands.
  • Know Your Triggers
    Visiting your doctor for an allergy test will provide useful information, particularly if general preventive measures aren’t alleviating your symptoms. Doctors generally use two different tests to diagnose an allergy:

  • Skin prick test: A small drop of potential allergens are placed on your skin and then lightly pricked. If you’re allergic to the substance, your skin will become red, swollen and itchy within about 20 minutes.

  • Specific IgE blood test: A sample of your blood is sent to a testing lab where a technician adds potential allergens to your blood and measures the amount of antibodies your blood produces in response.

COVID-19 and Money Information

SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes the disease COVID-19) can survive on surfaces like dollar bills. How long the virus survives is dependent on the surface itself as well as environmental conditions. At most, the virus will persist for 2-3 days under optimal conditions.
Preliminary findings suggest that COVID-19 may persist on money for a longer period of time than cardboard/paper-based products because cash in the United States is composed of 25% linen and 75% cotton, not paper.
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Current research has shown that cash may be a potential vector of transmissible diseases, such as bacteria and viruses; however, no research has been done on COVID-19 virus specifically. For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends thoroughly washing hands after handling money and moving towards cashless payment methods when possible.

Become a Volunteer Firefighter Today

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Published: August 31, 2020 in the Home Town Debate
 
The Lewis County Fire Departments in South Lewis County are looking for volunteers to help with their responsibilities. The responsibility of a volunteer firefighter is many, but the comradely with the other members will far outweigh the hard work.
The local fire departments start with the application process, they have an entire packet if you are interested. They start with attending a volunteer training session. Each volunteer fire department does their own training. From there, there is an application and an interview process with the committee. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter, go to one of the training sessions, it's an experience we all should see.

Then you will have to take a health screening to make sure you have the physical abilities to do the job. It is an occupational health test which is not as strict as the armed services physical training tests. After a person has passed all the tests and their application is approved, it is submitted to the board for final approval.

In Toledo, once you are a volunteer firefighter, you are required to respond to 5% of the calls and 18 different training sessions. Training will consist of Emergency Medical Services, CPR, general basic emergency medical training, fire training will include basic firefighting skills including extraction in wildland fires.

Mike Dorothy, Fire Chief for Toledo stated, "If you are considering whether or not volunteering is an option for you, ask yourself these questions. Do I love my community? Do I wish that I could make a difference by helping others in their time of need? Do I enjoy spending my time learning new things? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a desire to be a volunteer. Our local Fire department needs volunteers. Please call or contact your local department today and inquire about being a volunteer.

Randy Pennington, who is a Winlock Fire Department Commissioner stated, "Winlock, Toledo and Napavine fire departments, over the last few years, have become what are known as Combination Departments. What that means is they have transformed from an all-volunteer agency into an agency that has both volunteer and paid staff. This has tremendous benefits but there is also a downside. The downside is the volunteer staff often lose members because volunteers feel they are not needed anymore. The paid staff immediately responds on calls so by the time the volunteer gets there, the ambulance/fire engine have already left and most likely already made patient contact or put the fire out so the volunteer feels a sense of not contributing. This is common throughout the fire service and for a variety of other reasons our ranks are thinning out, for example here in Winlock 40 years ago, almost every single volunteer worked here in Winlock, and could respond from work, people left the stores, the schools, their shops etc, now very few volunteers work in the area at all, again they feel not needed as they can't go on the majority of calls."

Randy continued, "Although this feeling among the volunteers of not being needed, becomes prevalent and does diminish our ranks, it is far from the truth. We are desperate for volunteers. Trying to think of a quote that could summarize the importance the volunteers are to the overall operations in EMS and Fire I thought of this illustration. Imagine the fire/ems service is a circulatory system of a person, made up of heart, blood and blood vessels of a patient."

This is what Randy stated about being a volunteer firefighter:

The patient is the person who needs our help.
Blood vessels are the conduit that brings the blood.
Blood is the life giving component that the patient needs to survive
The heart is the pump that moves the blood along.
Without any of the components the patient suffers and ultimately will die.
I think of our combination department in this way:
Blood vessels is the department
Blood is the responding crew
Heart is the volunteer crew that moves the blood along. With a weak pump the blood is slowly delivered or not delivered at all, hence the heart is a key part of the system, just like the volunteers are a key part to our system. Without them the system is pumping slow and weak or not at all, we need the heart of the system, that heart is our volunteers.

If you are interested in being a volunteer, please reach out to your local fire departments today.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Allergy Forecast
Lewis County has a new alert system replacing CodeRed, to register please click on Lewis County ALERT above.
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