By Andrew Lwowski
The Daily News
LONGVIEW, Wash. — Over the sounds of pickleballs clacking off paddles at Clary Courts, there’s the sporadic beeping and signals coming from the Longview Fire Department’s radios.
Dressed in their physical attire consisting of a blue shirt and matching gym shorts, the firefighters wait in line for a court.
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Most days of the week, Longview Fire, along with its trucks and ambulance, can be found at Clary Courts at John Null Park where the firefighters have acquired the taste for friendly competition amongst themselves and those in the community to satisfy their daily exercise requirements.
Longview Fire’s presence on the pickleball courts not only benefits the firefighters, but offers time to connect with those in an area the department is petitioning for an additional station.
Community bonding
Pickleball fever has swept across the country, and what makes it so great, says firefighter Skylar Daugherty, is it’s a scalable activity for all.
Firefighter Dane Crater says Longview Fire picked it up when former station officer Brett Johnson introduced it to the station around the time of the pandemic.
“So they taped lines in the bay, we pulled the rigs out of the bay, and he brought portable nets and we set it up and they played at the station,” Daugherty added.
“When we couldn’t go to the gym with COVID, that was our (required personal training) at the house instead,” Crater said.
When the Longview Pickleball Club took over and completely renovated Clary Courts in 2023, Longview Fire helped clean the courts with the engine hose. Soon after, the department began using them. Some are even club members.
In the current International Association of Fire Fighters, firefighters are not just permitted, but encouraged to take on an hour of physical training per shift, Longview spokesperson Angela Abel said.
Daugherty says the activity has improved the department’s relationship with the community it serves.
“They get to learn about what our day looks like a lot,” he said. “When we first started coming out here, there was a lot of like, ‘Hey, what are you guys doing? What’s your day look like?...
“It’s just been a great way to get to know some of the community members and kind of build some bonds and friendships, and now you know, we see them around town sometimes, whether we’re going on calls or going to do our other duties, which are like business inspections, things like that. It’s just nice to have a well-rounded approach to the community as a whole.”
Better serving the community
As a result, it’s proven beneficial for not only a better connection, but a faster emergency response time in that area.
Shifts are 24 hours and begin at 7:30 a.m., Battalion Chief Eric Koreis said, with the allotted physical activity time roughly starting at 10:30 a.m. after their morning brief, preparation of the personal protective equipment and mechanical apparatus.
Of course, it’s all subject to change with calls.
At any given moment, a back-and-forth game could abruptly end. Because of this, they all have their suits ready in their respective trucks. Koreis says it takes 90 seconds or less seconds for the crew to be on their way for a call.
“During a recent fire in the neighborhood, the crew was already at the courts and responded in just two minutes,” Abel said. “That rapid response allowed us to contain the fire early and limit damage to the home.”
In comparison, Abel added, “a similar incident on the same street a month later had a slower response time of over two minutes longer because the nearest crew had to travel from much farther away.”
Koreis says Longview Fire’s presence in the blended area where proposed station 83 will be built, whether training or just playing pickleball, offers more coverage in calls and acts as a temporary station at times.
While Longview Fire continues to petition for a third station, their use of Clary Courts has allowed the community to build positive relationships and integrate with firefighters.
“We’re always ready to give a little tour (of the trucks) or handout stickers,” Koreis said. “We’re really just looking for any kind of positive interaction.”
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