Mohawk Valley Rural Fire District

🚒 Community First!

We spent a fantastic afternoon with the wonderful students at the Marcola School District for their annual Safety Day!

Our team had a blast showing the kids the equipment, technology, and resources the Mohawk Valley Rural Fire District uses every day to keep our community safe. We also got to answer some excellent questions about fire safety and prevention—we might have some future firefighters in the making! 👨‍🚒👩‍🚒

We are always incredibly grateful for the opportunity to interact with the community we love so much to serve. Thank you for having us, Marcola School District! 👋✨

Thank you to Eugene Springfield Fire for providing an ambulance for the students to check out and learn about.

🌲 SUCCESSFUL NIGHTTIME RESCUE AT SHOTGUN RECREATIONAL SITE 🌲

Late last night, Mohawk Fire was dispatched to a reported Motor Vehicle Accident on Trail 3 at the Shotgun Recreational Site. A family member had received a text stating that their loved ones were off the road, but with very limited information other than that they were somewhere in the area of Trail 3.

Because of the massive, rugged search area and nighttime conditions, Mohawk Fire deployed multiple responders on foot alongside two critical pieces of specialized equipment recently acquired by the District:

🛸 Thermal Drone Operations: Crews deployed our UAS (drone), which was awarded to the District late last year through an Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) Spire Grant. The drone scanned the dense area using thermal imaging and later provided crucial overhead scene lighting for the ground crews.

🚜 Off-Road Capabilities: Ground crews successfully located the vehicle about a mile in from the main road. To safely extract the family, we deployed our side-by-side (UTV), acquired through a partnership with the Lane County Sheriff's Office.

All four occupants were thankfully uninjured. They were loaded into the UTV, brought out to the main road to get warm, and our crews assisted them in coordinating a safe ride home. (The truck will remain on-site until it can be recovered).

This incident is a prime example of how modern equipment and proactive training make these complex operations quicker, safer, and more efficient for both our community members and our first responders.

Great job to all the crews who responded last night! 🚒👏