Firefighting challenging, interesting, rewarding, ACFD 5 chief says

OTHELLO — It’s getting busier in Adams County Fire District 5, at a time when it’s more difficult to find volunteers. Chief Tom Salsbury said July 2025 was almost a record month. 

“(In June) we had 53 calls, and (in July) we had 58 calls,” Salsbury said. “Our call volume has really, really gone up from what it used to be.”  

Salsbury was named ACFD 5 chief in June, replacing longtime chief Gary Lebacken, who retired at the end of May.  

Salsbury said a lot of the activity is out on the highways that crisscross the district.  

“Our vehicle accidents have just gone crazy, and I don’t know why,” he said. 

Fire District 5 is about 215 square miles, with State Route 17 cutting through it north and south and State Route 26 east and west. State Route 24 is an alternative – and sometimes pretty busy – route to Yakima. State Route 26 is a major route for people traveling to and from Pullman.  

That makes the start and end of classes at Washington State University a challenge for ACFD 5.  

“Probably the next week or so, kids will start bringing all their stuff to move into the dorms and all that,” Salsbury said. “That’s when we get some bad accidents.” 

The fire district has four full-time staff, including the chief, and will add a fifth person in September, he said. An executive assistant gives the department a full staff of six, at least for now. Changes are coming that will affect ACFD 5 finances.  

Othello City Council members voted last year not to renew the city’s contract with ACFD 5 and start a municipal fire department. The contract ends in May 2026. 

“That’s going to hurt,” Salsbury said.  

To make up for some of the loss, ACFD 5 commissioners are asking district voters to approve an increase in the fire department levy.  

The department depends on volunteers for most of its manpower. The district has a good group of volunteers, he said, but like many departments, ACFD 5 is facing a challenge in finding an adequate number of people.  

Being a volunteer firefighter can be challenging, but Salsbury said it’s also an interesting job that allows people to contribute to their community.  

“Every time it’s something different. You never know what it’s going to be. And I think that’s what keeps our volunteers coming back. You get an adrenaline rush when that pager goes off. You want to get in your car and come on down and get on a fire truck and go out and fight fire,” Salsbury said.  

Firefighting allows people to contribute to their community uniquely, he said, and that too is part of the attraction. Salsbury himself started as a volunteer back in about 1991, after returning to his hometown after military service. 

“Right after I got married. My wife didn’t think much of that,” he said.  

At the beginning of his career, it was a family affair. 

“My dad was on (ACFD 5) back in the Seventies, for five or six years. And my twin brother was on here, and I had one set of twin brothers that were on here. Different twin brothers. My mom had three sets of twins,” he said. 

Some family members are no longer involved, having left the area. But his wife, Sarah, eventually came around and joined the department herself. 

“She figured as long as I was going to fires, she might as well do it with me,” Salsbury said. 

In 2001, Othello city officials decided to contract with ACFD 5 for fire protection, and Salsbury was hired full-time as a captain. He was named assistant chief when Lebacken took the chief’s job in 2008. 

Volunteers receive some benefits, even though they’re not being paid, he said. Volunteers can qualify for airlift insurance through the district and a pension through the state.  

“We have a banquet every year, and everybody participates in that,” he said.  

The community is supportive of the district, he said, making individual and group donations. A fundraising golf tournament the last few years has raised between $5,000 and $7,000 per year, he said. The money is used to buy equipment – proceeds from the 2024 tournament were used to replace parts of the breathing apparatus, he said. 

Firefighting is something that becomes its own reward, he said.  

“A lot of people have never fought fire in their lives until they join the fire department. And once you start, you get that itch and you want to go put that fire out,” he said.