A reflection from Jordan Koffler, SeaWestern Emergency Vehicles
When you walk through our building in Yakima, it doesn’t take long to realize you’re standing in a place with a lot of history.
Not just company history — fire service history.
Our story traces back more than eighty years to 1945, when Cascade Fire Equipment began supporting fire departments across the Pacific Northwest. The roots go even deeper than that, to a small business started by a firefighter who saw a need in the community and decided to do something about it. What started with servicing fire extinguishers and supplying chemicals eventually grew into equipment distribution, apparatus sales, service, and ultimately the design and production of our own fire apparatus.
When you look back over eight decades, the names and ownership have changed, the industry has evolved, and the equipment has certainly advanced. But the core mission has remained remarkably consistent: supporting firefighters and the communities they protect.
For me personally, this company’s story is also my own.
More than a decade ago, I started working here in the service department. At the time I was pursuing a career in the fire service and thought working around fire apparatus might look good on a resume and in a Chief’s Interview. I expected to spend some time learning about the equipment before eventually moving on.
What I didn’t expect was how much the industry — and the people in it — would shape my life.
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside an incredible group of people, both within this company and throughout the fire service community. The relationships built along the way have been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey. Many of the people I’ve met through this work are no longer just customers or colleagues — they’ve become some of my closest friends.
I’ve also been incredibly fortunate to work alongside and learn from some truly knowledgeable people along the way. I’ve found mentors throughout the industry who were generous with their time, their experience, and their advice. The lessons I’ve learned from those who came before me — about the fire service, about business, and about how to treat people — have shaped the way I approach this work every day. I’m grateful for the patience and trust they placed in me as I learned my way through this industry.
That’s something unique about this industry. Fire service work is deeply personal, this type of product requires a certain amount of passion in order to “do it right”. The people we work with rely on the vehicles we provide in moments that truly matter. That responsibility shapes how we approach the work and the pride our team takes in doing it right.
You see that pride throughout our organization.
You see it in the care our technicians take when servicing a department’s truck. You see it in the attention our team gives to the design and assembly of the apparatus we build. And you see it in the relationships we’ve built with departments across the Western United States — many of which span decades.
This business has always been built on those relationships.
Over the years the company has grown and evolved alongside the fire service itself. From Cascade Fire Equipment in Yakima to the broader SeaWestern organization, the focus has always remained the same: supporting departments with dependable equipment and long-term service.
One of the most rewarding parts of my own journey here has been helping grow our wildland apparatus program.
What started as a small effort — building just a couple of basic units each year — gradually evolved into something much bigger. Over time we refined the designs, listened to our customers, and built trucks that were better suited for the terrain and operational realities of the Western United States.
Today that wildland program has grown into the core of what SeaWestern Emergency Vehicles does.
I’m incredibly proud of that. But I’d be lying if I said it isn’t also a little surreal to step back and realize that something I once sketched out as an idea — a product and a construction philosophy my team believed in and committed to — has grown piece by piece into what now defines this entire business.
It wasn’t built overnight. It developed organically as we refined the design, listened to the departments using the trucks, and kept improving them year after year. Our team bought into the vision early on, and together we built it one step at a time.
That’s a responsibility I take very seriously.
That responsibility also comes from why we started building our own apparatus in the first place.
For years we saw the same challenges across the industry — products that didn’t always meet the needs of departments operating in the West, inconsistent quality, and an increasing shift away from regional builders toward large and consolidated manufacturers. Departments were often left with fewer choices and equipment that wasn’t always built for the environments where it would actually operate.
So we set out to build something better.
The SWEV apparatus line was developed out of those conversations with firefighters and departments who needed equipment that was practical, durable, and built for the conditions they face every day.
Now we’re entering another chapter in that story.
Our focus moving forward is on continuing to build and support apparatus designed specifically for the environments where our customers operate. The SWEV wildland and specialty apparatus program represents the next evolution of the work that began here decades ago — trucks built for the terrain, conditions, and operational realities of the Western United States.
We will continue to produce apparatus right here in Yakima, and I truly believe we have the opportunity to help reshape what this segment of the industry looks like.
We have an experienced team, a strong foundation, and the support we need to take SWEV to its full potential. The partnership with MES gives us additional resources that allow us to keep investing in the people, products, and processes that make this organization special.
If anything, it gives us the ability to focus even more on what we do best.
Our goal moving forward is simple: continue building apparatus that departments trust and continue raising the bar for what wildland apparatus can be. If we do that right, I believe we’ll be doing exactly what our mission says — setting the standard for emergency vehicles in the West.
Stepping into a leadership role during this moment in the company’s history is both exciting and humbling.
I’m incredibly proud of the team we have here. Many of them have spent years — even decades — supporting the fire service and refining the work we do. Their knowledge, dedication, and passion are what make this place special.
At the same time, we recognize that we are simply the current stewards of something much bigger than ourselves.
Eighty years is a long time for any company. The fact that this organization has endured for that long speaks volumes about the people who built it, the departments who trusted it, and the culture of service that has guided it since the beginning.
Our responsibility now is to carry that legacy forward.
To continue improving the apparatus we build.
To keep supporting the departments who rely on us.
And to ensure that the next generation of firefighters has the equipment they need to protect their communities.
The trucks will continue to evolve.
The technology will continue to advance.
But the mission remains the same.
Supporting those who serve.
Jordan Koffler
SeaWestern Emergency Vehicles