The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army have temporary emergency resources available for those displaced by last week’s devastating fire at the Winlock Haunted Hostel, B&B and Hotel. But very few of the fire evacuees had utilized those resources as of Sunday night. The 20 to 30 people who were evacuated from the Haunted Hostel when it caught fire last Tuesday were initially taken to the OYO Hotel in Chehalis, but between 26 and 50 people total were displaced by the fire, according to Lewis County Emergency Services.
- PUB DATE: 11/15/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Chronicle - Metered Site

The Washington Department of Natural Resources is expanding its team of full-time firefighters. Funding for the new 60 new positions comes mainly from a bill passed unanimously last year by the state legislature. State Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz says currently there are 80 full-time firefighters in the agency, but during fire season, hundreds more are hired for temporary positions to fill the void, depending on the number of fires.
- PUB DATE: 11/14/2022 12:00:00 PM - SOURCE: Spokane Public Radio

The Renfrew Fire Department was able to check some items off its shopping list at the last Town Council meeting, RenfrewToday.ca reported.

At the November 8 meeting, a fire official brought forward a pair of recommendations to fix the fire hall’s roof as well as to add a new truck to the fleet, the report said.

Fixing the roof has been a long time coming, the fire official said, according to the report. The bid to repair the roof came in at $64,108.80, which is $15,000 below what was set aside for the project, the report said. 

Next, the fire official told council that just one bid was submitted to replace a 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab truck. The 2022 Ford F150 Supercab will replace an important vehicle in the department’s emergency response fleet for calls both in town and for neighboring municipalities, the report said. Council approved the purchase of the new truck, which came in at $70,586.69, around $600 over budget, the report said.

Construction will start next month on Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue’s Fire Station 57 at 14500 NW Coho Run, near Lake William Symington and Camp Union, djc.com reported.

Station 57 will have four apparatus bays and quarters for five personnel, the report said.

Station 57 – Lake Symington

Address: Northwest corner of the intersection of NW Holly Rd and NW Coho Run near Camp Union
Serving the Lake Symington, Lake Tahuya, Crosby, Holly and surrounding Seabeck communities
Architect: Rice Fergus Miller
Construction period: December 2022 – December 2023
Size: 10,993 square feet
Design: 4-Apparatus Bay, 5-Dorm facility

The Salida City Council will hold a work session Monday night (November 14) with the lone agenda item being a presentation of the new fire station design, HeartoftheRockiesRadio.com reported.

The new fire station will be located at 611 Oak Street. The city selected Neenan Archistruction to oversee the design of the new building. This project is subject to working through a sustainable financing program.

The project consists of a 20,000 square-foot, one story building. The current schedule is for construction to start in the spring of 2023 and be completed in 2024. 

The construction budget is $15 million, the report said.