Starting Nov. 1, firefighters who were let go from South King Fire and Rescue because of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate will be allowed to come back to work. The agency’s board of directors voted unanimously during their Sept. 27 meeting to authorize Fire Chief Dave Mataftin to let unvaccinated firefighters return beginning Nov.
- PUB DATE: 10/28/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Federal Way Mirror - Metered Site

Firefighters were dispatched today, October 27th, about 10:15am to the south end of Portal Way due to a report of a residential fire. Whatcom County Fire District 7 Fire Chief Larry Hoffman told Whatcom News they arrived to see flames coming from a bedroom with someone attempting to douse them with a garden hose.
- PUB DATE: 10/28/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Whatcom News

The 2022 wildfire season in Western Washington is over, thanks to the rain the region has received since Friday. "Areas around the Bolt Creek fire, specifically the 14,000 acres the fire had burned so far, received between two and four inches of rain over the past week which is plenty to saturate the ground, to get through those dense canopies all the way down to the understory, and it really has halted the spread of the fire," said Matthew Dehr, a meteorologist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
- PUB DATE: 10/28/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KUOW-FM 94.9 Seattle

It's called a Medical Services Drill. This is how First Responders prepare for the unthinkable. Officials from FEMA have been in the Tri-Cities for several days leading up to this simulated "catastrophic" event. Emergency Management staff from both Oregon and Washington are also working walk-in-step to sort out the details, triage, and mitigate loss during this simulated radiological accident.
- PUB DATE: 10/28/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KONA-AM 610 Kennewick-Richland-Pasco

A lease has been signed between the Bozeman (MT) Fire Department and Montana State University paving the way for a new fire station to be built on the campus, according to a report published by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

The report says the new fire station will replace Station No. 2 and will be built on land leased from the university for an initial 20 years with three automatic 10-year renewals built in, the report says.

In 2021, Bozeman voters approved a $6.7 million bond for fire station construction and the site was selected and the lease negotiated, according to the report which also said the final design is expected by the end of this year with construction bids sought early in 2023. Construction could begin as soon as April 2023, the report said noting it will take up to 14 months for the project to be complete.