VIDEO/PHOTOS: early-morning fire left a beloved restaurant heavily damaged, and left multiple neighboring businesses closed for the day Saturday in Edmonds’ Westgate neighborhood.At least 17 units from South County and Shoreline fire departments responded at about 5:45 a.m. to reports of smoke at the Westgate Village shopping plaza.

South County says that crew members did not see flames from the street, but noticed condensation on the windows of Gyro Makers restaurant, and proceeded inside. There they encountered heavy smoke and an active fire inside the unoccupied restaurant. They knocked down the main body of the fire in less than 10 minutes, while others worked to keep it from spreading to nearby businesses.

“I went out on my balcony, and saw bellowing smoke coming out of the building,” said Rosemary Lavery, who began filming on her phone after she woke up for work, “I noted also the firefighters on the roof above the restaurant trying to break through or sawing [into it],” she added.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The post Fire damages Gyro Makers and nearby nail salon in Edmonds’ Westgate Village appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Seattle firefighters worked to secure a carbon dioxide leak after an alarm activated in a commercial building in Ballard Saturday morning. The Seattle Fire Department said it sent a hazmat response to a building in the 5400 block of Ballard Avenue Northwest at around 10:30 a.m. after reports of a carbon dioxide (CO2) alarm activation.

Hazmat crews entered the building to investigate and, according to the department, detected dangerous levels of CO2. Firefighters worked to secure the leak while additional crews ventilated the building. At around 12:30 p.m., the leak was secured, hazmat crews monitored the air within the building and determined it was safe to reoccupy, fire officials said. No injuries reported.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The post Seattle hazmat crews respond to CO2 leak at Ballard business appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Sen. Patty Murray visited the Colville Tribes as recovery continued after wildfires burned on the tribe’s reservation this summer. Murray visited Nespelem and toured fire-damaged areas. She also met with the Colville Business Council to discuss the tribe’s needs and concerns.

The Kaiser Canyon and Modrite fires destroyed at least 33 homes. They also affected 150 cultural sites. The fires damaged forest land that supports the tribe’s forestry program. That program is a source of revenue and jobs. Murray pointed to the recovery effort in a statement. “There is not a single dollar i won’t pursue if it means helping communities across the state recover and rebuild from these devastating fires,” Murray said.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

The post Senator Murray visits Nespelem as Colville Tribes recover from fires appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Rising costs and federal cuts are prompting fire departments across our state to tighten budgets, and some are facing layoffs. “As a union, we just want to make sure that we are able to keep enough people on the line every day- that we can respond,” said Jacob Schreiber, a firefighter and President of Mason County Professional Firefighters Local 2394.

Firefighters, with Central Mason Fire and EMS, fight fires across 186 square miles and provide emergency medical services for most of Mason County. But facing a budget shortfall, the elected board of the Central Mason Fire & EMS Board of Commissions says 17 firefighters may be laid off, according to the union.

“17 members is 25% of our effective response force. So we’d be going from 68 down to 51,” Schreiber said. “The public will very likely see a decrease in the service that our agency is able to provide.” In August, residents voted to lift the lid on property taxes to generate more money for the fire department.

But in a letter to the public, Fire Chief Brandon Searles said later that same month, the department was notified it would receive less federal funding than expected. KIRO7 has reached out for specifics. Neither the chair of the board of commissions was available for comment Friday.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

The post Mason County could lose 25% of firefighters to layoffs appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Five Oakland County townships are asking voters to approve police and fire millages after August rejections.

The post Six Metro Detroit (MI) Communities Make Their Case to Voters for Fire, Police Taxes appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.