Firefighters said the number of calls are going up, but their fighting force is going down. Both Benton and Franklin Counties rely heavily on volunteer firefighters and need more. "Without the volunteers we couldn't survive," Benton County Fire District #4 Captain Ed Dunbar said. Dunbar started as a volunteer firefighter in 1983, and 20 years later he turned firefighting into a career.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2017 7:40:26 AM - SOURCE: KEPR-TV CBS 19

Hundreds of people lined the streets of downtown Lynden Tuesday afternoon to honor the city’s fire chief. Robert Spinner died from an apparent heart attack late last week, according to the Whatcom County Fire Chief's Association (WCFCA). On Tuesday, the Lynden Fire Department escorted his body from the Whatcom County Medical Examiner's Office in Bellingham to Gillies Funeral Home in Lynden.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 6:36:29 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

Authorities are investigating a fire at a home in Spokane Valley. The call came in around 1:42 a.m. Tuesday. Authorities said two bodies were discovered in the home near North Sipple Road and East Indiana Avenue. Melanie Rose with the Spokane Valley Fire Department confirmed the scene has become an active crime scene, and the Spokane County Sheriff's Office will be handling the investigation.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 10:37:28 AM - SOURCE: krem.com

Two children died and three adults were injured in a fire Saturday morning, and now two people who had recently been evicted from the Mount Vernon-area home are in jail for investigation of arson and two counts of first-degree murder. The children were ages 8 and 6, according to the probable cause affidavit.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 4:17:19 AM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald (GoSkagit.com)

Three of the four state bills that have been tooled to prevent the catastrophic wildfire seasons we saw in 2014 and 2015 will take effect this week. State Rep. Tom Dent and Sen. Judy Warnick of Moses Lake were an influence on these bills which passed during the 2017 legislative session. House Bill 1711 requires the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to prioritize money spent on forest treatment to prevent fires.
- PUB DATE: 7/18/2017 3:12:18 AM - SOURCE: iFiberOne