Clark County Fire District 6 announced the death of a longtime firefighter and paramedic, Joe Killian, Thursday. Killian served the district for 26 years before retiring 4 years ago. Shortly after his retirement, Killian was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer that is common among firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPTV-TV FOX 12 Portland

A report from the Department of Commerce estimates that Washington and Idaho lost between $1.35 and $2.6 billion in 2021 because of weather disasters. In the Pacific Northwest as a whole (including Oregon) that number reaches at least $3 billion. Of the four costliest weather disasters in 2021, the Northwest was impacted by two of them.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4 Spokane

VIDEO: A teenager from Lewis County, Wash. was given an award for bravery, after she got her 3-year-old and 4-year-old sisters and the family dog out of their burning home, braving the flames to save lives. Haylee Laur, 15, made the heroic rescues Dec. 27. Their home in Winlock was destroyed, but Laur saved multiple lives that day.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

The Minden Hills (Ontario, Canada) Fire Department recently took delivery of a new Ford F550, reports mindentimes.ca.

Smaller in size compared to other apparatus, the Pierce-built initial attack apparatus has a 5,000-liter-per-minute pump, 750-liter water tank, 60-liter foam tank, and myriad other customizable features.

Over two years ago council approved the purchase of a new fire apparatus to replace the fleet’s 1995 International. It took 16 months to build, which saw very few non-COVID delays, the report says.

The new unit now gives the department three apparatus with which to respond to calls.

Following the Board of Selectmen agreeing Tuesday to hire Westbrook-based Benchmark Construction for the construction of an $8.25 million public safety building in Skowhegan (ME), the project is set to commence, reports centralmaine.com.

The decision comes weeks after initial project bids came in much higher than expected. Some cost-saving measures were implemented to the initial plan presented in the October bid, but no square footage was removed, according to the report.

In 2020, Skowhegan voters passed an $8.9 million bond to build a combined fire and police station on East Madison Road. In addition, town officials have a reserve account of $1.1 million, according to the report. Once the building is complete, officials say furnishing it will require two grants to pay for lockers, while the town is working to secure another grant for an industrial washer and dryer.

Skowhegan has thus far spent about $670,000 on the project, including buying the land in 2018 and utilizing consultants and engineers. The town has already hired Haley Ward Inc., a Bangor-based consulting group.

The facility is planned for the corner of East Madison Road and Dunlop Lane. The tentative plan is to move into the new facility by the end of 2022, the report says.