Voters in Grant County overwhelmingly approved the merging of fire districts 10 & 11 during the April 28 special election on Tuesday. The merger combines Royal City’s Fire Department with rural Othello’s fire department which responds to fires on land just east of Royal City between Pot Holes State Park and the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge.
- PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 6:51:46 PM - SOURCE: iFiberOne

Face masks have become a necessity for many first responders, but they’ve taken some of the human touch out of the job for Cowlitz 2 firefighter/paramedic Eric Dearth. Masks shield facial expressions, so ambulance patients “don’t see our smile,” and calls have become more clinical, Dearth said. “Part of the job we take pride in is providing that humanity — giving someone hope, cheer, or just a kind conversation when they’re going through a bad situation,” Dearth said.
- PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 6:48:50 PM - SOURCE: Longview Daily News

A break-in apparently led to a fire at a Port Orchard middle school early Wednesday morning. A burglary alarm went off at Marcus Whitman Middle School just before 5 a.m., according to officials with South Kitsap Fire. When police arrived, they found signs of a forced entry into the building and a fire burning inside.
- PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 10:42:18 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

Personally-crafted cards and notes were received with smiles this week by some of those working on the local front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. “What a lovely gift, all those handwritten notes,” Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation Executive Director Linda Frizzell said Tuesday morning, following the delivery of a box full of the items — many with gift cards tucked inside.
- PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 6:39:45 AM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald (GoSkagit.com)

A Sunday afternoon blaze tore through a two-story house in the 17100 block of Brasher Lane, SE near Rainier, leaving a family of three without a home. No injuries or deaths were reported. Southeast Thurston Fire Authority was dispatched to the structure fire at about 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 26. First responders arrived at a fully-engulfed house fire.
- PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 2:28:35 AM - SOURCE: Nisqually Valley News