There’s a new fire commissioner on South Whidbey. During a special meeting on Feb. 24, the South Whidbey Fire/EMS board of commissioners chose Clinton resident Lawrence Metz as its newest member. Metz hails from Los Angeles, where he was a firefighter assigned to the harbor for 36 years. He worked with the fire chief there as part of a two-person command team responding to large fires, forming liaisons with the harbor’s police force, nearby refineries and the Coast Guard.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2020 1:41:20 AM - SOURCE: South Whidbey Record - Metered Site

The city of Spokane ditched a proposal by former Mayor David Condon to withdraw from the county’s emergency management agency and handle the city’s response to disasters on its own. Or so everyone in City Hall thought. The city’s agreement with Greater Spokane Emergency Management expired on Dec. 31, and a new one has yet to be signed, even though city leaders want back in.
- PUB DATE: 3/6/2020 7:57:20 PM - SOURCE: Spokane Spokesman-Review - Metered Site

In the days before the Life Care Center nursing home became ground zero for coronavirus deaths in the U.S., there were few signs it was girding against an illness spreading rapidly around the world. Visitors came in as they always did, sometimes without signing in. Staffers had only recently begun wearing face masks, but the frail residents and those who came to see them were not asked to do so.
- PUB DATE: 3/6/2020 6:04:02 PM - SOURCE: KHQ-TV NBC 6

Just south of SR 17 between Ephrata and Moses Lake sits Grant County Fire District 5’s newest fire station. Construction on the much-needed structure began in late spring of 2019 with completion in the fall. The fire hall is at 8423 Neppel Rd. in McConihe Flats. The station’s bay has the capacity to house seven fire trucks.
- PUB DATE: 3/6/2020 2:54:21 PM - SOURCE: iFiberOne

As coronavirus concern grows in the Arlington area, school districts, local governments and first responders are taking extra precautions to be prepared in case of a potential outbreak. The reality of the virulent flu-like illness hit close to home when a Marysville resident tested positive for the coronavirus, causing the school district to close Grove Elementary School and the Early Learning Center Tuesday for a thorough sanitizing of the buildings.
- PUB DATE: 3/6/2020 1:58:16 AM - SOURCE: Arlington Times