In over 15 years under Joe Russell’s leadership, the Soap Lake Fire Department never lost a life. Now 92, Russell joined the department in the early ’60s. The fire chief at the time, K.R. “Rusty” Nolan, took Russell on as an assistant for a number of years, before Nolan grew sick and could no longer manage the volunteer fire department.
- PUB DATE: 10/6/2019 8:36:32 PM - SOURCE: Columbia Basin Herald - Metered Site

The Bainbridge Island City Council is looking at banning completely the sale and use of consumer fireworks on Bainbridge Island. While the city has, in the past, banned the use of consumer fireworks due to dangerously dry conditions around the Fourth of July holiday, Bainbridge currently does allow the sale of consumer fireworks on the island between noon to 11 p.
- PUB DATE: 10/5/2019 2:56:23 PM - SOURCE: Bainbridge Island Review

Earlier this week, a man hid in a commercial freezer to avoid flames and police. “Every incident that we go to is an opportunity to learn something. We certainly learned a lot of things on that incident,” said City of Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. At first, this was a swat standoff after a man barricaded himself in a downtown gas station.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2019 6:15:55 PM - SOURCE: KAYU-TV MyFox Spokane

An alleged arsonist started a fire inside the bathroom of a popular Pullman nightclub, police said. No one was hurt during the fire at Stubblefields, which happened shortly before 1:00 a.m. Friday. A man reportedly walked into a bathroom and discovered paper towels in the trash can were on fire. He quickly extinguished the flames and told the bouncers.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2019 11:46:24 AM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4

The West Plains will soon have a host of new firefighters to serve on the area’s four fire departments, and for the first time, all are being trained together in one location. Firefighter recruits from Airway Heights, Cheney, Spokane County Fire District 10 are all learning the firefighting trade with recruits from Spokane County Fire District 3 at its training facility on Presley Drive in Cheney.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2019 2:51:31 AM - SOURCE: Cheney Free Press