The Spokane Valley Fire Department says retired Captain, Tim Cruger, died on Monday following a battle with firefighting related cancer. Cruger served the department for over 29 years, beginning in June of 1986. In a Facebook post on Friday, the department shared that Cruger was a second generation firefighter, who spent the majority of his career proudly serving the citizens of the Spokane Valley from Station 7 on Evergreen Road.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2018 9:07:19 AM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4

Most of Whatcom County didn’t lose 911 service Thursday and dispatchers continued to operate Friday despite a widespread outage that affected several U.S. states, including Washington. According to Associated Press, a nationwide CenturyLink outage disrupted 911 services in parts of Western Washington.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2018 6:38:46 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald

Most of Whatcom County didn’t lose 911 service Thursday and dispatchers continued to operate Friday despite a widespread outage that affected several U.S. states, including Washington. According to Associated Press, a nationwide CenturyLink outage disrupted 911 services in parts of Western Washington.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2018 6:38:46 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald

Draper Battalion Chief flown from scene in critical condition. According to a Draper city spokesperson, the Battalion Chief did not under go surgery and has no internal injuries do the the accident. A Fire Battalion Chief assisting on an accident scene on the side of I-15 was struck by a car. The Draper Firefighter and his team were on the side of south bound I-15 near 146th South when a driver lost control of his car and slid into the battalion chief pinning him between two cars.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC4.com

Who should lead the state department responsible for wildland fires? Someone who knows how to manage forests, or someone who knows how to put out the flames? The union that represents California state firefighters is leaning on Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to appoint a fire chief to lead the state’s fire department.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sacramento Bee