The Kittitas City Council on Tuesday discussed having the city annex fire and EMS services into Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue. The issue of fire response in the city of Kittitas has been a topic of discussion for several years. Council members looked at three options during a worksession: The Kittitas Fire Department remains independent and continues to work with KVFR.
- PUB DATE: 6/18/2017 8:43:13 AM - SOURCE: Ellensburg Daily Record

After months of discussion, Skagit County Fire District 1 and the city of Mount Vernon once again have a service contract — although the district is now seeking a new commissioner as a result of the debate that ended in the commission chairwoman’s resignation. The accepted contract means the fire district will pay the city $33,000 annually for fire service.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 4:13:15 AM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald (GoSkagit.com)

In the 10 years since Charleston lost nine firefighters in the June 18, 2007, Sofa Super Store fire, the department has seen significant changes from the ground up and members say they are proud of the progress. Following the tragic fire, investigations conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and an independent review panel led by Gordon Routley—who wrote the Routley Report, laid the framework for changes that the department needed to consider.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

The branch of the Houston Fire Department responsible for ensuring building safety keeps inadequate records, does not examine buildings on a regular schedule and inflated its inspection numbers, all while blowing past its overtime budget, according to an audit released by the city controller's office Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

The government’s building safety experts warned last year that the drive for greater energy efficiency meant more and more buildings are being wrapped in materials that could go up in flames. In a report compiled before the Grenfell Tower disaster on Wednesday, the Building Research Establishment, which works for the Department of Communities and Local Government on fire investigations, said attempts to innovate with insulation were leading to an “increase in the volume of potentially combustible materials being applied” to buildings.
- PUB DATE: 6/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Guardian