VIDEO: Mike Washington doesn't go out on calls anymore, but the retired Seattle firefighter is still fighting to save lives. "We lose more firefighters, more police officers to suicide than we do on the job," Washington said. Washington talks to first responders and veterans about stress, addiction and suicide, recently taking his message to Seattle Station 24.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

One person is in critical condition after a house fire in North Spokane on Thursday morning. At this time, SPD Major Crimes detectives have developed probable cause to arrest 36-year-old Jenny K. Barden for first-degree arson. Police say her whereabouts are currently unknown. Barden is described as a white woman, approximately 5'2'' and 120 pounds.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

Firefighters were dispatched early Wednesday morning to a small tree fire close to a building. More reports came in advising that the building possibly was involved. As the original engine arrived, the crew found the structure on fire and initiated a full structure response. A second alarm was called for the smoke conditions and potential loss to the business.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNDO-TV NBC 23 Yakima

Some big changes are coming to Clallam 3 Fire District, which covers the eastern portion of the county. We learned on Wednesday that Fire Chief Ben Andrews will retire in April of next year, and Assistant Chief Dan Orr, is planning to retire this summer. That will naturally leave a vacuum at the top that won’t necessarily be filled by existing personnel.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2023 7:18:23 PM - SOURCE: My Clallam County

Market pressures have driven up the price of a new fire truck for Nanaimo Fire Rescue, nanaimobulletin.com reported.

The new apparatus, a Pierce fire truck being ordered for Fire Station 2, is the same basic vehicle as other Pierce trucks already in service with the fire department, but the cost of this vehicle has jumped to nearly $1.6 million from the previously budgeted $1.2 million, the report said.

A Nanaimo fire official said, in his report to the city’s finance and audit committee March 15, that market pressures are skewing prices. Factors he cited include supply chain issues, new emissions standards and global industrialization that has triggered a boom in demand for fire trucks internationally, according to the report.

Of the total $341,000 extra cost for the new fire truck, $141,000 will be needed in 2023 to cover the deposit required to place the order for the vehicle and the remaining $200,000 will be needed in 2024 before the vehicle is delivered in January 2025, the report said. The extra costs will be drawn from the strategic infrastructure reserve fund.

The fire official mentioned that two other trucks already on order, also to be delivered in January 2025, are within their original budgets, the report said.