If Lee Soptich had been a fire chief when I was a child, and he had made as big an impression on me then as he and his Eastside Fire & Rescue firefighters do today, I would’ve said I wanted to be a firefighter when I grow up. He loves the people who work for him, he loves his profession, he loves the communities he serves, he loves his family and he loves his Creator, all with a combination of humility and humor that’s rare, if not unique, these days.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2015 3:12:50 PM - SOURCE: Sammamish Review.com

If Lee Soptich had been a fire chief when I was a child, and he had made as big an impression on me then as he and his Eastside Fire & Rescue firefighters do today, I would’ve said I wanted to be a firefighter when I grow up. He loves the people who work for him, he loves his profession, he loves the communities he serves, he loves his family and he loves his Creator, all with a combination of humility and humor that’s rare, if not unique, these days.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2015 3:12:50 PM - SOURCE: Sammamish Review.com

When Fred and Betty Benjamin voted for Proposition 1, a tax levy to raise money for the Cle Elum Volunteer Fire Department, they thought they were voting for a much-needed financial boost for the department — a boost they believed would augment current city funding. Now the Benjamins wonder if they and other voters weren’t “duped” by the city of Cle Elum.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2015 3:24:49 AM - SOURCE: Ellensburg Daily Record

When Fred and Betty Benjamin voted for Proposition 1, a tax levy to raise money for the Cle Elum Volunteer Fire Department, they thought they were voting for a much-needed financial boost for the department — a boost they believed would augment current city funding. Now the Benjamins wonder if they and other voters weren’t “duped” by the city of Cle Elum.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2015 3:24:49 AM - SOURCE: Ellensburg Daily Record

A fire destroyed a barn and a doll collection Monday, Nov. 23, near Birch Bay. David Swartos, 57, was watching reruns of “Law & Order” in his home around 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, when a caretaker at a neighboring home knocked on his door, 4593 Bay Road, to say the barn was on fire. They called 911. By the time firefighters reached the scene, flames had overtaken the 30-by-40-foot structure, a former shelter for livestock.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2015 2:08:03 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald