The 2015 legislative session saw a number of successes for the Washington Fire Chiefs.  From bills that have taken years to pass such as the all-risk fire mobilization funding proposal (HB 1389), to bills that seemed to glide through the process with little-to-no opposition such as the GEMT legislation (HB 2007), 2015 was a banner year for the WFC in Olympia.  The key questions, of course, are why were we so successful in 2015, and more importantly, how do we recreate that success in the coming years?  While it is often difficult to explain why a bill passes one year, especially when it may have failed in others, there are several aspects of legislative success that we can identify that will help instruct our efforts as we move forward.

A greeting to all of our members. It has been a distinct pleasure to serve as your President.  I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that our great association will encounter during 2015 and 2016. As we prepare for the 2015 Annual WFC Conference, I would like to reflect upon our last conference at which time I was elected to serve you.  We are fortunate as the Board of Directors and our various committees continue to work diligently in an effort to maintain, improve, and advocate for our fire service! 

Western Washington has a new Accellerant Detection Canine!  Chief Patrick Nicholson, from Jefferson County has recently arrived back from Maine Specialty Dogs with his K9 partner, Allie; She is a two-year old yellow lab. Chief Nicholson attended the 5 week handler program where he and Allie were united, on a scholarship funded by State Farm Insurance.  Allie can detect 30 or more ignitable liquid vapors and is certified by the Maine Criminal Justice Training Academy.  Allie is certified to conduct building/structure sniffs, outdoor/wildland, evidence, and suspect/people sniffs.

Chief Nicholson and Allie can readily respond to requests for the Arson Dog in proximity to the Olympic Peninsula, but will respond further out in Western Washington, depending upon availability...