Fire Chief Dave Hare Sr.

Tri-Cities Area Former Fire Chief Dave “Gunny” Hare Sr. passed away on Thursday, December 15, 2016.  He was 78.

It is with heavy hearts we share that Fire District 8 Volunteer Firefighter Doug Archer passed away unexpectedly in his sleep earlier this week. A very active member of Fire District 8 for over 30 years, Doug was a dedicated Firefighter & Investigator, talented photographer, brother, son, uncle, and friend. Funeral services are scheduled for Friday. December 16th at 1300 hours at Hennessey Funeral Home (1315 N. Pines, Spokane Valley).  After the service, there will be a procession from the funeral home to Station 82 for a reception (12100 E. Palouse Highway, Valleyford, WA).

Doug's family has established a Go Fund Me account and asks that in lieu of flowers you consider making a donation to help defray funeral costs. The family will be extremely appreciative of any amount you can share. 

https://www.gofundme.com/doug-archer-memorial-fund 

Thank you to everyone for the kind words and the support being given to Doug’s family. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts during this difficult time.

The date of the memorial service for Officer Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez will be held on Friday December 9, 2016. 

The location will be the Tacoma Dome, 2727 E. D Street, Tacoma, WA 98421.

The services will be open to the public. The details for attendees will be released as they become available.

Fire departments wishing to participate in the Officer Gutierrez Memorial procession or provide backfill at Tacoma Fire stations during the memorial service need to contact Tacoma Fire Department Liaison Officer Jim Scott at: jscott@cityoftacoma.org.  

Procession Details

Fire and EMS apparatus participating in the procession need to report to the Joint Base Lewis McChord Staging area between 0630 and 0830 Friday morning December 9, 2016...  

02/07/1958- 05/31/2016

Otto Jensen passed away Feb. 3 2016 peacefully in his sleep with his family nearby, he was 86. Otto was born Aug 28 1929 on the family farm near Coulee City WA. He graduated from Hartline high school in 1947.  He married his high school sweetheart, Betty Pierpoint, on April 8 1948. He moved his family from Coulee City to Moses Lake in 1954, where he worked as a mail carrier and as a volunteer fireman. He became a full time fire fighter and worked his way up to Fire Chief in 1963. 

In 1970 he took the position of Fire Chief in Olympia, WA until 1977, he then became Fire Chief in Vancouver, WA. He retired from the City of Vancouver in 1986 to become the Executive Director of the WA State Association of Fire Chiefs in Olympia. During his Fire Career he was instrumental in starting Thurston County Medic 1, wrote Fire Codes for the IFC, and taught class at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD.  He retired from the Association in 1996 and moved back to Coulee City. He was active in the City Counsel and then became Mayor of Coulee City. He resigned from the Mayor position when his wife Betty became ill to take care of her. They eventually moved back to Olympia to be closer to their kids...