Hoppy Easter to everyone. Thank you for what you do day in and night out in savings lives and property everyday.
Here are the stories happening in Fire Communities everywhere.
ALGER FIRE & RESCUE – SKAGIT COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 14
The Skagit County Fire District 14’s Station 1 has completed the construction/remodeling of their newest addition, resident quarters. An open house was held on Friday, April 7, 2023, from 1200 – 1400 hours PDT, where they showed off their new quarters to friends, family, and other members of the community.
BREMERTON FIRE
Recently Bremerton Firefighters have taken on additional duties of manning and operating BFD’s Marine 20 for any incident on the water surrounding the City or helping their neighbors if they call them. According to the Fire Department, they say with their all-time high call volumes, proper staffing increases the rapid availability of Marine 20.
Photo Credit | BFD
Last Sunday was just that occasion with Marine 20 assisting nearby Kitsap Fire and Rescue when they were dispatched as mutual aid for a boat fire.
BURLINGTON FIRE
Three FF/Paramedics finished the first-ever NEMSMA FTEP course in Skagit County on Friday, April 7th, and were supported by other senior Medics from Mount Vernon FD, Anacortes FD, and Sedro-Woolley FD. This program certifies EMS providers in the creation and implementation of high-quality onboarding of new hires. To learn more about this great program, visit the Burlington FD Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BurlingtonWAFire
Photo Credit | Burlington Professional FFs Local 4111
GRAYS HARBOR FIRE
“Last night one of our members was promoted to Captain.
Captain Kaila Bentow began her journey in the fire service as a volunteer Firefighter/EMT for Grays Harbor Fire District 5 (now East Grays Harbor Fire & Rescue) in 2013. After becoming a paramedic during the COVID pandemic, Captain Bentow was hired full-time as a Firefighter/Paramedic and joined L4075 in January 2021.
Captain Bentow has always been committed to helping the citizens of Grays Harbor, and has been eager to promote up the ranks from the beginning of her career.
Captain Bentow comes from a fire service family, deeply rooted in East Grays Harbor Fire and Rescue. A second generation Firefighter, Captain Bentow’s father is Chief Fulbright, the current fire chief of East Grays Harbor Fire & Rescue, her mother is a former volunteer, and up until very recently her husband served as the district’s IT.
Fellow members of L4075 are looking forward to the fire district’s future. Good luck Captain Bentow!” – GHFF IAFF 4075
KING COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT #2
On Wednesday, April 5th, firefighters with the King County Fire District #2 were dispatched to a structure fire at 8th and Roxbuury in Burien, where they arrived at a fully engulfed homeless encampment on the hill below a house.
The fire extended up a hedge next to the residential structure. They quickly egressed on the encampment fire and were able to implement structure protection operations to save the home from being burned.
Units from Burien/Normandy Park, King County Medic One, King County FD #2, and North Highline Fire Department were dispatched to the call.
Source/Photo Credit | DJ Sonsteng Photography (written permission)
MOUNT VERNON FIRE
As part of the Mount Vernon Professional Fire Fighters labor union representing 54 professional Firefighters, Medics, and Battalion Chiefs serving the Cities of Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley, as well as the Skagit County as a whole. They have certainly had a very busy March 2023.
NORTH KITSAP FIRE & RESCUE
Congratulations go to new Lieutenants who successfully completed their probationary period.
(Left) Lt. Nic Johnson
Raised in Tracyton, Nic Johnson moved to North Kitsap with his family in 9th grade and graduated from Kingston High School. Shortly thereafter, he joined NKF&R’s volunteer-intern firefighter program. In 2013, he was hired by the district and accepted into the renowned King County Medic One Paramedic Training Program, certified as a paramedic in 2014, and served in that role until he was promoted in 2021. Johnson appreciates the chance to become the best possible leader and advocate for his peers as a lieutenant. He lives in Kingston with Rae and their two children. The family spends as much time as they can hiking together outdoors.
(Below) Lt. Justin Slye
Justin Slye has wanted to be a firefighter since he was six years old. Shortly after graduating from Juanita High School, Slye tested for a joint firefighter academy hosted by NKF&R; Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue (PLFR) selected him for their volunteer-resident program.
He was hired there full-time in 2007 and served in Jefferson County for 13 years before moving to NKF&R in February 2020 when the district was seeking experienced firefighters to replace several retiring veterans.
Slye is a member of the district’s wildland fire team, a CPR instructor, a member of Kitsap County’s Technical Rescue Team, and a rescue swimmer.
Slye also leads NKF&R’s labor group, serving as Executive Vice-President of Kitsap Firefighters Union, IAFF Local 2819.
When asked what he appreciates most about NKF&R, he doesn’t hesitate with his answer: “Culture,” he says. “It’s the kind of organization with very little ‘can’t’ and a whole lot of ‘can.’ We manage to do a lot — and do it really well — with less resources.”
He loves the community, too, and lives in Kingston with Janelle (an NKF&R firefighter/paramedic) and their two dogs.
Photo Credit | NKF&R
OCEAN SHORES FIRE DEPARTMENT
“We are looking for Entry and Lateral Firefighter Paramedics in Ocean Shores, Washington.
Come help us develop the Fire Department you have always wanted to be a part of in a growing supportive community on the beautiful Pacific Ocean are currently hiring entry-level and lateral Firefighter Paramedics and soon hire Entry-Level and Lateral EMTs.
Public Safety Testing: https://www.publicsafetytesting.com
Our Training Program:
“With our call volume, it’s difficult to find dedicated time to train uninterrupted so crews will do what we call,
“Holdover Training”
When a crew gets off shift instead of going home they can have dedicated time for training. This also is beneficial so the on-duty crew and off-duty crew can train together. Our training is vital and we rely on muscle memory and repetitions to get it right when it counts
Photo Credit | OSFD
OLYMPIA FIRE
Olympia Firefighters are asking voters on April 25th to say YES vote on Proposition 1, which would be to allow the regionalization of Olympia and Tumwater Fire Departments to merge into one regional fire authority.
Photo Credit | OFD
“YOUR RESOURCES – As emergency responders, it is important to have adequate resources and equipment to respond to emergency calls. Failures and malfunctions in an aging fleet occur over time, and eventually, they need to be replaced.
Currently, we have NO SECURE FUNDING for the replacement of apparatus, equipment, or maintenance of facilities. These are things that we are in desperate need of as your responders, and we are asking for your help.
A Regional Fire Authority would allow for funding to be set aside each year to allow for responsible and sustainable funding for apparatus and equipment replacement, facilities maintenance, and in the future new stations, response units, and personnel.” – Olympia Firefighters
OFD alone had 1,311 Emergency responses in the month of March 2023. These included structure fires, traffic accidents, cardiac arrests, and daily EMS calls.
RENTON REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITY
The Renton RFA’s Office of the Fire Marshal is growing! We are looking for an experienced Assistant Fire Marshal to join our team and hit the ground running by demonstrating their knowledge of code enforcement, exceptional leadership, and program management skills. We are also seeking an experienced Deputy Fire Marshal III with a special interest in public education and information sharing as part of our PIO program. For more info and to apply today, visit: www.rentonrfa.com/careers
Photo Credit | RRFA
Senior Public Safety Academy
May 16 – June 6 (Tuesdays)
9 AM – 10:30 AM
Don Persson Renton Senior Activity Center
Our 4-week Senior Public Safety Academy is designed to provide an immersive experience combining educational presentations & interactive activities.
Ages 50 & Up
Must be able to attend 3 of the 4 classes
We hope you take advantage of this great opportunity to learn, engage & have fun with your local public safety professionals!
Photo Credit | RRFA
SOUTH COUNTY FIRE
The South County Fire is asking voters to approve an annexation to South County Fire for fire and EMS services for the cities of Brier and Mountlake Terrace. Currently, both of these municipalities have South County Fire but are under contract. This is a Special Election for April 25th and a very important one.
SOUTH KING FIRE & RESCUE
At 1704 hours PDT on April 7th, the South King Fire and Rescue, King County Medic One, Valley Regional Fire Authority, Renton Regional Fire Authority, King County Sherriff’s Office, and Zone 3 PIO responded to reports of two people that had fallen off a kayak into 5 Mile Lake.
One person had been brought to shore and had bystander CPR ongoing when the first units arrived.
Firefighters and medics were able to get a pulse back and that person was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center.
Divers from Renton Regional Fire Authority, Valley Regional Fire Authority, and the King County Sheriff’s Office searched the lake and found the second victim under the water at about 1912 hours PDT.
The last update received from the Zone 3 PIO is that there was one person on the kayak that overturned and that a bystander on shore attempted to rescue the kayaker. That bystander is the one that was brought to shore pulseless by someone in a boat on the lake, and then resuscitated and airlifted to the hospital.
Source/Photo Credit | DJ Sonsteng Photography https://linktr.ee/djsonstengphotography (printed with permission)
TACOMA FIRE DEPARTMENT
On April 8, 2023, firefighters and the Tacoma Fire Buff Battalion Support 1 were dispatched at 0317 hours to a commercial boat on the Kodiak Enterprise vessel in the port of Tacoma. Mutual aid from South King Fire included Fire Boat Zenith, Aid 367, and Engine 367.
Today, the fire is still active and a lot of heavy smoke after firefighters worked tirelessly to fight the fire throughout the night.
Other agencies assisted included the US Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, WA State Department of Ecology and the Port of Tacoma.
Photo Credit | TFD
No injuries to firefighters or civilians were reported or HAZMAT being released.
VALLEY REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITY
The VRFA agency has had a combined 1,298 calls for service in the month of March. This is approximately an average of almost 42 calls per day. Almost 85% of the calls were EMS calls.
Photo Credit | VRFA
The King County Fire Chiefs Association will hold its fourth semi-annual Diversity and Recruitment Workshop on May 6 in Sammamish. The one-day workshop will provide potential applicants useful information on navigating the hiring process to become a firefighter/EMT. Mentors from the profession will also be available to workshop attendees.
This workshop is open to everyone at least 16 years of age. We encourage members of the BIPOC community, women, bilingual adults, LGBTQIA+, or those with no prior fire service experience to attend. For more information and to sign up for this opportunity:
Hosted by the King County Fire Chiefs Association.
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