Accomplishments January – March 2024

SPOFR entered into an agreement with Spokane County FD 4 to provide an Interim Chief. Dan Williams, a former Life Flight Paramedic and current Deputy Chief of EMS at SCFD4, was chosen for this role. He will be overseeing SPOFR for the foreseeable future.

The Washington State Auditor’s Office performed an accountability audit of SPOFR for the period January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022. The report indicates SPOFR complied 100%.
The results as described in Page 4 of the audit: “This report describes the overall results and conclusions from the areas we examined. In those selected areas, District operations complied in all material respects, with applicable state laws, regulations, and its own policies, and provided adequate controls over the safeguarding of public resources.”
In summary, SPOFR received no violations nor recommendations for improvement.

SPOFR received two new ambulances in February, that were ordered 2 years ago, due to forward thinking by the Administration and Commissioners. A USDA grant was obtained to pay for 75% of the cost of the ambulances. The remaining funds were paid for by SPOFR out of reserve funds. The cost for both ambulances was $595,000 and included power gurneys and auto gurney load systems in each ambulance.

Chief Dan Williams said, “We are pleased to announce that we have just hired three qualified Firefighter/EMTs to enhance our staffing levels and continue to serve Pend Oreille County with pride.”

Jake Richer started with the fire service in 2019 with a company called Late Summers Wildfire. He moved in 2021 to become a resident firefighter with Pend Oreille 4. After that, Jake completed his EMT training and the Firefighter Academy through South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue. Jake said, “I have had a lot of people in SPOFR that I have grown to know that are really awesome that have really helped me out, like Coral, my EMT teacher, and Jake Hogue, my Fire Academy teacher. I have a lot of firefighters in my family.”

Titus Warner started with the fire service right out of high school. He said, “I signed up for Spokane Community College’s two-year fire science program. Then, after that, I became a firefighter resident at Spokane 4. I recently just got married and am starting my own family.”

Don West started with the fire service in 2014 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and was on active duty at the time. “I have been in the fire world my entire life. Then I retired from the military and started working with Spokane 4 Fire in August of 2023, and I have been married for 20 years with three daughters.”

Due to forward thinking by the Administration and Commissioners, SPOFR received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from FEMA covering 95% of the costs. The remaining 5% was paid for by SPOFR out of reserve funds. The total cost of the SCBA’s and RIT packs was $430,369.00.

SPOFR has reported 210 calls Year to date vs 156 last year from the same time period (January through March 31). This includes 149 Rescue and EMS Medical calls for 71% of our calls. Part of the increase is attributed to the expanded service area of SPOFR which now includes the City of Newport.