A meeting of the Fire Service Delivery Workgroup is scheduled for  Tuesday, September 26, 2023 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Lacey Fire District’s Training and Education Center in Lacey, Washington.  WSAFM is not a member of the Workgroup, but is requested to provide testimony as a stakeholder.  We are looking for comments and suggestions to be included in our testimony to the Workgroup.  Members interested in providing testimony information are requested to contact Dave Kokot at dkokot@wsafm.com. 

The Fire Service Delivery Workgroup was established by the 2023 Operating Budget. The workgroup’s purpose is to evaluate the existing funding and service delivery models of fire service functions (currently provided by the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office) including, but not limited to:

a)      Fire service training and certifications;

b)      Apprenticeships;

c)      Risk mobilization;

d)      Fire prevention;

e)      Inspections and plan review;

f)       Data collection;

g)      Building codes and fire sprinkler and monitoring systems; and

h)      Fireworks and fire safe cigarettes.

They are seeking statewide stakeholder input. To that end, we will be providing the following:

1. How we interact with the Office of the State Fire Marshal
2. Most important challenges our organization faces regarding fire service funding, or fire service delivery
3. Recommendations to improve those concerns

The Fire Service Delivery Workgroup must report its findings and recommendations for the future delivery of these functions to the Legislature and the Governor by December 1, 2023.