Since 1995, state policy relating to fire protection has been under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Patrol (WSP).  The Director of Fire Protection (Director), also known as the State Fire Marshal, is appointed by the Chief of the WSP.  The Director has a number of statutory duties, which include preparing a biennial budget for fire protection services.  The Director is also required to provide instructional programs for fire service training in conjunction with schools, colleges, state agencies, and local governments.  The Fire Training Academy (Academy), also under the Director's supervision, provides basic firefighter training to all city fire departments, fire protection districts, regional fire protection service authorities, and other public fire agencies (collectively, PFAs).

Instead of receiving training and testing services from the Academy, PFAs may seek reimbursement for their Firefighter 1 training expenses.  Firefighter 1 is a training program that all new recruits begin with, providing both classroom education and practical skills.  The amount of reimbursement is calculated on a per capita basis equal to the three-year statewide firefighter per capita average for the regional direct delivery of training by the Academy.  This amount is calculated by dividing the number of firefighters trained using that program by the total cost.  The amount of reimbursement may not, however, be less than $3 per hour of training.  Reimbursement is capped at 200 hours.

The method for calculating reimbursement rates is removed, and reimbursement is instead provided in accordance with rules established by the Director.  The WSP, through the Director, is given the authority to adopt such rules.