Brief Summary of Bill

(As Amended by House Committee)

• Provides wildland fire fighter training.

• Requires reimbursement to fire districts and cities of at least $3 per hour for a maximum of 200 hours of training.

Majority Report: Do pass as amended. Signed by 9 members: Representatives Haigh, Chair; Miloscia, Vice Chair; Armstrong, Ranking Minority Member; Shabro, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Hunt, McDermott, Nixon, Tom and Wallace.

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) provides fire fighter training at its training academy in North Bend. Fire departments may use the training academy or acquire training services from some other source. In 1999 the Legislature amended RCW 43.43.934, Washington's fire training and education master plan, to provide a basic uniform level of training throughout Washington's fire protection districts and city fire departments. The State Fire Protection Policy Board of the WSP was charged with developing and adopting a plan providing fire fighter 1 level training to all fire fighters in the state. The plan included a minimum reimbursement of $2 for every hour of fire fighter 1 training received, up to 150 hours. Reimbursement is paid from the Fire Service Training Account, which consists of fees received by the WSP for training; grants and bequests accepted by the WSP; and 20 percent of all moneys received by the state on fire insurance premiums.

Senate Bill 5176 amends current fire fighter 1 training reimbursement statutes to include wildland fire fighting training. The bill also increases reimbursement dollar amounts from $2 to $3 per hour of instruction along with increasing the maximum reimbursed instructional hours from 150 to 200.

The bill clarifies that fire fighters who fight fires in structures must have completed fire fighter 1 training.

Effective Date of Amended Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: Over 75 percent of fires fought in the state are not in cities, but in the wild land areas. The money for this reimbursement comes from a dedicated fund to reimburse fire fighters.