Snohomish firefighters plan own safety training house

By Cathy Logg

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — Firefighters will pick up hammers and nails early next year to build a fire safety house at the Snohomish Fire Department’s headquarters station.

The structure will be built inside Eldon Harvey Auditorium in the educational annex, fire district spokeswoman Marybeth O’Leary said.

The district obtained a $25,000 grant to build the complex, which will be used for instruction in fire safety, including Boy Scout merit badge training. Also, there will be babysitting and community emergency response training, which teaches citizens how to help their communities after a disaster.

The design has been completed and the structure will be built under the supervision of battalion chief Craig Heike, who also is a carpenter. Construction is expected to take about a month, she said.

If needed, other fire districts could use the fire safety house for training, O’Leary said.

The fire district also is looking for additional volunteer firefighters. The district normally has about 20 paid firefighters, including administrators, and about 80 volunteers. Volunteers cover night and weekend shifts, and paid firefighters cover day shifts.

"Our call volume goes up by at least 10 percent every year," O’Leary said. "More than anything else, we respond to aid calls. The largest percentage are motor vehicle accidents."

Many of those occur on busy Highway 9 and U.S. 2.

The district will begin a five-month recruit training program in February. There will be an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at the educational annex at district headquarters in fire station 43, 1525 Ave. D. Applications may be picked up there. For information, call battalion chief Bruce Keaton at 360-568-2141.

You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437

or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.

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