Lawmakers push for wider scope in disaster mobilization

OLYMPIA — Fire officials this week are rekindling their effort to make sure a law that lets them mobilize resources to fight wildfires also applies to major emergencies such as the Oso mudslide.

Public hearings are planned in the House and Senate on bills that would revise the state wildfire mobilization law to make clear it can be used for non-fire incidents, such as landslides, earthquakes, floods and outbreaks of contagious disease.

The bills also spell out that fire departments are eligible for reimbursement of mobilization expenses.

Fire chiefs from around Snohomish County and the state have been pushing for retooling the law for years.

In Oso in March, a request for the mobilization was denied because there was no fire. That has fueled a sense of urgency to get clarification this session.

“We need to give them the authority to act and coordinate,” said Rep. Dave Hayes, R-Camano Island, a member of the Public Safety Committee and a co-sponsor of the House bill. “It’s unfortunate that something bad has to happen before we act.”

Sen. Kirk Pearson, R- Monroe, who sponsored the Senate version, echoed the sentiment.

“The tragedy highlighted the problem,” he said. “We’re going back to the intent of the original (mobilization) law. I think everyone around the state realizes we need this.”

House Bill 1389 and Senate Bill 5181 are under consideration.

The House Public Safety Committee has scheduled a hearing on HB 1389 at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Senate Government Operations and State Security Committee is set to consider SB 5181 at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Gold Bar Fire Chief Eric Andrews is among those slated to testify Thursday. He requested the statewide fire mobilization after the deadly mudslide. He knew it would be denied.

Chiefs from other parts of the state also will appear at each hearing, said J. Dylan Doty, lobbyist for the Washington fire chiefs group.

It’s not just firefighters pushing for change.

The state commission on the Oso mudslide also recommended the clarification. Gov. Jay Inslee and Snohomish County Executive John Lovick created the panel to review the disaster response and identify ways to improve public safety.

The mobilization is a significant tool for major emergencies that’s been proven to work, according to the panel’s final report.

The report calls mobilization “a well-tested plan that has earned the faith and confidence” of responders.

The mobilization has been requested 180 times since 1994.

Oso was the only formal denial, because chiefs had been putting the brakes on nonfire requests since the state Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion criticizing application of the law for the 1999 World Trade Organization riots in Seattle. The only other non-fire mobilization was for a motorcycle rally near Spokane in 2005.

Revising the law is not a new debate in Olympia.

Last year, bills to clarify the law passed out of the House public safety and Senate government operations committees but died in the budget committees. That’s been attributed to the potential costs to the state if it had to reimburse additional, unpredictable mobilizations.

For the two non-fire mobilizations, the state paid out nearly $1.4 million for the World Trade Organization riots and $232,693 for the motorcycle rally, documents show.

Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, chairman of the Public Safety Committee and prime sponsor of the House bill, said money should not be a concern.

“There’s no effect on this budget,” he said. “If it costs money it is going to be worth it.”

Goodman is hopeful for success this year as lawmakers better understand the need for changes because of what occurred in Snohomish County.

“We cannot say lives would have been saved but the recovery efforts would have been initiated faster,” he said.

Another difference is that fire chiefs and fire commissioners are making an organized full-court press on lawmakers, he said.

“We’re going to get this done this year,” Goodman said.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.