OLYMPIA — Lawmakers seem certain to pass a bill to ensure that statewide fire-fighting resources can be mobilized for disasters such as the Oso mudslide.
On Monday, the state Senate Government Operations and Security Committee conducted a hearing on a House bill that would modify state law regarding wildfire mobilization, making clear that it also applies to non-fire incidents such as landslides, earthquakes and floods.
Afterward, Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, the chairwoman of the committee, said she intends to pass the bill out of committee for eventual passage. “We like the bill. We’ll send it out,” she said.
Dave LaFave, chief of Cowlitz Fire and Rescue, who helped write the original mobilization law in 1995, said it was intended to cover all kinds of large-scale incidents, but in recent years its use has been limited to fires.
The purpose of the revision, House Bill 1389, is to restore the original intent of the law, he told committee members.
Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, the bill’s sponsor, has been trying to get the law changed for several years.
He reminded the committee that Sunday marked a year since the Oso mudslide in which 43 people lost their lives. Fire officials requested a statewide mobilization in response to the disaster and were turned down because it was a non-fire emergency, he said.
“This bill didn’t pass last year. It should have,” he said. “Oso went beyond mutual aid.”
If passed, the bill will go to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for consideration.
Amending the mobilization law is one of the top recommendations from a commission appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee and County Executive John Lovick to study the disaster.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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