The Valley Regional Fire Authority responded to 303 calls for service for the week of September 6-12, 2022. Year to Date our Valley Professional Firefighters have responded to a total of 10,849 calls for service. This is a 4.5% increase from 2021 (10,382).

Calls for Service Breakdown:

243 (80%) were aid calls. Total aid calls in 2022 so far are 9,136 up 3.6%, compared to 2021’s (8,818).

54 (18%) were fire calls. The number of fire calls is up by 8.1%, with 2022 having 1,497 calls and 2021 having 1,385.

6 (2%) were calls categorized as other. The number of other calls in 2022 is up 20.7 % with 216 calls in 2021 only having 179. ‘Other’ calls include water rescues, water over roadways, downed lines, hazmat calls, and ladder requests.

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Calls for Service

CPR: (Auburn) On Monday, September 5th at 2:51 p.m., firefighters and King County Paramedics responded to a report of an elderly male at the Casino that collapsed, with bystanders performing CPR. Casino personnel used an Automatic External Defibrillator on the patient and delivered one shock before fire personnel arrived and took over patient care. The patient started to breathe on his own, and regained consciousness before being transported to MultiCare Auburn Medical Center by King County Paramedics for further care.
Grass Fire: (Auburn) On Friday, September 6th at 7:34 a.m., firefighters responded to a grass fire near 15th St NW and C St NW. Firefighters arrived to find a power pole that had been chopped down and had started a 50’x50’ grass fire. Firefighters accessed the area avoiding the downed power lines and extinguished the fire. The fire is under investigation.
Garage Fire: (Unincorporated Auburn) On Tuesday, September 6th at 12:31 p.m., VRFA firefighters responded with Mountainview Fire and Rescue for a detached garage fire. Firefighters were required to shuttle water for several miles due to the lack of fire hydrants in the area. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and there were no reported injuries to firefighters or citizens.
Aid Call: (Auburn) On Wednesday, September 7th at 2:24 p.m., firefighters responded to multiple patients with gunshot wounds from an altercation. Firefighters, King County Medic One paramedics, and Auburn police provided care for the patients involved. Both patients were transported to Harborview Medical Center. The incident is under investigation by Auburn PD.
Aid Call: (Lea Hill) On Thursday, September 8th at 12:18 p.m., firefighters responded to an adult female complaining of parasites exiting an arm wound. The patient was treated and transported to MultiCare Auburn Medical Center by private ambulance.
Car vs Pedestrian: (Lea Hill) On Friday, September 9th at 6:49 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to a vehicle vs skateboarder. A teenage male was riding his skateboard down a hill when he collided with a vehicle and suffered injuries. The patient was evaluated on scene and ultimately transported by his family to MultiCare Covington.
Rubbish Fire: (Auburn) On Saturday, September 10th at 5:52 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire inside a trash compactor at an apartment complex. Firefighters quickly arrived and applied water to the fire. Firefighters overhauled through a massive pile of trash to ensure extinguishment.
(Holy smokes, I don’t think I’ve heard ‘rubbish’ since…well, ya datin’ yaself m’man, ya datin’ yaself.)
Minor fire: (Lakeland Hills) On Sunday, September 11th at 9:05 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to a possible dumpster fire at Sunset Park. Firefighters extinguished a trash can that had extended into the wood members of a backstop at the baseball field and also extinguished adjacent trash can fire.
(I’m sorry, but did we just have the fire department establish that a trash can is in fact a minor dumpster? Does that mean a waste bin is a baby dumpster? Because this is friggin amazing.)

VRFA Fire Investigations

On September 10th, a fire occurred in an apartment unit at the Copper Gate Apartments. There was sprinkler activation to limit the fire damage in the unit. The residents of the unit and the unit below are displaced because of the fire damage and water damage. The cause of the fire was a stove burner left on.

On September 11th, an incendiary car fire occurred in a parking lot off of Howard Road. The fire investigation is still open and the Fire Marshal’s Office is jointly working with the Auburn Police Dept to identify the suspect.

The above information was provided by VRFA. Any notations included in parentheses should be considered opinion/commentary for entertainment purposes only.