Valley Fire gets state grant for training

The Spokane Valley Fire Department was awarded a one-time $91,000 grant from the State of Washington recently for firefighter training, Chief Mark Grover announced at the regular meeting of fire commissioner’s Wednesday.

Funds for the grant come from the insurance companies in the state, who pay one-half of one percent to a general fund that pays for firefighter training, said Bill Dagon, Valley Fire training officer.

Dagon said he was in the process of securing funds to train 18 new recruits, when the state advised him he could get in on the state funds for additional training for the entire department.

“I jumped on that in a heartbeat,” Dagon said. “This was a pretty good windfall for us.”

The state requires that firefighters go through at least 20 hours of training each month, or 240 hours a year. Dagon said Spokane Valley firefighters typically go through as much as 400 hours of training per year.

“We go way above and beyond that required amount,” Dagon said.

The grant money can be used for any portion of the training, including materials, Dagon said.

The first purchase will be a $10,000 forklift which will also be used in the department’s shop for heavy lifting. The request was approved by the fire commissioners Wednesday.