State investigators say Camas violated firefighter safety laws

Department of Labor and Industries delivers initial findings regarding Feb. 14 house fire, union complaint

By Kelly Moyer

May 11, 2018 3:03 pm

News

Members of the local International Association of Fire Fighters union stand in the hallway of Camas City Hall on Monday, March 19, at a Camas City Council meeting.

Camas-Washougal Fire Chief Nick Swinhart listens as firefighters and supporters tell Camas City Council members on Monday, March 19, that the city needs to find a way to have at least three, if not four, firefighters on each engine call if firefighters are going to safely fight fires and save lives.

Camas-Washougal firefighters rescued a man and his two dogs from this home on Wednesday, Feb. 14, after a small kitchen fire spread, causing smoke to fill the residence. The firefighters union later filed a complaint with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, alleging that low staffing numbers at the fire department lead to unsafe working conditions and make it hard for firefighters to put out fires and save people trapped inside burning buildings. (Photo courtesy of Camas-Washougal Fire Department)

Camas-Washougal firefighters cut into the garage door at a home off Northwest 27th Avenue in Camas on Wednesday, Feb. 14, to rescue a man trapped inside. (Photo courtesy of Camas-Washougal Fire Department)

Officials from the Washington Department of Labor and Industry on Thursday delivered their initial findings in an investigation regarding safe workplace standards and the Camas-Washougal Fire Department (CWFD).

Adam Brice, president of East Clark Professional Fire Fighters, the local firefighters’ union, said state investigators said the city of Camas and its fire department violated two serious and one standard workplace safety laws during a Feb. 14 house fire in Camas’ Northwest Prune Hill neighborhood.

Related Stories