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H1111,11,11,1:11:11:1:1:1:1:0 Han <br />City of Tukwila <br />Allan Ekberg, Mayor <br />INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Community Services & Safety Committee <br />FROM: Jay C. Wittwer, Fire Chief <br />Norm Golden, Deputy Chief <br />BY: Jay C. Wittwer, Fire Chief <br />CC: Allan Ekberg, Mayor <br />David Cline, City Administrator <br />DATE: 11/30/2021 <br />SUBJECT: Interlocal Agreement (ILA) for Fire Investigation services <br />CURRENT STATUS <br />Fire Investigation to determine the origin and cause of every fire is mandated by law. Incendiary <br />and suspicious fires are then referred to Law Enforcement for follow up investigations. Fire <br />Investigations in Tukwila is conducted by the Tukwila Fire Marshal's Office (FMO) using the Fire <br />Marshal, or one of the two Deputy Fire Marshals. It is difficult to plan for fire investigation <br />needs as fires are unplanned events. This disrupts the scheduled inspections and meetings that <br />support development/code enforcement. <br />Tukwila has about 75 fire investigations for Origin and Cause each year. The regular caseload <br />for an experienced fire investigator is between 60-70 cases per year. <br />Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (PSRFA) is restructuring their Fire Investigation team and is <br />open to a joint effort to better address this dynamic need. There is an opportunity to join PSRFA <br />to provide origin and cause investigation services to both PSRFA and the City of Tukwila. A one- <br />year trial period would provide a chance to see if this model is a more sustainable procedure for <br />fire investigation in the City of Tukwila. <br />DISCUSSION <br />An Inter -Local Agreement would be entered with the following terms: <br />• One-year agreement for 2022, renewable for consecutive years (in the event <br />further consolidation does not occur). <br />• PSRFA provides origin/cause fire investigations to the City of Tukwila, and <br />partners with law enforcement (Tukwila PD, KCSO, ATF) as needed to assist with <br />the investigation of incendiary fires in the city. <br />• Tukwila Fire provides one Full Time Position (FTE) Captain Aaron Johnson to the <br />PSRFA fire investigations unit. <br />29 <br />