NLVFD - About Us

The Newman Lake Fire & Rescue is a Spokane County Fire District staffed by 35 volunteer firefighters who are governed by the same state and federal regulations as paid departments. We are governed by a board of elected commissioners and employ a Chief, two Deputy Chiefs, and a secretary. Our twenty-two square mile district contains two unmanned stations; Station 1 West of Starr on West Newman Lake Drive and Station 2 at the intersection of Muzzy, West Newman and Thompson Creek Roads.

In 2000, the community approved a $500,000 bond which allowed us to modernize our fleet. To protect your investment, ensure extended vehicle life, and a quick response, we have instituted a comprehensive maintenance program. Along with a top fleet maintenance officer, our volunteers perform regular upkeep on the trucks.

Newman Lake is serviced by an automated 911 system. The fire dispatch center sends out a page to our volunteers. All available volunteers respond by leaving their families and jobs to come to your aid. Many of our EMTs respond directly to your home during medical emergencies while others bring support vehicles from the stations.

Since most of our volunteers work outside of the district, there are times when few, if any, firefighters or EMTs are available. We are continually looking for new volunteers as a way to ensure the best coverage. When no volunteers are available to respond to your call, or when we need help in handling an overwhelming incident, we have mutual aid agreements with fire districts in Spokane County and Kootenai County.

In addition to structural firefighting, wildland firefighting, and basic life support for medical emergencies, several of our volunteers have taken the extra training needed to provide our community with IV qualified EMTs, rope, water, and ice rescue, vehicle extrication, and hazardous materials response. Our volunteers work closely with the Newman Lake SCOPE who provide traffic control and scene safety at hazardous scenes.

Due to training, personal choice, or physical limitations, several of our volunteers are not interior firefighters. The non-interior firefighters are extremely valuable to the department as they serve as pump operators, tender drivers, EMS personnel, wildland firefighters and support staff.

In our effort To Serve our Community by Protecting and Preserving Life and Property, we offer CPR classes and free smoke detectors to those in need.

In the last 5 years, we have been the recipient of grants totaling over $140,000.00. This money has been used to purchase personal protective gear, defibrillators, fire foam, and to provide annual physicals for our firefighters.

Our two most recent grants was used to purchase two compressed air foam system for our two Brush Truck, wildland equipment, a thermal imaging camera, and multiple SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) units.

We will continue to seek grants as a way to supplement the operating budget in order to provide the equipment needed to adhere to the safety regulations mandated by the State of Washington. All departments, whether paid or volunteer, must adhere to the same set of standards and regulations