South Puget Sound Community College is proud to be partnering with the Thurston County Fire Chiefs’ Association to offer the Fire Academy to people affiliated with a fire department.  This program is offered two times a year starting in either August or February.  The program is 5 months long and runs on two weeknights and about 8 weekend days.  For people interested in attending the Fire Academy, please contact your local fire department to explore the options for career and volunteer opportunities.

Check out more information on SPSCC’s website.

Summer is approaching and the weather will only get warmer. For many, this means taking their pets with them for outings and short trips. It also means you should plan ahead. What will you do if your errands include a place that won’t allow your pet to enter with you? No matter what, leaving your pet alone in a car, even with the windows cracked, is never a good idea. Even if you’re only gone a few minutes, the interior of your car could be as much as 20 degrees hotter than the outside air. 

Check out this article on the ASPCA website to read about the dangers and how to spot and prevent heatstroke in your animal friends. 

The weather is going to get warmer and you know what that means: swim time is coming. However, there is a huge safety point to remember. Even on hot days, the water in this area can still be very cold. With that in mind, a life jacket is a good idea, especially for kids. How do you know it truly fits, though? This video from King 5 News will give you some helpful information:

To read the full article, go to King 5 News.

Riding a bike can be fun and relaxing, but it’s also a good mode of transportation. Americans are increasingly bicycling to commute, for exercise, or just for fun. Bicycles on the road are viewed as vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. NHTSA’s bicycle safety initiatives focus on encouraging safer choices on the part of bicyclists and drivers to help reduce deaths and injuries on our roads.

Check out this video from the NHTSA about Bicycle Riding Safety:

For more information about bicycle safety, including properly fitting a helmet and safety for kids, visit nhtsa.gov.

Story originally appeared on KIRO 7.

UPDATE: A Memorial Service for Kittitas County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Thompson will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at the Nicholson Pavilion, 715 E. Dean Nicholson Blvd., on the Central Washington University Campus in Ellensburg, Washington.

KITTITAS, Wash. – A deputy with the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday evening in the city of Kittitas.

Deputy Ryan Thompson was 42. Thompson was born and raised in Walla Walla and attended Central Washington University.

Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Ellensburg resident Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro.

Authorities said the incident started when deputies were called to a report of a road rage incident in which the suspect was driving erratically in regards to another vehicle in the Badger Pocket area of Kittitas County. The party in the other vehicle called police.

At about 7:45 p.m., deputies tried to stop the vehicle involved but the driver failed to stop.

Deputies chased the suspect into the city of Kittitas. Investigators said when the vehicle stopped, the suspect got out and exchanged gunfire with deputy Thompson and a Kittitas police officer.

The deputy was shot and died from injuries at Kittitas Valley Hospital.

The Kittitas officer was also shot and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where he was in satisfactory condition as of Wednesday morning. Officer Benito Chavez, 22, was sworn into office with the department in July and graduated the Basic Law Enforcement Academy in January 2019. He is married and his wife is expecting a child. The police force in the small town consists of three officers.

Chavez was undergoing surgery for a shattered femur Wednesday, authorities said at a Wednesday news conference.

“Last night was the worst incident in my 45-plus years in law enforcement and something that a sheriff or police chief wishes would never ever happen during their watch,” Kittitas County Sheriff Gene Dana said.

The suspect was also shot and was taken to Kittitas Valley Hospital. Ellensburg police told KIRO 7 he later died.

The fallen deputy started his career in law enforcement as a reserve Kittitas County deputy in 2004 and served as a corrections officer prior to becoming a Central Washington University police officer in 2007. He returned to the sheriff’s office in 2013.

Thompson is survived by his wife and three children.

The Ellensburg Police Department will conduct the investigation into the shooting.

Anyone with information about the road rage incident or any events leading up to the shootout is asked to contact the Ellensburg Police Department at 509-962-7280.

To donate to the family support accounts set up for Deputy Thompson and Officer Chavez, go to this link.

Know of an unsafe product? The US Consumer Product Safety Commission would like your help to report unsafe consumer products.

https://www.saferproducts.gov/

With the round of snow winter just dumped on us (and threats of more in the forecast), are you prepared for possible power outages? Watch this video from FEMA and make sure you’re ready, should you lose power.

It’s a rough time of year. You might be craving the taste of steaks or veggies off the grill, but braving the cold to get that flavor just doesn’t seem worth it. Some people might consider just taking their grill into their garage and consider the issue solved. 

You shouldn’t ever do this, though. Grills designed for outdoor use emit carbon monoxide (a small amount of which can kill you) and being in an enclosed space doesn’t allow for proper ventilation. 

For more safety tips on indoor grilling (and some tasty looking recipes), check out The Spruce Eats.

Winter is here and the ice is likely to freeze over some of the ponds and lakes in the area. With such a beautiful sight, you might be tempted to try to go skating on these frozen bodies. Do you know how to tell when it’s safe to do so, though? 

Read this piece on The Clymb to find out how to tell what kind of ice is safe to walk/skate on and how to stay safe out there!

Winter finally decided to hit us with snow and ice, it seems. With some predictions showing accumulations of 2 to 4 inches in the Yelm area for Friday (February 8) and Saturday (February 9), are you prepared for the coming weather?

Check out these tips from Ready.gov on staying safe and warm.