Deputy state fire marshals

AN ACT Relating to deputy state fire marshals; adding a new 1
section to chapter 43.43 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an 2
expiration date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes the 5
importance of the Washington state fire marshal's office (SFMO), 6
which is housed within the Washington state patrol. The SFMO provides 7
live-fire training to firefighters and coordinates and mobilizes the 8
statewide response to significant emergency events that exhaust local 9
resources. The SFMO is also required to provide hazmat training to 10
first responders; conduct fire and safety inspections in child care, 11
health care, and residential care facilities; issue licenses and 12
certifications for industries including fireworks, cigarettes, and 13
fire sprinkler systems; collect and transmit fire report information 14
to the national fire incident reporting system; and investigate fires 15
that are criminal, suspected, or undetermined.16
(2) In 2023, the legislature created the fire service delivery 17
work group to evaluate existing funding and service delivery models 18
of fire service functions. Some of the findings from the work group 19
include the following: 20
H-2578.1
HOUSE BILL 2237
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Bronoske, Parshley, Berry, Lekanoff, Taylor,
Reeves, Fosse, and Salahuddin
Prefiled 01/02/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on State Government & Tribal Relations.
p. 1 HB 2237
(a) Local fire departments pay 35 to 55 percent more than the 1
SFMO for equivalent positions resulting in multiple, long-term staff 2
vacancies in the SFMO; 3
(b) The SFMO does not provide fire investigation services, hazmat 4
preparedness, inspections, and smoke detector enforcement because of 5
lack of funding; and 6
(c) The lack of state-level advocacy, insufficient wages, and 7
insufficient funding are key barriers that threaten fire service 8
delivery. 9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.43 10
RCW to read as follows: 11
(1)(a) The minimum monthly salary paid to deputy state fire 12
marshals must be competitive with local firefighting agencies within 13
the boundaries of the state of Washington, guided by the results of a 14
survey undertaken in the collective bargaining process during each 15
biennium. The survey must be conducted by the office of financial 16
management in accordance with this section and within existing 17
resources. 18
(b) Compensation must be calculated using base salary, premium 19
pay (a pay received by more than a majority of employees), education 20
pay, and longevity pay. The compensation comparison data is based on 21
the deputy state fire marshals and the local firefighting agencies 22
listed in (c) of this subsection (1). 23
(c) The comparisons for determining competitiveness with other 24
firefighting agency salary levels must be guided by the average of 25
compensation paid to the corresponding rank from the following 26
agencies: Seattle fire department; Vancouver fire department; Spokane 27
fire department; Snohomish regional fire and rescue; Tacoma fire 28
department; South King county fire and rescue; and the King county 29
fire districts. 30
(d) By September 1, 2026, and every four years thereafter, the 31
office of financial management, within existing resources, must 32
conduct an evaluation of the agencies identified in (c) of this 33
subsection to ensure deputy state fire marshal salary levels are 34
competitive with other fire marshals of local agencies within the 35
boundaries of the state of Washington. If the office of financial 36
management determines that one or more agencies specified in (c) of 37
this subsection should be replaced in this comparison with a 38
different agency that is more relevant to ensure salary 39
p. 2 HB 2237
competitiveness, the office of financial management may utilize that 1
revised compensation comparison data in the survey undertaken in the 2
collective bargaining process during each biennium.3
(2) By September 1, 2026, as part of the salary survey required 4
in this section, the office of financial management must report to 5
the governor and the appropriate fiscal and state government 6
committees of the house of representatives and the senate.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The state fire service policy board, 8
created under RCW 43.44.200, shall examine the benefits of, and 9
issues arising from, creating and supporting a state fire marshal 10
office that is separate and independent of the state patrol.11
(2) The board must submit a report to the appropriate committees 12
of the legislature by December 1, 2026. 13
(3) This section expires December 31, 2026. 14
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p. 3 HB 2237