August 2026

Need Fire Resources? Crime Check Can Help

As the Spokane community begins moving into recovery mode following recent fires, we know there is a lot of information to navigate. Knowing who to call, where to find assistance or how to get the documents you need can feel like a lot to keep track of.

Crime Check can help make it a little easier.

Call Crime Check at 509-456-2233 and say “fire resources” to the automated answering system. You’ll receive a text message with links and phone numbers connecting you to helpful community resources. You can also download our mobile app by searching SREC 911 on your app store.

The information also includes instructions for obtaining a copy of a fire report, which you may need when working with your insurance company.

As our community recovers, SREC is committed to helping connect residents with the information and resources they need. View our list of community resources here.

Always Here For You and Proud to Serve

The fires that swept through Spokane County earlier this month will be remembered for their speed, destruction and the thousands of people forced from their homes. They will also be remembered for something else: an extraordinary response from first responders, public servants, neighbors and an entire community that stepped up when it mattered most.

At SREC, that response touched nearly every corner of our organization.

Our 911 Communications Officers and dispatchers answered calls, provided lifesaving instructions and coordinated responders as conditions changed by the minute. Our Report Technicians continued serving the community and supporting law enforcement needs. Our GIS team worked around the clock to maintain the official evacuation map, providing critical information that residents and other platforms relied on to understand evacuation zones. Our IT and radio teams supported the technology, radio systems, infrastructure and 23 radio sites first responders depend on to communicate. And across SREC, employees stepped into whatever role was needed to support the response and one another.

Much of that work happened behind the scenes. That is the nature of emergency communications. But behind every radio transmission, map update, alert and 911 call were people working together toward the same goal: protecting our community.

And we were far from alone.

Firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency managers and other responders from across our region and far beyond came together to help Spokane County. Thousands of personnel were deployed to the area, including resources from across the country and international partners. California Interagency Incident Management Team 7 came to Spokane to help manage an extraordinarily complex response.

As those visiting crews prepared to leave, their appreciation for our community became part of the story too. Spokane showed up. Residents and businesses donated food and supplies, helped evacuees, supported responders and found countless other ways to take care of people they had never met. Those acts of generosity made an impression on the people who came here to help us.

That spirit is worth celebrating.

There is still a long road ahead for many of our neighbors who lost homes, property and a sense of normalcy. But through an incredibly difficult event, we saw what happens when public safety agencies, emergency communications professionals and a community work together.

To our SREC employees: thank you. Whether you answered a 911 call, dispatched responders, wrote reports, updated a map, maintained a radio site, supported technology or quietly took care of the countless other things that had to happen behind the scenes, your work mattered.

And to our community: thank you for supporting first responders, supporting one another and reminding everyone who came here to help exactly what kind of community Spokane County is.

Now that the Old Trails Fire is transitioning toward closure, I wanted to take a moment to personally thank you and every member of your communications team for the incredible work you performed throughout this historic incident.

As the Incident Commander during the initial attack, I relied heavily on your team from the very first moments of the incident. Throughout one of the most chaotic and rapidly evolving fire events our region has experienced, your communications professionals consistently demonstrated exceptional professionalism, calmness, and an unwavering commitment to serving our community.

One of the things that impressed me most was your team's ability to take limited information, understand the intent, and immediately put it into action. Whether it involved coordinating resources, communicating with responding agencies, or managing rapidly changing evacuation zones, I never had to worry that the message would be delayed or misunderstood. I could provide general direction from the command post, and your team would take it from there with incredible accuracy and efficiency.

The evacuation effort alone was nothing short of remarkable. In an extremely compressed timeframe, more than 65,000 people were evacuated from threatened areas as fire behavior rapidly changed. Your dispatchers worked tirelessly behind the scenes to coordinate with law enforcement, emergency management, fire agencies, and public alerting systems to ensure those evacuation messages reached the public as quickly as possible.



I firmly believe the speed and professionalism of those actions saved countless lives. While firefighters were working to protect homes and neighborhoods, your team was ensuring residents had the information they needed to get out safely. That work is often unseen by the public, but it was absolutely critical to the successful outcome of this incident.

Throughout the incident, your communications center remained the calm voice in the middle of the storm. No matter how busy things became or how many simultaneous incidents were occurring across the region, your team never lost focus. They continued to support not only the Old Trails Fire, but multiple other significant incidents that were occurring throughout Spokane County on the same day.

The partnership between Spokane County Fire District 10 and your communications center has always been strong, but I believe this incident demonstrated just how valuable that relationship truly is. The trust, communication, and teamwork displayed throughout the response made my job as Incident Commander easier and allowed us to focus on protecting lives and property, knowing we had an exceptional communications team supporting us every step of the way.

Please extend my sincere appreciation to every dispatcher, supervisor, manager, and member of your organization who played a role in this incident. They should be incredibly proud of the work they accomplished. Their professionalism, dedication, and commitment to public safety were evident throughout the response.

On behalf of Spokane County Fire District 10, thank you for your leadership, your partnership, and the outstanding service your team provided during one of the most significant incidents our district has ever experienced.

We are fortunate to have your organization as part of our public safety team, and I look forward to continuing the strong partnership we have built together.

With sincere appreciation,

Don W. Malone

Fire Chief

Spokane County Fire District 10

SREC Technical Excellence Recognized on the National Stage

SREC is proud to celebrate two members of our Technology team receiving major industry recognition in 2026.

Bryce Leming, Public Safety Systems Manager, was named APCO International’s Information Technologist of the Year. Recognition from APCO International puts Bryce on an international stage among the very best in the emergency communications profession. His leadership and expertise help ensure SREC’s mission-critical technology remains reliable, secure and ready 24/7. We previously announced Bryce winning the WA State Technician of the Year by WA APCO/NENA.

Gerald London, Public Safety Systems Supervisor (Radio), was named NiCE’s 2026 PSAPs’ Finest Technician of the Year. Gerald oversees the complex radio infrastructure first responders depend on every day, combining deep technical expertise with hands-on leadership and a commitment to system reliability.

These honors speak not only to Bryce and Gerald’s individual excellence, but also to the strength of SREC’s technical resources. Modern 911 depends on an enormous network of technology, from phone and radio systems to networks, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure. Having talented professionals behind those systems is essential to keeping emergency communications strong and dependable for our community and first responders.