The first truck — a 1992 Oshkosh designed primarily to fight aircraft fires — will find a new berth in North Bend, WA at the State Patrol’s Fire Training Academy. The Oshkosh carries 3,000 gallons of water on board, 500 pounds of dry chemical, 400 gallons of foam and can shoot water while on-the-move, something that normal fire trucks can’t do.

The Washington State Fire Academy is operated by the Washington State Patrol, through the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Most city and county firefighters receive their initial and recurrent training there. About 5000 students a year pass through the academy gates, and about 500 of those have received additional training in Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting.

Mark Reis, Managing Director of Sea-Tac Airport and Randy Krause, Port of Seattle Fire Chief handed over a symbolic Oshkosh’s “pink slip” to State Patrol Chief John Batiste and State Fire Marshall Chuck Duffy in lieu of keys, which it doesn’t use.

The second — a 1986 Darley fire engine — will stay closer to home and serve at the Puget Sound Skills Center (PSSC), a school for career preparation and technical education in the Highline School District. Battallion Chief John Madson, Fire Services program administrator at PSCC, was on hand to accept the Darley along with lead instructor Robb Lovre, instructor Mark Voigt, Greg Smith, Alicia McAlvey and Erin Certain.

The Port of Seattle regularly retires its vehicles after 12 years in active service and four years in reserve service. The Port has donated four of its retired trucks to regional agencies since 1998.

Photographer Michael Brunk was at the ceremony and put together the following slideshow.

You can now follow photographer Michael Brunk on Facebook and get regular updates with new photos and behind the scenes info!

Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D – Des Moines) filed a bill this week that would allow the Port of Seattle to continue to lease land to the Highline-area Little League organization at a steeply discounted rate for use as Little League baseball fields.

The measure authorizes “airport operators” to make airport property available for public recreation and other community uses at less than market value.

“I grew up playing Highline Little League baseball on these exact ball fields,” Upthegrove said. “Today, south county children continue this tradition only because of the extremely affordable lease rates the Port extends to the City of Burien. With local governments currently strapped for cash, a hike in the lease rates could put the future of these fields at risk.”

Photo of Rep. Dave Upthegrove, circa 1980, playing Little League baseball on a south King County ball field.

The ball fields in question are located in the second runway “buyout area” near SeaTac Airport, a neighborhood dotted with boarded-up residences. Federal law specifies how close a residence can be to an airport runway, and over the years the Port of Seattle has had to “buy out” home and business owners to keep them out of the prohibited zone. The recreational and athletic fields, however, continue to enjoy active use and are permitted within the zone.

“The lease rate has recently been called into question by the State Auditor. My aim is to ensure that our state law is consistent with federal law, which actually permits these kinds of arrangements between airport operators and organizations like Little League,” Upthegrove added.

Rep. Dave Upthegrove, circa 2009.

“Little League sports provide affordable recreation for so many children while teaching the values of teamwork, discipline and sportsmanship.  We need to ensure that these Highline ball fields remain available for the community.”

The bill number is House Bill 3007, and it’s scheduled for a public hearing in the House Local Government and Housing Committee on Monday, Feb. 1st at 1:30 p.m.

The painting is part of the finishing touches on the project which is scheduled to reopen by the end of this month.

BTB Photographer Francis Zera was there and shot these photos:

Click to View Francis Zera’s Photo Slideshow

Here’s some info on the runway from the Port of Seattle:

The original runway was built in 1944 and was extended several times to reach the current size of 11,901 feet. The reconstruction project completes a comprehensive rebuilding of the entire runway – from runway lights to the concrete pavement itself. The new 20-inch thick runway, and adjoining taxiways, required 120,000 cubic yards of concrete. In comparison, 65,000 cubic yards of concrete was used for the Third Runway [only 8,500 feet long and 17-inches thick].

Located at each end of the runway for identification by approaching aircraft, runway markings will read 16L on the north end and 34R on the south end. Numbers are determined by the compass location of the runways and their alignment with the two other runways (right, center, and left).

A second community meeting on Sea-Tac Airport noise has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 29th from 7pm to 9pm at the State Criminal Justice Training Commission Auditorium in Burien (located at 19010 First Ave South), according to an announcement from Rep. Dave Upthegrove (D-33).

Here’s the full text of Upthegrove’s announcement:

Dear Neighbors,

As you know, our August 19th Community Meeting on Airport Noise was attended by more people than the venue could accommodate.  I know that many of you took time away from your families and other duties to attend this meeting and I apologize to everyone who was turned away.  Please know that simply by showing up, you helped to demonstrate just how deeply this issue affects our community.

We have scheduled a follow-up meeting to accommodate those who were turned away last month. Please join me, along with Senator Karen Keiser, Representative Tina Orwall, Des Moines City Councilwoman Susan White, and King County Councilmember Julia Patterson, to discuss airport flight operations and noise mitigation programs.

While the state legislature and county and city governments have no direct authority over SeaTac Airport flight operations (where and when planes fly), we have heard from many of you with questions and concerns about increased noise since the third runway has gone into use.  This meeting will be an opportunity to hear directly from the Noise Programs Manager at SeaTac Airport and to ask questions and share information and concerns.

Rep. Dave Upthegrove

Follow-up Community Meeting on Airport Noise

• Tuesday Evening, September 29th
• 7:00m to 9:00pm
• WA State Criminal Justice Training Commission Auditorium: 19010—1st Ave S, Burien

Some of the questions to be addressed:

• Who decides who gets money for noise insulation?
• Who is responsible for determining runway usage and flight patterns?
• How does current use of the Third Runway compare with previous projections?
• How has airplane noise changed in the last decade?
• How can community members monitor and track runway usage and flight operations?

Noise from airport operations significantly impacts our quality of life.  The more informed we are about how flight decisions are made and how noise mitigation funding decisions are made, then the more effective we all can be advocating for the interests of our community.

Sincerely,
Dave Upthegrove
State Representative
33rd District
Chairman, House Ecology & Parks Committee

Webpage: http://hdc.leg.wa.gov/members/upthegrove/index.asp
Sign up for my E-memo: http://hdc.leg.wa.gov/members/upthegrove/ememo.asp
Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000

The Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) has also launched their own blog, which includes the latest updates – you can read it here.

The Port of Seattle Monday announced that an estimated 3,000 jobs will be restored when the airport “Consolidated Rental Car Facility” parking garage construction begins again.

The Port of Seattle, the City of SeaTac, Turner Construction and representatives from the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council and King County Labor Council will officially re-start the construction at a press conference on Wednesday, July 22nd at 10:30am.

Construction on the $419 million, 23-acre site will restore more than 3,000 local, family-wage jobs that were lost when the project was shelved last December.  This project is also projected to generate nearly $2 million in tax revenue for the City of SeaTac. At least 1,000 jobs are expected to be created by the end of 2009, and the facility is scheduled to open in spring of 2012.

The Sea-Tac Airport Consolidated Rental Car Facility will support all airport-related rental car operations at one convenient location. It is designed to meet the current and future demands of the traveling public. The facility will be a five-story structure that will greatly improve the size, space, and efficiency of rental car operations that are currently spread out from the main terminal garage and multiple off-site locations. In addition, the facility will open up two floors of public parking, more than 3,200 spaces, in the main terminal garage.

The Port of Seattle Commission approved the successful sale of $317 million in revenue bonds in late June in order to re-start the project.

Here’s a full rendering of the garage:

The Times says that the renter of the house said Saunders first pointed the laser at their horses until he was asked to stop. At least 12 airplanes reported being “lasered” that night, and numerous incidents happened over the following 2-3 weeks.

As the police interviewed the renter, Saunders arrived at the residence and confessed to pointing the beam in multiple directions on the day of the party and that he might have “lasered” a plane.

Read the full story here.

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Welcome our newest Advertiser to The B-Town Blog: Storer Enterprises, Inc., parent company to Airport Towing and Burien Towing.

On a routine BTB sales call, I was invited to join most of the Storer family for lunch at Elliot Bay Brewery in Burien. Seems like this family dines out together a lot.

One thing that struck me was the overwhelming presence at our table of Mark and Brian Storer who were killed in a floatplane accident this past summer. Both were a powerful force and inspiration in the development of this family and the family towing business.

Back in 1988, when Mark Storer was working for another towing company and his wife Lynette was doing daycare for their three young children and other neighborhood kids in their home, Mark decided to start his own towing company. With a loan from his father, Mark bought his first tow truck. They named it Airport Towing “so we’d be first in the phone book” explained Lynette, and managed it out of the house.

Lynette Storer and her late husband Mark.

A few months later they found property in Burien where they remain today. Flash forward a few years and the Storers not only had Airport Towing, but also Burien Towing, a house used as Airport’s office and a very large garage that houses 12 light and heavy duty tow trucks – and one of the industry’s largest antique tow truck collections. Another tow truck is being restored right now in memory of Brian Storer.

As a true Ma and Pa business, the addition of the house/office allowed them to bring their three kids to work. The kids included Teresa, Jared and Brian.  Lynette told BTB that “This is truly a family business. If you don’t like having family around, you won’t like us!”

Jared told us that he didn’t take to the towing business the way his brother Brian did. While Brian enjoyed driving the tow trucks, Jared was more interested in working sales and marketing from the office and as a volunteer firefighter in North Highline for 3-1/2 years.  He’s been a firefighter in Bellevue for the past 1-1/2 years.  His schedule allows him time to spend with his wife Carmen, who works for Alaska Airlines, and with their young son Liam and to keep his fingers in the family business as Vice President.

Lynette Storer is now President of Storer Enterprises, and award-winning tow driver and nine-year employee Daryl Wilson has been made General Manager. One thing that hasn’t changed is the smiling face of Colleen Zable who’s run the front office for 17 years.

"The 29," a classic 1929 Ford Model AA Tow Truck.

Lynette’s son-in-law Kenny Savage is also part of this family business.  Kenny married the Storer’s daughter, and oldest child Teresa, last summer. Jared, Lynette and Kenny shared the same thought of how glad they all were that Mark Storer was able to live long enough to see all three of his kids married.

Teresa is not part of the daily management of Airport and Burien Towing, but is helping with various financial aspects of the business as well as working with Jared on developing the property for their monthly auction of abandoned cars.  Auctions are held every three weeks on Fridays at 11 am, with the preview at 8am.  Currently the auctions are in South Park at 301 Sullivan St. For more information see www.airporttow.com.

The Storer family has a long history of giving back to the community as well, including Little League, Highline Sports and Theater, donations to local police and fire departments and they’ve recently developed the Storer Family Memorial Fund, which is very important to help the young widow and sons of Brian Storer.

The 1st antique tow truck is "The T," a 1925 Ford Model T that was once used in parades by McDonald's.

Storer Family Memorial Fund: This fund was established to support the family of Brian Storer after he died in a sudden plane crash July 23rd, 2008. Brian left behind a wife of three years and two sons, ages 2 and 1, Sam and Toby. Brian’s AFLAC life insurance policy did not cover him traveling in a private aircraft so this fund has been established to provide relief to his family. You can donate to the fund at any Sterling Savings Bank location or through Paypal.

Asked what they would like our Readers to know that’s not on their websites, Jared responded that his wife Carmen is the twin sister of Brian’s wife Christy. Jared and Carmen met in Normandy Park when Brian and Christy were married three years ago. Maid of Honor and Best Man respectfully, it was love that was meant to be. Another Storer long-distance relationship was in the works. Sisters were reunited in Burien after Jared and Carmen were married in Iowa, where the girls were raised.

You can find Airport Towing at 817 SW 149th Street/206.243.6252 and Burien Towing right next door at 823 SW 149th St/206-433-0660.

So, hitch up your mouse to their Ad, click on their website and check out Airport and Burien Towing!

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[Are you interested in getting a "Blogvertorial" Ad like this for your Business? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

Apparently the main complaint was eye irritation.

Read the full story here.

“…part of the mitigation program for the construction of the soon-to-open third runway is the restoration of Miller Creek to a natural environment.

A major sign of success was videotaped for the first time since restoration was completed – spawning salmon returning to the creek:”

That speck in the sky was one of three local news choppers hovering over B-Town to get a shot of the third runway test Sept. 25th.

You may recall that on Thurs., Sept. 25th, a buncha mysterious helicopters were seen hovering over Burien like hungry hornets at a carnivore’s convention.

People freaked and started calling/emailing us, wondering why and how our world was about to end.

The reality of course was that it was just local News Choppers wasting expensive fuel covering the test-landing of the expensive third runway at SeaTac Airport.

Well, it’s going to happen again Wed. morning Oct. 8th (pending the weather), anytime between around 9am and, um…whenever they darn well feel like it, as the Port of Seattle will be conducting another test-landing, this time with the first-ever wide-body commercial aircraft.

So consider yourself warned!

From their press release:

First Commercial Wide-Body Test Landing on Sea-Tac’s Third Runway Set for Wednesday, October 8th

The Port of Seattle will welcome the first-ever wide-body commercial aircraft to land on Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s new third runway as part of the final scheduled test landing for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification.

A Northwest Airlines A330 will perform several touch and go landings as part of the certification process for the new runway scheduled to open November 20th.

An Alaska Airlines 737-800 was the first commercial-type aircraft to land on the third runway September 25th. That test certified narrow-body aircraft.

FAA administrators will monitor the landing to test and verify the runway’s instrument landing systems (or ILS). The aircraft will approach under auto-land conditions to test the ILS in what would be the worst visual landing conditions an aircraft would encounter.

NOTE: This event will be weather dependent. The exact time of the landings is also fluid and will be dependent on coordination with Air Traffic Control.