Our dalmatian, Blaze, became a member of North Kitsap Fire & Rescue in 1994 at the tender age of eight weeks when he was donated to the department by the Steele family of Kingston. 

Blaze's service came to an end when he passed away at the age of 13 on February 12, 2008.  

Blaze actually lived at one of our fire stations where he was cared for by the firefighters.  Human department members contributed monthly to a fund that paid for their spotted friend's food and veterinary bills. 

He had an important job with NKF&R, helping us to teach children about fire safety and injury prevention.  Blaze even knew how to "stop, drop and roll," and he loved people -- especially children. 

Blaze enjoyed overwhelming support when he needed it most: a serious medical condition depleted the firefighters' funds that are set aside to pay for his care.  Community members caught wind of his predicament and organized a number of fundraising activities to help.  More than enough money was donated to pay his bills (including a large contribution from Blaze's vet, Dr. James Moore), and the excess was invested in veterinary insurance.

Blaze has become so famous and so popular that when we celebrated his 10th birthday, nearly one-hundredcommunity members joined with dog-friends at his party which included cake, a scavenger hunt and a special puppet show.  Instead of presents, Blaze's firefighters asked that guests bring donations to benefit the Kitsap Humane Society and the Susie Fund for medical care at Apple Tree Cove Animal Hospital. 

There was one more among the many special things about our Blaze: he had one blue eye, and one brown eye (as shown in the picture at left)! Want to see more? Click here. Caution!  This page may load VERY slowly because there are LOTS of pictures on it!