The Spokane Fire Department has sent out a statement regarding their assistance to the bushfires currently raging in Australia.
Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer shared a photo of the statement on Twitter on Wednesday, January 8.
"Having experienced firsthand the devastation that wildfires can create, we share your concern about the tragic wildfires currently ravaging Australia. While we are ready to lend out support at any moment, it is strategically vital that we do not self-deploy and that we work within the international aid system.
"When there is an international request for assistance, the federal government receives that request and they disperse those requests throughout the nation to various federal agencies first. When and if the federal government is not able to fill all those requests they reach out to local government agencies across the nation to continue to fill those requests..."