New bill would increase fire safety standards at pet kennels

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Lawmakers in Olympia held their first public hearing Tuesday on a new bill to increase fire safety standards at pet kennels.

Backers of the bill want better protections for animals, as well as better transparency about problems kennels may be having.

In November, Allison Scarborough and Rachel Quinn both lost their dogs after a fire at The Dog Resort in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood.

That same business also had a fire in February at its Lake City location.

“While the business owner was afforded numerous attempted interventions, I had no idea I was subjecting my dogs to unsafe conditions as there is no business requirement to notify customers of received violations or permit and license suspensions,” said Allison Scarborough, who supports the bill.

An opponent of the bill warned that some pet boarding facilities could shut down if forced to install costly fire alarm or sprinkler requirements.

“Some of these could absolutely devastate these small businesses. Implementing these requirements — to implement, hundreds of thousands of dollars of improvements to their buildings,” said Sam McEntire.

On Friday, House Bill 2403 is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Local Government.

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