Come April, fires burning in or near Spokane may burn a little longer because of a void in the computer system for the regional 911 dispatch service, slowing mutual aid between jurisdictions that blame each other for the flaw.

While no one seems to have a clear sense as to how long those delays could be . Officials from both the city and Spokane Regional Emergency Communications agree firefighting operations could suffer as a result for at least seven months and likely significantly longer.

And as with everything related to the messy divorce between the entities following the regional dispatcher’s decision in January to kick out the city, both sides solely blame the other for the breakup.

Currently, if a fire occurs anywhere in the county, the region’s 911 dispatch system can automatica

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