The East Pierce Fire and Rescue Board of Fire Commissioners announced plans for a national search to hire a new fire chief, replacing Fire Chief Jerry E. Thorson who plans to retire this spring after more than 40 years in the fire service.
According to East Pierce Fire Commissioners Chair Dale Mitchell the Board considered several other options before deciding to hire a new chief, including a merger with a neighboring fire district, signing an administrative agreement with another fire department, hiring an interim chief and others. “After careful consideration, the majority of the Board supports the idea of hiring a chief in order to help focus on our immediate needs and move the organization forward,” he says. “A new chief will allow our members to concentrate on doing what they do best: Serving the citizens of our district.”
During a special commissioner’s meeting on Feb. 11, the Board discussed various alternatives to hiring a chief. Commissioner Rick Kuss asked for more time to research alternative options, including merging with a neighboring fire department, entering into an administrative agreement, hiring an interim chief, or other options. The Board voted that evening to delay a decision until March 2, in order to allow time to research and identify viable alternatives.
After investigating those options, the board determined that hiring a new chief was still the best plan. They concluded that a merger with a neighboring fire district is not feasible for the citizens served by East Pierce Fire and Rescue. “Our levy rates are much lower than those of our neighbors, complicating the efforts to merge or enter into an agreement with other departments. In addition, merging with neighbors north of us in King County is not a viable option due to many issues with crossing over the King County line,” says East Pierce Fire Commissioner Kevin Garling. During the merger process with the Milton Fire Department in 2012, it took several years to enact state legislative to resolve similar issues before that merger could be completed.
“Currently, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue is not interested in merging with us,” Garling says. Previously, East Pierce had researched a potential merger with Orting Valley Fire and Rescue and eventually decided not to merge with them due to operational impacts and funding issues. “Many of those items with Orting Valley still prevent a merger at this time,” he says.
Even if merging with a neighboring department was a possibility, Mitchell notes that it would take at least a year to complete the necessary assessment and review process. “That places too much of an impact on our members and citizens under the present conditions. The organization is critically short-staffed at the commend level,” he says. Even before the fire chief announced his resignation, the district had lost several key positions, including an assistant chief and finance director—positions that have remained vacant since 2012 due to budget constraints. East Pierce Deputy Fire Chief John McDonald officially retires at the end of this month. The fire district has stated that there is no plan at this time to replace him.
The option to operate under an administrative agreement with a neighboring district was also discussed and rejected. Thorson explains that an agreement like this will force not only the chief, but all of the divisions to split their time between two departments. “Considering our needs at this time, and our reduced staffing at the command level, this would have too much of a negative impact on both departments. It simply means the chief officers and divisions would have even less time to focus on the needs of our district,” he says.
The board also rejected the idea of hiring an interim chief. “This option works if we know we will have the ability to implement a merger in the near future, or buy time while we research other options over a 6-12 month period,” says East Pierce Fire Commissioner Mike Cathey. Since that is not the case, an interim chief, he suggested, would simply keep the operation on hold until the chief is hired.
After reviewing all of the options, the majority of the board decided that the best course of action was to hire a new fire chief as soon as possible. They authorized Issaquah-based Pothman Company to begin the process. The board estimates that it will take between three and four months before a new chief is installed at East Pierce. Thorson is considering postponing his retirement for a few months until the new chief is in place.
Mitchell says that the inclusive process of selecting a new chief will provide an opportunity for input from both the community and fire district personnel. “It is important that the community and department members support the process and are comfortable that the district hires the best candidate,” he says.
Ultimately, after examining all options, the board determined that they must move forward and hire a new chief. “We believe that this is the best option for the district, our employees, and our communities for the long term,” Mitchell says.
Citizens who have questions are encouraged attend a commissioners meeting. The East Pierce Board of Fire Commissioners meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. The location occasionally varies between fire stations. Meeting notices can be found on the East Pierce website at www.eastpiercefire.org or by calling East Pierce at 253-863-1800.
