Fire chief decision could take weeks, consultant reports

Who will be the next fire chief for Clallam County Fire District 3 won’t be announced for about two weeks, according to fire commissioners and consulting firm Prothman of Issaquah.

The district’s four finalists gathered on Monday, Nov. 13, for two hours in Sunland’s ballroom north of Sequim for a meet-and-greet with 50-plus people, including career and volunteer firefighters, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members, and various community leaders.

The finalists are: Ronald Martin, mass care coordinator for Lee County Board of County Commissioners in Florida; J. Kevin Nalder, most recently fire chief for the City of Palm Springs, Calif.; John Payne, assistant fire chief of Bremerton Fire Department, and Patrick Reid, deputy fire chief for the City of Pasco.

Attendees were allowed to ask the finalists questions and leave comment cards about candidates for commissioners to consider.

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, candidates were interviewed at Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Sequim by three groups — one with the fire commissioners, one facilitated by interim fire chief Dan Orr, and a third led by assistant fire chief Tony Hudson. Orr and Hudson’s interview boards consisted of various fire district staffers/stakeholders and community leaders.

Warren Merritt with Prothman said even if commissioners made an offer to one of the candidates, they won’t announce the new fire chief until the finalist accepts and Prothman has performed an additional background check and finalized other hiring logistics.

That could take a few weeks, Merritt said.

Commissioners were scheduled to meet on Nov. 20 in executive session and go over feedback received from the meet-and-greet, and interview sessions.

According to district documents, the new fire chief would make between $180,000-$215,000 a year and oversee about 56 employees, 43 volunteers and CERT’s 500-plus membership, along with a maintenance facility and six fire stations with three of those staffed with full-time firefighters/paramedics/EMTs at all times.

Prothman helped bring in and narrow the finalists from 19 applicants to four in mid-October, district officials said.

A new chief would follow Ben Andrews who exercised his contract in April to work remotely until retiring next year. Orr plans to retire shortly after a new chief begins, tentatively in early 2024, he said.

Prothman’s contract states they’d repeat the recruitment process if no candidate is chosen, or a finalist is terminated or resigns within one year from the employment date.

The following bios and information were provided at the meet-and-greet.

• Ronald Martin said he was a runner-up to become the district’s Assistant Chief of Logistics in 2015. He has worked in fire service for 30-plus years and has held various positions at Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District since 2003 including lieutenant, fire marshal, executive assistant fire chief, and fire chief-district manager (2021-23). Martin holds a master’s degree in Homeland Security/Emergency Management from Long Island University, a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Hodges University, an associate’s Degree in Fire Science Technology from Edison State College, and he is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.

• J. Kevin Nalder was fire chief for the City of Palm Springs for about eight years and prior he was the Director of the Fire Department, Building Department and Office of Emergency Management for the City of Kirkland from 2009-2015. Nalder said he moved to California to be closer to his son and he wants to return to Western Washington. He was with the City of Salt Lake City, Utah, Fire Department from 1985-2009 where he began as a Paramedic/Firefighter and promoted through the ranks, serving in positions including Captain, Battalion Chief, Fire Marshal-Division Chief, and lastly Deputy Chief. He has a bachelor’s degree in Public Emergency Services Management from Utah Valley University, and he is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. • John Payne has been with the Bremerton Fire Department since 1994 when he began as a Paramedic/Firefighter and was promoted through the ranks to serve as Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, and in 2019 became Assistant Fire Chief. Payne has a master’s degree in Security Studies — Homeland Security from the Naval Postgraduate School, a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science Administration from Waldorf College, an associate’s degree of Applied Science degree in Fire Science from Southern Columbia University, and he is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Payne said he met his wife in Sequim.

• Patrick Reid has more than 30 years of fire and emergency management experience and has been the Deputy Fire Chief for the City of Pasco since 2020. Prior, he was the Deputy Fire Chief for the City of Yakima’s Fire Department from 2017- 2020. Reid also served the Fort Irwin Fire Department in California as Division Chief and he was with Fort Belvoir Fire & Emergency Services in Virginia from 1990-2012, where he served as Fire Chief for 12 years.

He has a master’s degree in Management & Leadership from Western Governors University, and a bachelor’s degree in Emergency Services Management from Utah Valley University, where he also received associate degrees in Emergency Management and Fire Officer.

For more about Clallam County Fire District 3, visit ccfd3.org.