Fire district chief takes on admin role; Orr named interim

Top brass with Clallam County Fire District 3 is changing, as a search for a new fire chief is slated to begin soon.

As part of his contract, fire chief Ben Andrews has moved to remote work on special projects leading up to his retirement in April 2024, according to an April 27 Clallam County Fire District 3 press release.

Assistant fire chief Dan Orr will serve as interim fire chief until a new chief is hired.

The moves were announced during a special meeting of the district’s fire commissioners on April 26. Both Andrews and Orr announced in March their intent to retire within about a year.

In an interview, Andrews said he worked with fire commissioner chairman Bill Miano to exercise an option in his contract for him to work remotely as they transition to a new chief.

Andrews work for the district through April 2024, he said.

Andrews, Miano and Orr all said there were no complaints or misconduct leading to the decision.

“It’s nothing nefarious; he was reassigned on good terms,” Miano said.

The option came up, Miano said, when Andrews initially announced his plan to retire in March, and it allowed him to move into an administrative role.

“Through talking about the mechanics of it all, we felt it was best to do while doing the [fire chief] search,” he said.

For the immediate future, Andrews said he’ll work on refining health and safety protocols and policies, particularly following the Jan. 12 death of Capt. Charles “Chad” Cate.

“It’s far from simple thing to do,” Miano said.

With the reassignment, Andrews won’t respond to 9-1-1 calls; he has turned in his equipment to the district.

Andrews joined the fire district in 2003 and started as fire chief in August 2015. He started in fire service as a volunteer 1988 in Mason County with Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue in August 1993.

“It has been an honor to serve the community for the last 20 years,” Andrews said in an interview. “I am very proud of what was accomplished during my time with the district.

“This community has always been unwavering in its support earned through decades of excellent service by the fire district.”

Andrews said in his 20 years with the district, he’s proud of many accomplishments, some of them including: making Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) a priority for the district; community partnerships; coordinating bringing in training props and towers and a mass casualty bus; increasing firefighter staffing levels, and financial stability for the district.

“Every decision can be paid for the next five years with reserves,” Andrews said, including planned apparatuses.

According to the commissioners’ press release, Andrews has “been a pivotal figure in leading the department through numerous challenges” including COVID-19 and Cate’s death.

“The District expresses its sincere appreciation to Chief Andrews for his dedicated service,” commissioners wrote in the release.

Andrews said he has no plans to leave the area and plans to spend time with his wife and work on house projects.

Orr as interim chief

Commissioners wrote they are confident Orr can lead them through the transition to a new chief.

Orr began his fire service in 1985 with the Pismo Beach Fire Department, and later served 15 years with the Santa Maria Fire Department with four years as its fire chief. He joined District 3 in December 2015.

Orr said he doesn’t anticipate working more than a year before retiring.

“What I’ve told the board is I’m just a transition guy,” he said. “They are going to hire a headhunter. My job is to keep the place running between now and then.”

Miano said in the near future they’ll determine roles for Orr and assistant fire chief Tony Hudson as they go from three fire chiefs to two.

The shift in leadership comes as the district’s three new battalion chiefs begin duty on May 1 for a 10-day orientation of managing day-to-day operations for 24 hour shifts.

“It’s a huge change as an organization,” Orr said.

The commissioners also appointed Mike Mingee, the district’s part-time fire code technician, as the third commissioner on April 18 following the resignation of Steven Chinn earlier in the month.

With Mingee’s resignation, they’ll soon begin recruiting for the position, along with hiring seven new firefighters and promoting a captain to fill a vacant position after a battalion chief promotion.

Orr said there’s no timeline set for hiring a new fire chief yet.

Planning sessions April 26-28 to help focus the district’s strategic plan were set months ago, district officials said.

For more information about Clallam County Fire District 3, call 360-683-4242 or visit ccfd3.org.