The Mercer Island fire chief and two out-of-state candidates are the finalists to be the next chief of the Kent-based Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.
A Puget Sound Fire five-member stakeholders group picked the three finalists to replace Jim Schneider, who is retiring at the end of August after 15 years on the job.
The candidates are:
• Steven Heitman – Fire chief of the Mercer Island Fire Department.
• Jeff Helm – Division chief with Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, South Dakota.
• Matthew Morris – Fire chief of the Henderson Fire Department, Nevada.
The finalists will be introduced to the department and community at a public reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, July 24, at the Kent Senior Center, 600 E. Smith St. The candidates will be given the chance to introduce themselves and the public will have the opportunity to leave comments for the department’s consideration.
The stakeholders group also selected Gordon Olson, fire chief of the Thornton Fire Department in Colorado, as a finalist, but Olson withdrew this week, according to a Puget Sound Fire media release.
Several stakeholder groups will conduct a final assessment of the candidates beginning July 25. The RFA Governance Board will make the final decision. The board is scheduled to approve the new fire chief at its Aug. 16 meeting.
The RFA board includes three members from the Kent City Council, three from the Fire District 37 Board of Commissioners, one non-voting member from the Covington City Council and one non-voting member from the SeaTac City Council.
Annual pay for the position will be between $187,800 and $207,000, according to RFA documents. The RFA board hired Issaquah-based Prothman Company for $19,500 plus expenses to conduct a nationwide search and narrow the list of candidates. Prothman submitted about 15 names to the stakeholders group.
Puget Sound Fire serves about 181,000 people in the cities of Kent, SeaTac, Covington and portions of unincorporated King County. Schneider worked as the city of Kent fire chief before voters in 2010 approved formation of the Kent RFA, renamed Puget Sound Fire this year. The RFA merged the Kent Fire Department and Fire District 37 and later added the city of SeaTac.
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