Five candidates vying for Vashon fire chief position

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The public is invited to attend a gathering Friday evening to meet the five candidates being considered for the fire chief position at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue.

Each of the candidates will be introduced, and islanders will be able to speak with each of them informally, said fire board chair Candy McCullough. On Saturday, all five candidates will participate in the interview process, conducted by panels comprised of members and former members of the department, as well as engaged members of the public. Working with the executive search firm Prothman, the board will make a decision and extend a job offer soon.

The board of commissioners has been working with Prothman for several months to help find the replacement for former Chief Hank Lipe, who resigned after eight years in June. Originally, the application deadline was August, but in late July, in an effort to interest additional candidates, commissioners extended the application date to mid-October and increased the salary cap to $140,000. Last week, McCullough said she is pleased with the group of finalists slated to be interviewed.

“I think we have a good group of diverse candidates, and we are hoping we find a good fit for our leader for the future,” she said. “We are moving in the right direction.”

Assistant Chief Bob Larsen, who had been serving in the assistant chief role in an interim capacity, was recently appointed to that position permanently and did not apply to be the chief. The candidates include one internal candidate and four candidates from other departments inside and outside Washington. The following information was provided by the fire department.

Robert Ferguson

Robert Ferguson has been the deputy fire chief for Grand Valley Fire Protection District in Colorado since January 2007. Prior to that, he was a firefighter/paramedic for Largo Fire Rescue in Florida in 2006, a firefighter/paramedic for St. Pete Beach Fire Department in Florida from 2005 to 2006 and a firefighter/paramedic for Grand Valley Fire Protection District in 2005. He also served as a fire lieutenant for the City of Gulfport Fire Department in Florida from 1998 to 2005. Ferguson has an associate of applied science degree in fire science from Columbia Southern University and is working on a bachelor’s degree in business administration and public administration, also from Columbia Southern University.

Charles Krimmert

Charles Krimmert has been a volunteer for Vashon Island Fire & Rescue since 2000 and has served as a firefighter/EMT and is currently a volunteer

lieutenant. Krimmert is an architect with over 30 years of experience. He is currently senior associate vice president/senior project manager for CallisonRTKL and has been with the company since 2000. Prior to that, he was senior vice president at Brown McDaniel Bhandari, Inc., in San Francisco. He was also a volunteer firefighter for Saddle River Valley Rescue in New Jersey from 1975 to 1978 and 1990 to 1991. Krimmert has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture, both from Montana State University School of Architecture.

Brandon LeMay

Brandon LeMay has served as the assistant fire chief for the South Bay Fire Department in Washington since 2010. Prior to that, he was the chief deputy state fire marshal at the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office from 2006 to 2010, and he was deputy state fire marshal from 2005 to 2006. He also served as a fire department company officer from 1999 to 2004 and a firefighter from 1996 to 1999 in the U.S. Air Force. LeMay has an associate degree in fire science from the Community College of the Air Force, bachelor of science degrees in fire protection administration and arson investigation, both from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.

Norman Seals

Norman Seals has been the assistant chief of the Emergency Medical Service Bureau for the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department in Texas since 2012 and has been with the department since 1986. He progressed through the ranks, beginning as a paramedic, promoted to captain and chief training officer/safety officer in 2007 to executive deputy chief of the Emergency Response Bureau in 2009 and then to deputy chief of the Emergency Medical Service Bureau in 2011. Seals has a bachelor of science degree in organizational leadership, and he is working on a master of science degree in organizational leadership, both from Columbia Southern University.

Bradley Shanrock

Bradley Shanrock has been assistant fire chief at Joint Base Lewis-McChord since 2007.

He was a firefighter then lead firefighter at Fort Lewis from 1992 to 2007. He was in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 1991 and served as a combat engineer at Fort Lewis and in Germany.

Shanrock’s certifications include IFSAC (International Fire Service Accreditation Congress) certification for Fire Officer IV, Fire Instructor III, Fire Inspector I, II and Hazmat Incident Commander.

Meet the candidates

The candidate reception will be at 7 p.m. Friday in the Penny Farcy Training Center on Bank Road. For more information, call the fire department at 463-2405.