Five years after helping Camas and Washougal usher in a decade-long fire department merger, Nick Swinhart is being tapped to take charge of another agency: East County Fire & Rescue.
After years of discussing the idea of sharing fire resources, East County Fire & Rescue and the Camas-Washougal Fire Department finalized an agreement earlier this week to share the chief.
“Previous attempts (to share resources) have flamed out for one reason or another, and there’s a sense of relief that we pulled something together,” said Swinhart, 46. “It’s not because of my great leadership abilities; it’s the perseverance by elected officials.”
But colleagues disagree.
“It seemed like a logical solution, but it’s only a logical solution if all the players are the right people,” East County Interim Chief Al Gillespie said. “Nick has the temperament needed for this job.”
It’s a sentiment also shared by fire commissioners and union representatives.
Adam Brice, union president of East Clark Professional Firefighters, said that East County Fire & Rescue firefighters are optimistic about the move and happy to see progress when it comes to securing leadership.
“They haven’t had a supervisor to go to, to answer simple questions on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “They’re kind of excited to have the feeling that a plan is being put in place. They’re interested to see how the plan will play out.”
For nearly two years, East County had been without a permanent chief.
In January 2015, board commissioners voted to fire longtime Chief Scott Koehler. Commissioners did not explain the reasoning behind their decision to let go of Koehler, who had held the position since 2002.
By the end of that year, Interim Chief Dean Thornberry retired early from the position, calling the situation with board members “a toxic environment.”
The board brought on Gillespie, a retired Nevada fire chief who now lives in Vancouver, while the board continued looking at its options — which spanned from a full-scale merger with the Camas-Washougal Fire Department to a search for a new chief.
Eventually, they landed on shared administration with Camas-Washougal. Namely, Swinhart.
“He listens well, shares information,” Gillespie said. “He’s somebody who can see more than one side of an issue.”
If you glance at Swinhart’s r?sum?, it’s easy to see why.
Swinhart spent the early part of his career in Aberdeen, where he worked as a firefighter/paramedic and became the union president. During that time, he was elected as city councilor in Montesano and headed an attempt to merge eight fire departments in the Grays Harbor area. It failed when a lynch-pin agency pulled out.
He went on to become a fire chief in South Dakota for two years before moving back to Washington in 2011. Swinhart said he was happy to land in Camas and quickly settled into his new home with his wife and two young daughters.
After about two years, however, colleagues began asking if Swinhart was applying to other agencies. They assumed he was here to smooth things out with the merger and then take off.
“I told people, I have no intention of leaving as long as I don’t wear out my welcome,” he said. “I really like living here. I love Camas.”
The interlocal agreement was approved by East County commissioners on Sept. 28 and by the Camas City Council on Monday.
The agreement states that Swinhart will work a minimum of 37.5 hours per month at East County and that the agency will pay Camas a fixed rate of $3,000 a month. Swinhart will see a 2 percent pay raise, adding $175 to his paycheck every month. He starts the job on Nov. 1, and the arrangement will last for a one-year trial period.
East County board Chair Martha Martin said that she first met Swinhart when observing the process leading up to the merger for Camas and Washougal fire departments.
“I saw how hard he worked and how respectful he was answering questions, being direct,” she said. “He seems to be a good leader and people like him.”
Though she wouldn’t go into detail about previous problems, Martin said that commissioners have done a lot to improve the culture at the agency. They now hold a monthly meeting where employees throughout the ranks are invited to talk openly in a round-table fashion, she said.
“Things are a lot more positive in regards to morale and communication,” she said. “It’s just a better atmosphere at this point.”
Swinhart said that he has gotten to know the five commissioners and anticipates working well with them.
He said he’s also looking forward to working more closely with the agency’s staff.
It helps, he said, that both East County and Camas-Washougal have been working side-by-side for years and even share a labor union.
Brice, the union president who works for Camas-Washougal, said that Swinhart has always been a good chief who works collaboratively to achieve both the goals of the agency and the goals of the union.
“If we can respect each other’s agenda, the people that benefit the most are the taxpayers and the people we serve,” Brice said.
Swinhart said that he is up for the challenge of leading a fire agency that is so different than the one he’s used to. The East County fire district covers 60 square miles north and east of Camas and Washougal. The staff includes about 40 firefighters, 26 of whom are volunteers, who operate out of five stations.
He said he isn’t coming in with any specific ideas for the area except to make the transition a smooth one.
“Every place has its own culture and own identity, and I’ll work to figure out how to best integrate into it without turning things upside down,” he said. “I think this is going to be a tremendous opportunity for both agencies and also for the community.”
