The Camas fire chief vacancy has received no shortage of interest, but it remains to be seen whether the list’s quality matches its quantity, officials said.
More than 80 people applied for the position before Thursday’s deadline. Camas City Administrator Lloyd Halverson described the number as a “good total.”
“Now, the key is (finding out) what is the quality” of the applicants, Halverson said.
Camas has been without a full-time fire chief since Jan. 28, when officials fired Leo Leon for reasons not revealed publicly. Leon served as fire chief for six years. Retired city public works director Monte Brachmann is serving as acting chief.
Camas is looking for someone with a “fresh perspective” on fire and emergency medical service trends and who understands the challenges associated with each, recruitment papers said. Candidates must have at least seven years of management experience in a similar-sized organization and a have earned a bachelor’s degree with major coursework in fire science, public or business administration, or a related field. The fire chief will earn between $97,000 and $120,000, plus benefits.
City officials would like to interview six finalists between May 3-5, Halverson said. He noted that candidates would go through an extensive screening process.
“It’s a very thorough, step-by-step process,” he said. “It’s a winnowing process.”
Halverson said he had not looked at any of the applications prior to the deadline. Therefore, he did not know any of the candidates’ backgrounds.
Camas and neighboring Washougal have been involved in ongoing talks about merging their fire departments. How consolidation would change individuals’ roles within the department is unknown.
The departmental uncertainty did not have a negative impact on the number of applications submitted, Halverson said.
Camas and Washougal hired Vancouver-based private consultant Paul Lewis last fall to analyze whether combining the departments would save money. The firefighters belong to the same union already, but have separate contracts with their individual cities.
Lewis’ findings should be ready soon, Camas Mayor Paul Dennis said last month, though there is no formal timeline for his study’s completion. From there, more discussions between the two cities would take place.
