<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

In Our View: Molina at the Helm

Vancouver's new fire chief knows the ropes, but also brings in new ideas from elsewhere

The Columbian
Published: February 14, 2011, 12:00am

Joe Molina has worked as assistant fire chief in Waco, Texas. He’s also worked in Vancouver as deputy fire chief and interim fire chief.

That experience at or near the helm seems to make him a good choice as Vancouver’s new chief, but only in part. Another reason to applaud last week’s decision by Vancouver City Manager Eric Holmes — and a factor that distinguished Molina above 47 other applicants — is his familiarity with how things run in the 170-employee department with a $27.9 million annual budget. No learning curve is needed as Molina ascends from the interim job to the permanent post as fire chief.

Then again, it’s not like Molina is some longtime member of an entrenched establishment. He’s only been here three years since moving from Waco. We like that, too, because it means Molina brings a fresh perspective and new ideas gathered in other places. That same type of outreach by Vancouver was seen four years ago when Pat McDonnell, Holmes’ predecessor, hired Cliff Cook of Fort Worth, Texas, as Vancouver’s police chief.

This was Holmes’ first major hiring decision in his new role as city manager. In a way, it wasn’t too surprising because Holmes also ascended to his new job from the interim leadership post.

In a way, that’s why an interim appointment is made. First, it’s to get someone in the job, exerting authority and, second, to place a deserving local candidate in what’s essentially an audition. Holmes brought in three other finalists from around the country for interviews but cut the process short of trips to on-site interviews when he deduced: “They were all right, but Joe’s the guy.”

And Joe will be a very busy guy. Even under the best of circumstances, it would be a complex challenge to lead the state’s fourth-largest fire department, one that protects almost a quarter-million people (in Vancouver and in Fire District 5), one that responded to 21,000 calls for service in 2010. (Eighty percent of those calls were related to emergency medical services, and 20 percent were responding to calls about fires).

But Molina’s job is even tougher because he accepts it during a funding crisis. Budget writers recently trimmed 18 firefighter positions and have had to close Fire Station 6 in central Vancouver. Molina must lead the effort to work within those extreme limitations, but he’s in the same boat as just about every other fire chief in the country.

One solution at his disposal could come from Washington, D.C. Vancouver is a candidate for a $2.3 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that could pay for 13 new firefighters and help restaff the closed fire station. But that solution remains in doubt. City councilors provided preliminary approval, but if Vancouver is offered the grant, the council could not accept it without promising to keep the department at full staffing after the grant expires in two years.

That would be a difficult promise to make because the city’s budget woes likely will get worse before they get better, and a labor contract with the firefighters’ union remains unresolved. Later in the year, if the grant is offered, the city will have to make that difficult decision. For now, Molina will concentrate on the other myriad duties of a fire chief.

Whether Molina can fulfill Holmes’ expectations remains to be seen, but this much already is clear: The men and women who work in the Vancouver Fire Department are among our community’s most valued heroes. And Molina knows this; he says the department has “a rich history and a tradition of getting the job done. I am honored to be selected to lead this outstanding team of professionals.” We wish him well in that important new role.

Loading...