Horst honored for service with Clallam County Fire District 3

Published 1:30 am Friday, July 31, 2026

SEQUIM — Firefighter/paramedic Len Horst was honored for his 29 years of fire service both as a volunteer and career firefighter following his retirement from Clallam County Fire District 3.

Horst, who was honored July 1 after he retired June 30, joined the department as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in May 1997 and was hired full-time as a firefighter/EMT in July 2001.

Four years later, Horst was promoted to firefighter/paramedic after he received his paramedic certification and attended Paramedic School at Tacoma Community College from 2003-2004 while working for the fire district.

Horst said he started volunteering with the fire district when he was a junior at Sequim High School.

He had to obtain his General Education Development (GED) to receive his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification, and sign a statement he wouldn’t drop out of high school after receiving his GED.

Horst started with the fire district’s Explorer Program in fall 1994 and was an advisor from 1997-2020.

He also started helping Santa’s Toy and Food Fire Brigade in 2008, an event during which fire district staff and families seek toy donations for Sequim Community Aid’s Toys for Sequim Kids and items for the Sequim Food Bank.

At the fire commissioners’ board meeting on June 16, Horst was honored with a proclamation about his service which stated he “has selflessly served the Fire Service for twenty-nine years.”

It continued to state that he “will be considered a lifetime brother of the Fire Service and Clallam County Fire Protection District No. 3.”

As is tradition, fire district staffers retired Horst’s district number, 836, and presented him with a flag flown over Station 34 for one minute for each year of his service and a retirement plaque on July 1.

“While firefighter/paramedic Horst has responded to his last call, the legacy he created will live on for a very long time,” Fire Chief Justin Grider said.