PORT TOWNSEND — After 20 years, four fire districts and a variety of roles, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Bob Low is hanging up his helmet.
“East Jefferson is an extremely well-run fire department, and I’m proud to have been a member here, but after a tough decision, my wife, Barb, and I decided to retire and move back to the San Juan Islands,” Low said in a statement.
Low, 61, is making a little more than $70,000 in his current position, but that won’t necessarily be the salary for his replacement, according to department spokesman Bill Beezley.
“We expect we will cast a wide net to find someone to fill this position since it has a pretty big skill set,” Beezley said.
“We’d like someone who is an ex-firefighter who also has management, finance and fire marshal experience.”
Beezley said he did not expect that the position would be filled from within the department.
Low joined the fire district in 2012 after serving as fire chief at the Quilcene Fire Department for a little more than two years.
He was hired to succeed Chief Bob Wilson, who died of cancer in 2009.
Low resigned from his position as Quilcene fire chief in July 2012. He said he was quitting because of interference in the operations of the department by two fire commissioners, Dave Ward and Mike Whittaker, who were serving at the time.
Whittaker and Ward were recalled by voters in November 2012.
East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Gordon Pomeroy said the department will begin a search for a replacement in late November, with a goal of bringing an assistant chief on board by Low’s departure Jan. 31.
Low joined East Jefferson Fire-Rescue as it ramped up the replacement of the Chimacum Fire Station and oversaw coordination of the deconstruction of the old station and the site preparation and construction of its replacement.
In addition to his responsibilities as assistant chief, Low also led the district’s fire prevention and inspection program, bringing in new technology to streamline the fire inspection and reporting process.
“As the designated fire marshal, he had made great inroads with city leadership and the fire inspection program,” Pomeroy said.
“It’ll be critical to keep our momentum in that area.”
Low also joined the chief and deputy chief in duty chief rotation, responding to hundreds of incidents throughout the region, Beezley said.
