SEQUIM — Top brass with Clallam County Fire District 3 is changing as a search for a new fire chief is expected to begin soon.
As part of his contract, Chief Ben Andrews has moved to remote work on special projects leading up to his retirement in April 2024, according to a Clallam County Fire District 3 press release issued Thursday.
Dan Orr
The moves were announced during a special meeting of the district’s fire commissioners on Wednesday.
Both Andrews and Orr announced in March their intent to retire within about a year.
In an interview, Andrews said he worked with fire commissioner chairman Bill Miano to exercise an option in his contract for him to work remotely as the department transitions to a new chief.
He’ll work for the district through April 2024, he said.
Andrews, Miano and Orr all said there were no complaints or misconduct leading to the decision.
“It’s nothing nefarious; he was reassigned on good terms,” Miano said.
The option came up, Miano said, when Andrews initially announced his plan to retire in March, and it allowed him to move into an administrative role.
“Through talking about the mechanics of it all, we felt it was best to do while doing the (fire chief) search,” he said.
For the immediate future, Andrews said he’ll work on refining health and safety protocols and policies, particularly following the Jan. 12 death of Capt. Charles “Chad” Cate.
“It’s far from a simple thing to do,” Miano said.
With the reassignment, Andrews won’t respond to 9-1-1 calls as he’s turned in his equipment to the district.
He started as fire chief in August 2015, and joined the fire district in 2003 after serving with Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue since August 1993.
“It has been an honor to serve the community for the last 20 years,” Andrews said in an interview. “I am very proud of what was accomplished during my time with the district.
“This community has always been unwavering in its support earned through decades of excellent service by the fire district.”
Andrews said in his 20 years with the district, he’s proud of many accomplishments, some of them including making Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) a priority for the district, community partnerships, coordinating bringing in training props and towers and a mass casualty bus, increasing firefighter staffing levels and financial stability for the district.
“Every decision can be paid for the next five years with reserves,” he said, including planned apparatuses.
According to the commissioners’ press release, Andrews has “been a pivotal figure in leading the department through numerous challenges” including Covid-19 and Cate’s death.
“The District expresses its sincere appreciation to Chief Andrews for his dedicated service,” commissioners wrote.
Andrews said he has no plans to leave the area. He aims to spend time with his wife and work on house projects.
Interim chief
Commissioners wrote they are confident Orr can lead them through the transition to a new chief.
He started with the fire district in December 2015, began his fire service in 1985 with the Pismo Beach Fire Department, and later served 15 years with the Santa Maria Fire Department with four years as its fire chief.
Orr said he doesn’t anticipate working more than a year before retiring.
“What I’ve told the board is I’m just a transition guy,” he said. “They are going to hire a headhunter. My job is to keep the place running between now and then.”
Miano said in the near future they’ll determine roles for Orr and Assistant Chief Tony Hudson as they go from three fire chiefs to two.
The shift in leadership comes as the district’s three new battalion chiefs begin duty on May 1 for a 10-day orientation of managing day-to-day operations for 24 hour shifts.
“It’s a huge change as an organization,” Orr said.
The commissioners also appointed Mike Mingee, the district’s part-time fire code technician, as the third commissioner on April 18 following the resignation of Steven Chinn earlier in the month.
With Mingee’s resignation, they’ll soon begin recruiting for the position, along with hiring seven new firefighters and promoting a captain to fill a vacant position after a battalion chief promotion.
Orr said there’s no timeline set for hiring a new fire chief yet.
For more information about it, call 360-683-4242 or visit ccfd3.org.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
