PORT ANGELES — Sam Phillips, who has served as interim chief of Clallam County Fire District No. 2 since December, has been selected as the permanent chief.
Phillips, 53, succeeds Jon Bugher as chief of the fire district that covers some 85 square miles surrounding the city of Port Angeles.
Bugher, 65, retired Dec. 30 after 17 years at the helm.
The district’s commissioners selected Phillips as permanent chief, with an annual salary of $90,030, in January, Phillips said.
Phillips joined the fire district in August as the assistant fire chief of operations after a national search.
He had retired from the Hillsboro Fire Department in Oregon, where he was deputy fire chief of administration and living in Salem, Ore.
Phillips plans to establish a citizens advisory committee to provide feedback to the fire district based on a community survey on the types of services and levels of services provided.
“I am blessed with high-quality firefighters and EMTs [emergency medical technicians] who are dedicated to serving the public night and day,” Phillips said.
He also will evaluate the district’s staffing and resource deployment model and alternative funding sources.
Phillips has more than 32 years of career fire service leadership experience.
A graduate of the National Fire Academy’s four-year executive fire officer program, he earned a master’s degree in executive fire service leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in management from Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Ore.
He also holds an associate degree in fire science and is certified as an instructor for Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Development Studies.
He served as the fire and emergency medical services branch director for the Elwha Removal and Restoration Event Incident Management Team in mid-September.
Phillips lives in Port Angeles with his wife, Jennifer, who is employed by Western Fire Chiefs Association as the manager of the group’s Daily Dispatch.
They have a grown son, Drew, who is a graphic design artist with Staples Corp. in Boston.