Here’s a closer look at three finalists for Gig Harbor fire chief
Candidates for Gig Harbor fire chief include two veterans of the department and a chief who lost his job in Idaho for what he calls “political” reasons.
The longtime Gig Harbor chief, John Burgess, will be retiring on April 1 and a search is currently underway to find his replacement.
The search has been narrowed down to three candidates and The Gateway connected with two of them to learn more.
A veteran of the department
Todd Meyer, 51, first came to the department in 1994, when he was a volunteer firefighter. He then went up through the ranks from lieutenant and battalion chief beforeserving as the current assistant chief of operations since 2018.
Meyer has also been a part-time instructor for the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management since 2014. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in economics from Central Washington University.
When reached by The Gateway, Meyer had come off of a long night of dealing with the outages from a recent storm. He said he enjoys the work more than anything.
“I’ve been very blessed,” Meyer said. “I’ve been very blessed with finding the career that I really enjoy and it just so happens to be in my hometown.”
Meyer grew up in Gig Harbor and graduated from Gig Harbor High School in 1988. He laid out his vision for the department and what he hopes to bring to the position if selected — which includes investing in a ladder truck.
“Currently we don’t have a ladder truck,” Meyer said. “So when we have a larger incident at a commercial building, we contract with Tacoma.”
Meyer said he hopes to cut down on that response time and instead have a truck already close by to respond when needed.
“We’re looking to bring on a ladder truck and staff that ladder truck,” Meyer said.
Meyer also said that he hopes to expand service to more rural areas and ensure that these locations have comprehensive responses.
Meyer has been on the ground in situations where he was called to help out where more resources were needed.
This last summer, he was part of a group of Gig Harbor firefighters who were deployed to respond to regional fires.
Meyer said areas, like California, might no longer be looking at fire “seasons” and will instead be looking at year-long fights against fires that Washington state will also have to be prepared for.
“The first priority is to take care of the people here at Gig Harbor Fire and the Gig Harbor community,” Meyer said. “Then, when we can, we have embraced going out and supporting our neighbors on a more of a global mission.”
Meyer said that has taken him to Spokane and Walla Walla due to mutual aid agreements across the state that he hailed as an important part of protecting communities.
“I am a big firm believer in promoting and maintaining relationships, in relationships with neighboring fire departments,” Meyer said. “You know, like last night, we were out, running around responding to fallen tree calls and Peninsula Light was out there right with us. So how do we engage our partnerships? Because we’re all in this together.”
Former chief from Idaho
Former Boise, Idaho Fire Chief Dennis Doan is another finalist for the position.
Doan had most recently left Boise’s department last March during a tumultuous week that saw him start out on administrative leave and finish by resigning just minutes before the Boise City Council voted on whether to fire him.
It’s still not clear why Doan, 52, was put on administrative leave to begin with, and city officials aren’t saying. Idaho’s public records law specifically says that personnel files are not public information, meaning they cannot be released without that employee’s permission.
In response to The Gateway’s request for his file, Doan said that he had given permission for his file to be released to the media. A records request to the city of Boise made Thursday night for his file was responded to Friday saying Doan would have to specifically ask for the records himself.
“The City would require that Mr. Doan provide a written waiver in accordance with his request, but once the records are released to Mr. Doan, he would be free to release what he feels is appropriate,” the city said.
Seth Ogilvie, a spokesperson for Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, also said in a text message that Doan should be able to give it to reporters, but Doan said he did not have a copy of it available.
Doan declined to a phone interview though did provide email statements disputing the characterization of his departure and said it was a “political” move.
“There was not a ‘personnel issue.’ I did not do anything illegal, immoral, or substandard,” Doan wrote in an email Wednesday. “My departure was political, which is not uncommon in a strong-mayor form of city government. There isn’t anything else to add.”
In response to a request for comment, the board of commissioners of Gig Harbor Fire declined to comment on the specifics of the candidate selection process in picking Doan as a finalist, though said a consultant “provided detailed information about their background, to include their educational and work history.”
An emailed statement also said that “the district does not plan to make any further public statements regarding the candidates until our special meeting on Wednesday, January 20th, at 5 pm.”
On Friday, Doan answered questions in a formal interview before the Board of Fire Commissioners that was streamed on YouTube. He both discussed his background and addressed his departure.
“It’s pretty simple but people want to make more of it than there is,” Doan said. “I have nothing bad to say, I did nothing wrong, I didn’t do anything illegal or immoral or unethical. It was a change in leadership and a change with the department heads.”
“There is just nothing to hide,” Doan said.
The commissioners didn’t ask any follow-up questions.
A change of scenery
If Doan is chosen for the job in Gig Harbor, he would move to the area to oversee a department with a vastly different population and environment than his past job did. Boise has a population of approximately 229,000 people while Gig Harbor has a population of approximately 10,700.
In Boise, he led a department that had approximately 300 staff and would now lead a department with approximately 125 firefighters.
Asked why he wanted to work in Gig Harbor, Doan responded via email, “Why not?!”
“All the pieces are in place for the next Fire Chief to be successful,” Doan wrote. “My wife and I are looking for a community to be a part of. We are very active and enjoy kayaking, paddle boarding, golfing, skiing, hiking and biking. Gig Harbor seems to be a great fit for me and my family.”
The job could come with a potential pay raise. Doan made $165,006 in Boise after being given a raise by former Mayor David Bieter in 2019, making him the second-highest-paid employee of the city, behind only Airport Director Rebecca Hupp. A listing for the job in Gig Harbor puts the starting salary at $182,750 up to $215,000.
The importance of unity
Dan Bjurstrom, 59, is the third and final candidate for the position. Another veteran of the department, he has served as assistant chief of finance and administration since 2016 after first joining the department in 2011.
Previously, he was a private-practice trial lawyer for 10 years. He has a Juris Doctor and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington.
In his interview with The Gateway, Bjurstrom stressed the need to have comprehensive plans for the future.
“The key for us is to develop long-range plans to guide our development,” Bjurstrom said. “It would guide our development with regard to staffing, it would guide our development with regard to capital fire stations, those sorts of things.”
Bjurstrom agrees that a ladder truck is necessary, but that there has to be a holistic plan in place to accommodate it as well.
“We have multistory buildings and it’s getting to be time that we get that done,” Bjurstrom said. “You have to have a station to have a ladder truck in. There is a whole and that ladder truck has to fit into that whole.”
Bjurstrom also said there has to be improvements in response times in areas of the district.
“We have to figure out how to deploy folks to enhance those services,” Bjurstrom said. “We have areas of our district that to get there from a staff station can take well over ten minutes. Some places, fifteen. We would like to work to speed that up.”
What it all comes back to for him is a need to work with a strong department and build unity.
“The thing that I work really hard to be is a uniter,” Bjurstrom said. “Our department cannot be great if it’s divided.”
Bjurstrom stresses that he doesn’t consider there to be division, but that he sees an opportunity to build cohesion on department priorities.
“Unity in purpose and unity in growth doesn’t mean that there is a problem, it just means that there is an opportunity to improve,” Bjurstrom said. “I am very proud of our department, I’m very proud of the service that we offer. One of our benchmark values is the desire for continuous improvement.”
Final public interviews available online
The candidates all participated in in a public forum on Friday, Jan. 15. The interviews will also be made available on the department’s YouTube.
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chase.hutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
.jpg)