New fire chief talks about $2.1 million property purchase, plans for volunteer program
The Key Peninsula Fire Department has a new chief and he’s ready to make some changes to the department.
Dominick “Nick” Swinhart, 51, has been in the fire service for more than 30 years. In April of this year, Swinhart was hired as the new Key Peninsula Fire Chief. He started May 16, after he resigned from the Camas-Washougal Fire Department, where he was chief for the past almost 11 years.
“The timing was right. There is a lot of changes going on in the Camas area right now, such as a lot of (turnover) of city mayors and administrators. It seemed like a good opportunity to seek out a new place to land,” Swinhart told The Gateway this month.
He was was born and raised in Grays Harbor County and spent most of his adult life there and in Thurston County.
“By extension that meant a lot of familiarity with Pierce County growing up and I also spent a lot of time here while I was going to paramedic school at Tacoma Community College in 1991,” Swinhart said. “I spent nearly my entire paramedic internship working with the Tacoma Fire Department and in hospitals like Tacoma General and St. Joseph. Pierce County always felt like another home in my youth, and I still have many fire service friends working in the region.”
Swinhart had been looking for awhile at getting back closer to “home” in Grays Harbor and Thurston counties, where most of his family still lives.
“It seemed like they were looking for somebody just like me,” he said about the Key Peninsula job posting. “I have extensive experience as a fire chief in larger combination agencies that provide transport, and experience working with and implementing strategic and capital improvement plans. I am known in the field for fostering good internal and external relationships and in implementing mutually beneficial partnerships with other agencies.”
A big topic Key Peninsula residents have been talking about is a parcel of land the agency purchased across the street from the Key Center station late last year, for future expansion of the fire station, Swinhart said.
Fire commissioners purchased $2.1 million worth of land surrounding the current Key Center station for a possible renovation back in November and December.
“This station is the oldest station in the district. We are crammed in here. There is no room for expansion, barely any room for community members to come into the station, no training facilities. So they purchased this property in hopes for a new station and training facility,” Swinhart said.
The district received some criticism and frustration from residents.
“Members of the community felt that there was not enough transparency or community discussion before the property was purchased,” Swinhart told The Gateway. “I want to improve the lines of communication with the community, keeping them in the loop on these important decisions.”
“We’re currently trying to figure out what the best use for the property across the street will be and it will be one of the big things we focus on across the next year.” Swinhart said.
The recently purchased property has a vacant restaurant building with some individual suites off to the side. There is also a house across the street that is currently being rented out by a property company.
The department is waiting on a quote for the vacant building on the new property for roof repairs, fixing water damage, and electrical repairs. If they receive this quote before the next board meeting, June 14, this will be the next opportunity the public can participate in a discussion about what happens to the property. Additional community forums will also occur as updates come for this project, Swinhart said.
In the last few months the department has hired seven new staff members in hopes of increasing the level of service the agency is able to provide, decreasing overtime costs and decreasing response times, the chief said.
Out of the seven new hires, four were added positions while the other three were to fill existing vacancies. They are all firefighter positions.
The new chief said he wants to determine how to improve their volunteer firefighter program, which is a significant part of operations at the department. His first role in fire services was as a volunteer with the Grays Harbor Fire District in 1989.
“My goal is to meet with every single staff member for an interview, basically to find out what they think are issues we face, their ideas for how to address those issues,” Swinhart said. “They’re the ones that have feet on the floor, they’re the ones that have been around for years and they’re the ones that are best qualified to tell me what the most important issues are.”
