Finalists for fire chief position

On July 5 three finalists for the position of fire chief with the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority have been selected by the stakeholders group to replace current fire chief, Jim Schneider, who will be retiring at the end of August according to the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority.

The three finalist area:

  • Steven Heitman – Currently the Fire Chief of the Mercer Island Fire Department, Washington.
  • Jeff Helm – Currently Division Chief with Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, South Dakota.
  • Matthew Morris – Currently Fire Chief of the Henderson Fire Department, Nevada.

According to the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, these three finalists were selected as the best qualified to lead Puget Sound Fire and will be introduced to the department and community at an upcoming public reception on July 24.

A final assessment of the candidates will be conducted beginning July 25 by several stakeholder groups with the final selection made by the RFA Governance Board. The Board is scheduled to approve the new Fire Chief at the August 16th Governance Board meeting, according to the fire authority.

The public is welcome to come and meet the three finalists at the reception. The candidates will be given the chance to introduce themselves and the public will have the opportunity to leave comments for the department’s consideration.

The reception will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kent Senior Center on July 24.