Camas announces top four fire chief finalists

Camas names 4 fire chief finalists

The city of Camas has named its top four finalists to replace former Camas-Washougal Fire Department (CWFD) Fire Chief Nick Swinhart.

Swinhart, who was hired to lead the fire department in 2011, resigned unexpectedly in March “to pursue other opportunities” and has since taken a fire chief position with the Key Peninsula Fire Department in Lakebay, Washington, west of Tacoma.

After announcing Swinhart’s departure, Camas Mayor Steve Hogan named Cliff Free, the CWFD’s division chief of emergency medical services, the fire department’s interim fire chief.

Now, city officials have narrowed their search for a permanent fire chief down to four finalists:

• Shaun Ford, the fire chief of the North Country EMS & Clark County Fire District 13, in Yacolt;
• Cliff Free, the Camas-Washougal Fire Department’s interim fire chief since March 2022;
• Scott Goldstein, a fire chief from Montgomery County, Maryland; and
• Jay Wittwer, a fire chief in Tukwila, Washington.

The finalists are meeting with members of the public, as well as city staff and fire department peers this week, during on-site recruitment events held Oct. 12-14, including a public “Meet and Greet” on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Lacamas Lake Lodge in Camas.

New chief will likely face staffing shortages, facility replacements

Before his departure, Swinhart had challenged the Camas City Council to increase the fire department’s staffing levels, saying in 2021 and early 2022, that understaffing issues — caused by the high number of workers on leave for everything from military reasons to injuries and illnesses — were taking a toll on local firefighters.

“The group is at a breaking point,” Swinhart told council members during their annual planning retreat in February. “Working 60 hours a week is not sustainable in the long term.”

The joint Camas-Washougal fire department also is grappling with a decade-long merger that consultants have said is no longer sustainable, due to a financial imbalance between the cities of Camas and Washougal. The city of Washougal has struggled to pay its 40% share of the fire department’s costs in the past few years, as Camas officials have worked to shore up staffing levels and added to the fire department’s labor costs. City officials also are dealing with a recent facilities report that showed two CWFD buildings, including the department’s headquarters in downtown Camas, should be replaced as soon as possible.