Future Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue Chief Brian Park comes from the Rialto, California Fire Department.
Photo from City of Rialto, California
MONROE — The fire board for Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue (SRFR) selected a seasoned fire chief from California to lead its agency.
SRFR’s Chief Kevin O’Brien announced earlier this year he is retiring in mid-July, prompting a national search.
They’ve hired Brian Park, who comes from the city fire department of Rialto, California in San Bernardino County. It’s east of Los Angeles.
Last week, the board voted 6-1 to sign Park’s employment contract. It also went 6-1 on selecting Park over a set of other finalists earlier this month, including three finalists from within SRFR.
Rialto’s department has five fire stations and is budgeted for 96 personnel. Rialto Fire handled 25,200 calls last year, largely within a dense city that is 24.13 square miles large with about 103,000 residents in it. It’s more calls than SRFR, which is spread across 135 square miles of territory with 160,000 residents. SRFR’s headquarters are in Monroe.
Six chief finalists were announced at the May 28 board meeting. The finalists were: Robert Horton, Aaron Hummel, Colby Titland, Mike Messer, Ryan Lundquist and Park. Three were internal candidates: The district’s two Assistant Chiefs and one Deputy Chief of Operations.
Before the decision, a representative speaking on behalf of the collective of two unions said both memberships stand ready to welcome the new chief.
The fire board also discussed interest in eventually merging with Snohomish Fire District 4 at its May 28 meeting.
