PORT TOWNSEND — It will likely be weeks before East Jefferson Fire-Rescue picks a replacement for Chief Gordon Pomeroy, who is scheduled to retire at the end of the year.
“The decision is not likely to be made in the near future,” Bill Beezley, communications coordinator for East Jefferson Fire-Rescue (EJFR), said Monday.
Beezley said the board will likely not make a decision for a few weeks at minimum.
Last week, three candidates from out of state were brought to Port Townsend to interview for the position.
Beezley had said the board hoped to make a decision by Monday, either to extend a job offer to one of the three candidates interviewed or to reopen the application process and keep looking for candidates.
Beezley was not able to comment Monday on whether those three candidates were still in the running.
EJFR began its search for a new chief this past summer, and the first round of applications closed in July with 22 applications submitted.
Pomeroy, who has been the EJFR chief for eight years, is due to retire at the end of the year but will continue working should a replacement not be found.
Pomeroy started working with EJFR in 2008 as the head of EMS critical care transportation division.
After less than a year, Pomeroy took over as interim chief in September 2008 after former Chief Chuck Tandy was asked to step down by the department board.
Pomeroy was named chief of EJFR District 1 after an executive session of the district commissioners in December 2009.
Before coming to Jefferson County, Pomeroy worked with private companies on DNA-identification processes and worked for more than 30 years as an emergency medical technician, paramedic and instructor at the Shoreline Fire Department in North Seattle.
Pomeroy received his initial training at Harborview Medical Center through the University of Washington in 1980.
As chief, Pomeroy currently earns a salary of $93,043 per year, according to Beezley.
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Jefferson County Editor/
