March 8, 2025
In the past year, you may have seen a bright red Camano Fire pickup truck parked at a fire station or pulling up to an emergency call.
That truck belongs to the on-duty Battalion Chief – a new position instituted at the beginning of 2024 to manage daily response and administrative responsibilities.
The department’s three Battalion Chiefs recently celebrated one year in the position.
It’s just one in a series of administrative changes Camano Fire has made recently to help improve emergency response.
“We knew with Chief Helgeland’s retirement that we would have to reassign his responsibilities across the department,” incoming Fire Chief Jason Allen said. “Shifting some of those administrative responsibilities out of the office and onto the line has two main benefits. First, it’s career development for our officers. They are taking on responsibilities that were handled at the Assistant Chief level and hopefully will be more prepared to move up in the department. Second – and more importantly – it adds one more on-duty responder to the schedule each day.”
The three Battalion Chiefs each supervise one of the department’s three shifts. When they’re on duty, they oversee daily staffing and call response and manage any administrative issues that need to be addressed.
“This has been a big change for the department, but one that has helped us improve our response effectiveness,” Allen said. “When we have multiple incidents, or fires and other major incidents, the Battalion Chiefs are there to help improve our response effectiveness and manage the incident safely.”
In addition to their on-duty job, each Battalion Chief supports the department’s administrative team by taking on broader responsibilities. One of them manages supply logistics, including ordering supplies, uniforms, and protective equipment, and oversees the wildland firefighting program. Another develops and runs training for each shift, and for all the part-time and volunteer firefighters who work for Camano Fire. The specialty rescue teams – like marine rescue, rope rescue, and vehicle extrication – and part-time firefighter recruitment are the responsibility of the third Battalion Chief.
