Board of Commissioners

EJFR Board of Fire Commissioners

Board Meeting Minutes & Agendas

In 2019 the citizens of Fire District No. 1 voted to expand the Board of Fire Commissioners from three to five. Following that vote, Commissioner Districts were established and approved by the voters in November.

Exact Commissioner District boundaries were established in late 2020. To determine your Commissioner District please visit the searchable map via the Jefferson County Website. 

The Jefferson County Fire Protection District No. 1 Board of Fire Commissioners meet the third Tuesday of every month. The meeting is held virtually and in-person at East Jefferson Fire Rescue Station 6, 9193 Rhody Drive, Chimacum WA 98325 and typically starts at 3:00 p.m.

The Board of Fire Commissioners is governed by Chapter 52.14 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).

Commissioner District 1

Vice Chair, Jeannie Price - Elected 2026, term expires 12/31/2031

Jeannie started taking flying lessons before she was old enough to drive a car, and a degree in Meteorology led to a career in aviation. College summers were spent in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming where she met her husband and became an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

Her first job as a pilot was flying freight in Learjets before being hired as an airline pilot. As an airline captain she updated and rewrote the company’s Emergency Operations manuals for her aircraft, including creating new checklists, all of which were approved by the Boeing Company and the FAA.

When Crew Resource Management (CRM) was adopted by the airline, she joined the Flight Operations Training Department as an instructor, helped develop CRM curricula with NASA, and taught it to pilots, flight attendants and management. This FAA-mandated training encourages flight crews to utilize all resources available before making safety decisions, proving effective in reducing airline accidents. She brings these same concepts to every committee or group she works with, encouraging input and collaboration from all members.

Jeannie moved to Port Ludlow in 2022 to be closer to her two children. She joined, and eventually led, the Port Ludlow Emergency Committee, soon after arriving in the village. After completing CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) in 2023, she became a volunteer for both DART (Disaster Airlift Response Team) and the EOC (Emergency Operations Center). A licensed massage therapist, she is a Yamuna Sustainability practitioner, certified in many of those bodywork modalities.

Her neighbors call her “The Barefoot Grandma” because from spring through fall she walks the trails of Port Ludlow barefoot with her young grandson, teaching him the importance of grounding to the earth. A self-taught master crocheter, she is often seen with a ball of yarn in her lap and a crochet hook in her hands.

email jprice@ejfr.org

Commissioner District 2

David Seabrook - Elected 2019, term expires 12/31/2031

Commissioner Seabrook began his life-long commitment to the fire service mission in 1983 while living in Sedona, AZ. He completed his paramedic training at the same time he finished a degree in Earth Science from Northern Arizona University in 1987. Upon moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1988, he worked for an ambulance service in the Portland Metro area and started his professional fire service career in 1990. At Vancouver (WA) Fire Department he was an active EMS educator for years and helped implement many innovative programs. His Older Persons Are Important program formed the basis of his MPA degree from WSU in 1998, he also helped develop a nationally accredited Geriatric EMS training program. Promoted to Captain/Paramedic in 1997, he served on VFD’s busiest engine company. He retired in 2014 at the rank of Battalion Chief.

Soon after retirement he sailed down the Columbia River, eventually dropping anchor in 2015 at Port Townsend. He has since become involved in multiple organizations working on community resilience and food system security. He is a volunteer member of the Incident Management Team at Jefferson County’s Department of Emergency Management. He and his wife Karen are avid gardeners and reside in Chimacum.

email dseabrook@ejfr.org

Commissioner District 3

Steve Craig - Elected 2021, term expires 12/31/2027

Steve Craig has been a resident of Jefferson County since 1977. He graduated from Port Townsend High School in 1982 and went into the construction industry working various trades. Eventually, he became an electrician and operated an electrical contracting business with his father in the greater Port Townsend area for over 15 years. Concurrently, Steve volunteered for Port Townsend Fire Department from 1990 – 1994 and was hired by The City of Bothell Fire Department where he retired in 2020 as a Lieutenant after 25 years.

email scraig@ejfr.org

Commissioner District 4

Geoffrey Masci - Appointed 2020, term expires 12/31/2029

Commissioner Masci was appointed to the Board of Commissioners in January of 2020 and again in 2024. He previously served on the City Council for the City of Port Townsend.

email gmasci@ejfr.org

Commissioner District 5

Chair, Deborah Stinson - Elected 2021, term expires 12/31/2027

Deborah Stinson moved to Jefferson County in 2003 after thirty years of management and technology experience in a variety of sectors. She was honored to receive the 2011 Jefferson County Heart of Service Award for the positive community impact of her volunteer work in emergency preparedness, facilitation of residents’ investment in small business, and through her leadership role in Local 20/20.  Deborah was elected in 2012 and 2016 to serve on Port Townsend City Council and was chosen twice by her peers to serve as Mayor. For the duration of that eight-year tenure, she served on the EJFR Oversight Board, the Jeffcom Administrative Board, the Department of Emergency Management’s Incident Management Team, in addition to other countywide and regional boards.

email dstinson@ejfr.org

 


Administration & Personnel

Career Firefighters, Paramedics & EMT’s

Photos depict 2022 shifts. EJFR gained 13 new Firefighters from the 2023 merge with Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue.

Additional A Shift members: Brennan Whiting, Charlie Johnson, Neil Secondez, Alex Sviridovich

Additional B Shift members: Wes Lueders, Rodney Gregory, Dan Wagner, Gavin Williams

Additional C Shift members: Wicus McGuffey, Richard Spellman, Curtis Beery, Sarah Chapman

A shift

Back Row L to R: Halie Duke, Aarron Minker, Scott Walker, Lt. Gavin Rogers, Michael Archuleta, BC Jason MacDonald, Jeff Woods

Front Row L to R: Scott Campbell, Alex Morris, Jesse Cordova, Lt. Chris Kauzlarich, Scotty Pulido, Bobby Grimm, Lt. Curtis Sanders

B shift

Back Row L to R: Jacob Kinney, Lt. Reece Chambers, Lt. Steve Grimm, Lt. Caton White, BC Justin Clouse, Sarah Duce

Front Row L to R: Pete Yelaca, CJ Wright, Dan Severin, Adin Welander, JB Fairbanks

Not Pictured: Mike Kithcart, Patrick Williams, Ben Carver

C shift

Back row L to R: Matt Kaldahl, Chad Holbrook, Matt Sheehan, Ben Richter, Lt. Curt Kilgore, Rolf Schumann, Aaron Parker

Front Row L to R: Emily Higgins, Lt. Trevor Bergen, Lt. Rick Martin, BC Justin Fletcher, Zack Dean, Andy Dalrymple

Not Pictured: Resident Gavin Williams

Medical Services Officer (MSO)

MSO Ridgway

 

Fire CARES

FF/PM Jeff Woods is teamed up with Aaron Wasson of Believe in Recovery to form the Fire CARES Team.

Administration

Chief Bret Black

Fire Chief Bret Black and his wife, Nimai moved to the area over Thanksgiving 2020 from the San Francisco Bay Area. Chief Black began his firefighting career with the Nicasio Volunteer and Ross Valley Fire Departments as a volunteer firefighter. While working full time at Fairfax Lumber Company, he put himself through the Santa Rosa Fire Academy and EMT programs. His first full time firefighting opportunity came in 1997 at Lucasfilm’s, Skywalker Ranch Fire Department, a combination organization. After promoting to Captain he was offered a position with the Clovis Fire Department in Central California, where he spent most of his career. Chief Black promoted through the ranks of firefighter, engineer, captain, then battalion chief. Throughout his years he has been involved in numerous special projects including fire apparatus design, HazMat Specialist, Fire Investigation, USAR, CERT and fire service training. Chief Black is also a Strike Team Leader and has been deployed on numerous major wildfires. He attended the National Fire Academy’s Training Program Management in Emmitsburg, MD and ran the Training Division in Clovis for several years. Chief Black was hired as Fire Chief with Piedmont Fire Department in 2018 and helped design their newest fire engine.

Chief Black and his wife have three adult sons who reside in San Francisco, Boston and Budapest. They both enjoy the outdoors, hiking, cooking and travel.

chief@ejfr.org

 

Deputy Chief Pete Brummel

Deputy Chief Brummel began his fire service career in 1990 as a volunteer firefighter with the City of Issaquah Fire Department and eventually was hired full-time in 1996. Originally from Connecticut, Chief Brummel attended Syracuse University where he received a degree in Advertising in 1987, and worked in New York City for several years.

In 1999, the City of Issaquah consolidated with King County Fire District #10 to form Eastside Fire & Rescue, serving the cities of Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend and Fire Districts #10, #38 and #27. He promoted to Lieutenant in 2003, worked at several engine companies in Issaquah, Sammamish and North Bend and promoted to Captain in 2009. From there here served as an Acting Battalion Chief and ladder truck Captain until he transferred into the Training Division in 2017. Chief Brummel’s interest in regional training and operations allowed him to serve on technical rescue teams with a special knowledge of structural collapse rescue. In addition to technical rescue, he served as the regional hazardous materials team coordinator for nine municipal fire agencies in the east King County area. In addition to operations and training, Chief Brummel is a graduate of the Los Angeles Fire Department Leadership Academy in 2017 and has had the unique opportunity to travel with a United States terrorism response task force to Israel in 2014.

Chief Brummel is married to Carolyn, a pediatric RN and they have lived on a small hobby farm in Chimacum since 2008. Their daughter Amelia lives in Tacoma and is pursuing law school and their son Owen attends Pacific Lutheran University. Leo, a one-year old Goldendoodle, is the newest member of the family and has been trained as a certified therapy dog in the “Read-to-Rover” program in the Port Townsend and Chimacum school districts.

pbrummel@ejfr.org

 

Community Risk Manager, Robert Wittenberg

Robert started in the fire service in 2012 as a volunteer FF/EMT with Eastside Fire and Rescue in Issaquah, WA.  Since then, he has gained experience as the PIO for the State Fire Marshal’s Office and a fire code inspector at Renton Regional Fire Authority and Bainbridge Island Fire Department.  He has also been a volunteer with EJFR since 2020, participating in fire extinguisher training, smoke alarm installations, farmer’s market booths, the Fire Rescue Fest, and the County Fair.  He and his wife live in Port Townsend.

rwittenberg@ejfr.org

 

Finance Director, Roy Lirio

Roy has worked over 30 years in various accounting and finance positions in private companies and public entities.  He joined EJFR in July 2024. 

Roy is married to Shannon and has lived in the area since 2021.  Their daughter Natalie lives with them while his three older children, Gabrielle, Nicolas, and Nathanael, live out of state with their families.  In his spare time, Roy enjoys spending time and communicating with family, camping, learning to play the violin, and traveling.

rlirio@ejfr.org

 

District Secretary, Tanya Cray

Tanya was the Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue (PLFR) Administrative Assistant from March 2008-December 2022.  Prior to beginning her employment as the Administrative Assistant, she had extensive experience in business and personnel management with a customer service and public interaction focus. When EJFR and PLFR merged in 2023, Tanya was reclassified as the District Secretary for the whole organization. Tanya obtained her BS in Social Services and Sociology from Central Washington University and has been a life long resident of Jefferson County. 

District Secretary Cray lives in Quilcene with her husband Jared and their dog Ranger. They enjoy visiting their two children, two grandchildren and spending time outdoors.

tcray@ejfr.org

 

Business & Human Resource Manager, Emily Stewart

Emily has been with EJFR since Aug. 2014. She performs a wide variety of duties that support the day-to-day operations of the administrative office as well as the individual stations.

Prior to moving to Port Townsend, Emily was the Communications Coordinator with the Alliance of the American Dental Association in Chicago. In that role, she managed the communications and membership outreach. Emily was the event planner for Climb for a Cause, a program to raise funds for dental clinics around the world. In that capacity, she climbed Wheeler Peak in New Mexico, San Jacinto in California and Zion Narrows. In her spare time, Emily enjoys hiking and photography. Emily lives in Port Townsend with her husband, Matt.

estewart@ejfr.org

 

Administrative & Communication Assistant, Kindra Sanders

Kindra came on board with EJFR in 2010 as a part-time Admin Assistant – she was promoted to full time in April of 2022. She is a seasoned Administrative Assistant with over 20 years in the field, having held positions in supervisions, accounting, banking and dental fields. 

 

Prior to EJFR, Kindra worked as an Accountant Intern for Port Ludlow Associates before attending Western Washington University. Upon her return to Port Townsend she served as the Clubhouse Supervisor and Administrative Assistant for Kala Point Owners Association for five years until she was offered an opportunity with American Marine Bank where she was the Customer Service Representative until 2009. She was then recommended for a position with Dentistry Northwest where she served as a Dental Assistant including administrative assistance until 2013.

 

In her spare time, Kindra enjoys traveling, camping and spending time with friends along with her husband Curtis, daughter Kyla and son Caden.

ksanders@ejfr.org

 

Administrative & Communication Assistant, Erin Murray
Erin started with EJFR in 2022 as the part-time Admin and Communication Assistant she was promoted to full time in 2024. She brought over 20 years of experience in admin and office settings with her. Before coming to EJFR, she enjoyed working on Naval Magazine Indian Island for over 13 years. Most recently, she was the Lead Transportation Officer, in charge of shipping material on and off base.
 
Erin has lived in the area for most of her life and is now raising a son, Devon, with her husband Dean and their two dogs. She spends much of her spare time taking her son to and watching him in various sports. Aside from that, she loves to travel, go to the beach and go camping with her family.
 
emurray@ejfr.org

Volunteers

Ride Along with EJFR Firefighters 

Volunteer-FIT Application

Volunteer Opportunities

EJFR offers multiple avenues for volunteer opportunities, some requiring specialized training, and an ongoing commitment to emergency call response, as well as continuous training. If this sort of volunteerism appeals to you, consider the following options:

Volunteer Roles

Volunteer Firefighter-in-Training (FIT)

Volunteers who are interested in beginning a career in the fire service and are actively seeking a career in the fire service are encouraged to apply for the Volunteer FIT role. These Volunteers serve the community by responding to a wide variety of emergency situations, including fire suppression, emergency medical aid or rescue, hazardous material responses and other potential specialties. Unlike traditional volunteers, the Volunteer FIT is assigned to a specific Shift (A,B, or C Shift). These individuals are ultimately motivated to participate in this program for civic, charitable or humanitarian reasons.

Expectations: Firefighters in Training must complete several initial classes before beginning to respond to emergency calls and performing volunteer assignments. Failure to complete certain classes will be grounds for removal from the program. The FIT will be also be required to become an EMT within the first 12 months subject to course availability. To maintain their membership with the District, each FIT is expected to be consistently present for shift training. Training occurs from Monday through Saturday, with no scheduled training on Sundays. A FIT is eligible for membership with the Volunteer Firefighters’ and Reserve Officers’ pension. 

EJFR maintains a fixed number of FIT slots. The FIT program is a 2 year time commitment for both the member and the Department. Much is expected from the FIT member, and much is given by the Department.  Upon successful completion, the FIT graduate is generally employable at nearly any fire department in the state of Washington. 

 

 

EMS Volunteer

The Volunteer EMT/EMR (Emergency Medical Technician/Emergency Medical Responder) provides emergency medical service delivery and support to our career firefighters. The EMS volunteer can operate in potentially dangerous and hostile environments with the minimum certification of an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR). These volunteer positions are compensated for their expenses via a quarterly point system to assist their community in both emergent and non-emergent times, which include times of natural disaster. Education and training shall be no direct cost to the EMS Volunteer. An EMS volunteer is eligible for membership with Volunteer Firefighters’ and Reserve Officers’ pension. 

Expectations: This volunteer is available at all times (within reason) via radio or cell phone notification to assist the department in the delivery of emergency medical services. This service may include driving and operating ambulances and/or medical support units. Education and training are commensurate to the level of support the volunteer will deliver at a fire or emergency medical scene. The EMS volunteer is required to maintain current training and education status through regularly scheduled trainings and education, with a percentage of emergency call responses, and/or EJFR-supported special events. The expected number of training hours needed to maintain their EMS certification varies by the level of EMS certification. These individuals are motivated to participate in this program for civic, charitable or humanitarian reasons.

 

Support Volunteer

The Support Volunteer, as required by Volunteer firefighter pension and relief supports the duties of the fire department during fire ground operations. Examples of typical duties may be Tender or Air Truck apparatus operator, or crew rehabilitation support. This volunteer is not a firefighter requiring the ongoing certification of respiratory protection and firefighter competency and will remain outside of the “hot zone” of any incident. This volunteer may or may not be a certified EMT or EMR.  However, this volunteer can support emergency medical services through fire-specific education and training. Education and training shall be no direct cost to the Support Volunteer. A support volunteer is eligible for membership with the Volunteer Firefighters’ and Reserve Officers’ pension. 

Expectations: This volunteer is available at all times (within reason) via radio or cell phone notification to assist the fire department in the delivery of fire suppression services. This service may include driving and operating fire tenders, portable air-supply units, support units, and communication units. Education and training are commensurate to the level of support the volunteer shall deliver at a fire or emergency scene. The support volunteer is required to maintain current training and education status through regularly scheduled training and education with a percentage of calls attended or events staffed. These volunteer positions are compensated for their expenses via a quarterly point system to assist their community in both emergent and non-emergent times, which include times of natural disaster. Education and training shall be no direct cost to the EMS Volunteer. These individuals are motivated to participate in this program for civic, charitable or humanitarian reasons.

 

Administrative Volunteer

This volunteer is not eligible for the Volunteer Firefighters’ and Reserve Officers’ pension. Their service to the department is on a voluntary level in which expense compensation through activity points is provided on a quarterly basis. The service provided by the administrative volunteer is designed on a one-on-one basis for best use of skill-sets and talents provided by the volunteer and fitted to the needs of the department. As a volunteer, the time commitment is specific to the time available from the volunteer and specific to the needs of the department. Job functions may include: data entry and statistical management, technical drawing, communication support, public education, and pickup and delivery services. Education and training shall have no direct cost to the Administrative Volunteer. 

Expectations: This volunteer is not expected to directly support the functions of the fire department in the delivery of emergent fire suppression or emergency medical services. Indirect support of the fire department through administrative assignments shall be the primary function of the Administrative Volunteer. Training and education shall be commensurate to the job tasks assigned or requested. These individuals are motivated to participate in this program for civic, charitable or humanitarian reasons.


East Jefferson Fire Rescue is a drug-free workplace. Volunteer candidates must complete a successful physical and background check according to department policies and guidelines. If any of these volunteer opportunities appeal to you as a community member, please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator for more information. Mike Harte – 360.316.1274/mharte@ejfr.org