Administration & Personnel

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 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

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.

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

Tanya has been the Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue (PLFR) Administrative Assistant since March of 2008.  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 gardening, hunting, fishing and taking care of their animals.

tcray@ejfr.org

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

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