Vancouver Fire Official Expresses Interest

The executive deputy chief of the Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department plans to apply for the position of chief at Valley Fire District.

Pat Humphries, 48, said in a phone interview Thursday that he would be candidate.

“I just got my resume done up,” he said. “I should get it off here shortly.”

Humphries, whose wife, Rebecca Charlton Humphries, is from Spokane, said he’s always been interested in moving to the area. He and his wife recently purchased 40 acres at Lake Roosevelt.

Humphries’ wife’s family has lived in the Spokane area for at least 40 years, he said. His mother-in-law just moved from the city to the Valley.

Humphries was chief of Clark County Fire District 5 for 13 years. When Vancouver’s city and county forces consolidated in April of 1994, he became executive deputy chief of the new organization.

Humphries joined District 5 as fire marshal in 1977. He became deputy chief in 1979, and chief in 1981.

Originally from Wenatchee, Humphries joined the Air Force and served in Vietnam as a firefighter on a crash and rescue team. He also served at Fairchild Air Force Base in the early ‘70s.

After that, Humphries served at fire districts in Wenatchee and Beaverton, Ore.

He is president of the Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs.

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