Sandpoint’S Fire Chief Turns In His Resignation

After only 10 months on the job, Sandpoint Fire Chief Robert Wright has quit.

Wright, who was hired by a reluctant administration, found the job was more than he had bargained for, according to Mayor Paul Graves.

“I can’t get into specifics,” Graves said Tuesday. “I can say that sometimes people get into a situation and realize that the job is more complicated than they anticipate.”

Wright resigned Friday, and Police Chief Bill Kice is filling in for him. Wright was not available for comment Tuesday.

Wright was hired last spring to lead a professional firefighting department that had been without a fire chief since 1997. When the last chief retired, the city decided to save money by putting Kice in charge of both departments.

Firefighters were unhappy with that arrangement, and in January 1999, the entire volunteer firefighting force turned in its gear in protest.

At first, city leaders appeared reluctant to meet the firefighters’ demands, but after a popular local musician’s house burned down, the City Council agreed to hire a fire chief.

Graves acknowledged that Wright had stepped into a difficult position - between a city administration and a firefighting staff that have had their differences.

Union members work under a collective bargaining agreement. From time to time, Graves said, the city administration and firefighters have had different interpretations of the provisions in that agreement.

Wright came to Sandpoint from Ogden, Utah, where he had been a fire marshal for 12 years.

Now Sandpoint is faced with hiring a fire chief in addition to finding a police chief to replace Kice, who is retiring.

The City Council will meet today in executive session to discuss the fire chief situation.