Bill Walkup on the job in Fire District 8

Bill Walkup got his start in the fire service in 1977, when he signed up to volunteer at the station near his home in the Ponderosa neighborhood.

Last month, Walkup started as chief of Spokane County Fire District 8, after a decade spent as an assistant fire chief in Western Washington. He bought a house in his old neighborhood and will move his family back to the area. Walkup, 45, has two 17-year-old daughters who still live at home, as well as a 22-year-old daughter. His wife, Kay, is a native of Spokane Valley.

“This was just extremely attractive, to lead an agency where you started,” Walkup said in a recent interview.

Walkup’s first day of work was Oct. 18. As fire chief, he’ll make $72,500 a year, according to a press release from Fire District 8. Walkup was assistant chief at Fire District 8 before leaving for Lacey, Wash., in 1994.

Fire District 8 serves a large area that includes the suburban Moran Prairie, neighborhoods on the south fringe of Spokane Valley as well as rural areas like Valleyford and Mica. The district has a budget of $2.17 million and 13 full-time firefighters.

The biggest issue facing the fire district will be Spokane’s push to annex chunks of the Moran Prairie. The city of Spokane wants to add land to its south. The area is currently served by Fire District 8. As different neighborhoods are annexed, the district will lose that tax revenue.

A week after being hired, Walkup was at the Boundary Review Board meeting in which a 200-acre annexation was approved. The ShopKo annexation, as it’s called because it includes the large retail store, will mean a loss of $98,000 to Fire District 8, Walkup said. He will now negotiate with Spokane to determine how the city will mitigate the loss to Fire District 8.

Walkup said he is committed to getting an agreement that is fair to both sides and that will “secure the fiscal stability of the district in the long term.”

The day after the Boundary Review Board hearing, Walkup briefed the three-member board of fire commissioners on what had happened at the Boundary Review Board hearing.

“He was so well prepared for Tuesday night’s meeting, it blew our socks off,” Fire Commissioner Greg Hesse said. “He just brings in an unbelievable amount of experience. It’s really going to help the fire district.”

Fire District 8 had its share of financial woes. Voters shot down several recent attempts to pass special levies. While finances remain tight, Walkup said he doesn’t expect cuts or layoffs during the next year. Yet there’s no extra money, and people should realize that 2005 won’t bring “enhanced services,” Walkup said.

Beyond annexation and budget decisions, Walkup said he’ll take some time before deciding whether any major changes – such as an internal reorganization – need to happen. Walkup said he hadn’t made any decisions about whether to recommend trying for another levy.

Walkup wants to get more volunteers in the organization. Fire District 8 is a combined department that has both paid firefighters and volunteers. At Lacey Fire District 3 near Olympia, where Walkup was assistant chief, volunteers were used in all areas of the organization. Walkup said he wants to do the same at Fire District 8.

“I don’t think the era of volunteers is over. I think the organization needs to become more creative in how to use volunteers,” Walkup said.

Fire District 8 commissioner Lee Boling said Walkup’s commitment to volunteers impressed him. Boling had been a commissioner when Walkup was an assistant chief at District 8. Boling said he thinks Walkup has matured and picked up new skills in his decade spent in Western Washington. Walkup used the proximity to Olympia to volunteer on state boards that dealt with fire service issues and has extensive training, something Boling sees as a bonus.

“Everybody in the fire district is excited for this change,” Boling said.

Walkup replaces Dan Stout, who left to take another job.

Doug Goldsmith felt it was a mistake for the district to pass over Walkup in 1994 and promote Stout to chief. Goldsmith was a volunteer officer at the Ponderosa station when Walkup first started as a firefighter there. Goldsmith remembers him as a good firefighter who never minded doing the hard, dirty work involved.

Goldsmith quit as a volunteer during Stout’s tenure because he felt the district treated its volunteers badly.

“Hopefully, he can get (Fire District 8) back on the right road and make some changes and turn this district around and get some respect back,” Goldsmith said.

During an interview last week, Walkup said he feels both volunteer and full-time firefighters are important in the future of the district.

Jeffrey Wainwright, president of the local firefighters union, said he talked to firefighters in Lacey. They said good things about Walkup. Wainwright said he thinks Walkup will be open with employees and will keep them informed about issues like annexation.

“I feel good about the decision. He just comes across as extremely professional,” Wainwright said of Walkup.