William Walkup named chief of Fire District 8

A former assistant fire chief will return to run Fire District 8.

William Walkup will begin his new position as chief for Fire District 8 in mid-October.

According to an announcement the fire district made this week, Walkup will have a five-year contract and a starting salary of $72,500.

Walkup is currently the assistant chief of Lacey Fire District 3 near Olympia, according to a Fire District 8 press release.

Walkup started as a volunteer firefighter with Fire District 8 in 1977. He then became a career firefighter in 1985.

He left Fire District 8 in 1994 as an assistant chief.

Fire District 8 had been searching for a chief since January, when Daniel L. Stout left to take a position with another department. Stout had been chief since 1994.

Since his departure, Dan Blystone, deputy chief for the district, has been acting as interim chief.

Fire District 8 serves a 110-square-mile area that includes much of Moran Prairie, Valleyford and neighborhoods on the southern edge of Spokane Valley, including Ponderosa, Painted Hills, Bella Vista and Saltese.

The district has an operating budget of $2.1 million. It has 13 full-time firefighters and approximately 50 volunteer firefighters.