Goal is to be the best

Fire chief Mike Thompson has a vision for the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

The department will become the premier fire department in the state of Washington. “We’ll set the standard for best management practices, a department that everybody looks to for solutions to some of their issues,” Thompson said.

“I think if anybody can get us there, he can,” said Joe Dawson, chairman of the Spokane Valley board of fire commissioners.

A lot has happened during Thompson’s first 18 months as fire chief.

Since he assumed the leadership role in March 2005, among other things, the town of Millwood annexed into SVFD; voters passed a three-year fire levy; a successful contract was negotiated with Firefighters’ Local 876; an extensive internal self-assessment began; and the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau reclassified the department from a class 4 to an improved class 3 rating.

There had to be a quick learning curve with all this happening in the department, but Thompson’s 30-plus years of firefighting made him a quick study.

The 58-year old Thompson served as fire chief in Grand Junction, Colo., and Culver City, Calif., where he later became the chief administrative officer, overseeing 11 departments.

Thompson says the “people in the department are the organization’s greatest asset” and because of them there have been positive things going on in the department. “I knew they were good, but I had no idea they were as good as they are,” said Thompson.

The feeling appears to be mutual. Fire commissioner Dawson said Thompson has done a great job.

“He’s foresighted. He praises people when they need praise, but he also holds them accountable,” Dawson said. “He’s extremely adept with the budget and at suggesting things to the board that are in the best financial interest of the patrons of the district.”

Thompson has a master’s degree in business, and being a fire chief is like being a CEO of a large company.

In the other cities where he was fire chief, the city’s departments took care of things like hiring, personnel matters and insurance. “In this district we do all that ourselves,” said Thompson.

Another difference is that the Spokane Valley Fire Department serves three different cities – Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and Millwood, as well as some unincorporated areas of Spokane County. This means working with four government entities all with their own needs.

Thompson or his assistant chiefs regularly attend these cities’ council meetings. “We’re their fire department. If we aren’t there we might miss something or some issue that may pertain to us,” said Thompson.

Since Spokane Valley Fire took over service for the town of Millwood, response times have gone down there.

In January, Millwood Mayor Dan Mork, sent out a survey to residents asking for feedback on services they receive.

“The highest rated public service group was the Valley Fire District. They got very favorable ratings. Chief Thompson does a great job. He gives us quarterly reports that are full of information about where the fires have been, what they’ve responded to. His assistant chief Larry Rider also does a great job,” said Mork.

Last September, the Spokane Valley fire commissioners gave Thompson an excellent job evaluation and offered him a $10,000 raise that would have bumped his salary up to $130,000. He respectfully declined “for the good of the department.”

“The district has been very fair. I didn’t feel I had done enough at the time and it wouldn’t be fair during contract negotiations,” said Thompson.

Culver City’s current fire chief Jeff Eastman described Thompson as “orderly, very formal and businesslike.”

Thompson has retained some of his military training as a Marine. His crisp white shirts are neatly pressed, his shoes polished and maps of the fire district lie on tables in his office. But this doesn’t make him aloof or unapproachable.

“He’s brought a lot of camaraderie to the department in terms of the relationship between the rank and file and the administration,” Dawson said.

Thompson said he goes out on calls just to be out there, to better understand how operations work and “to be there to give them an attaboy.”

Thompson has lunch with the firefighters at the stations about 75 percent of the time. This is a way for them to get to know one another and it improves communication, which can be difficult at times with three shifts at 10 different stations.

“I like getting out and having a good laugh,” said Thompson. Some of the material for the laughs comes from some of the more peculiar calls they get.

He’s proud of the high quality customer service the department provides and the extra things they do, like helping with a flat tire, giving cab fare assistance when needed and telephoning people after a call to make sure that everything’s all right.