Spokane’s next fire chief is running to be a rural fire commissioner, but with new job, he’ll step aside

Two commissioner candidates will be on the Nov. 4 ballot for Spokane County Fire District 5 on the north plains, but only one has plans to accept the position if elected.

Tom Williams was named the next fire chief for the city of Spokane on August 25. He said that he is dropping out of the commissioner race because he “won’t be able to commit the time that he thought” due to personal circumstances.

The other would-be commissioner, Brian Scott, remains in the game.

“I welcome the competition. It’s always good when the voters get a choice,” Scott said. “My understanding was he was a long-term firefighter, so I’m sure he was qualified for the role, and it’s unfortunate that he has to withdraw. But if that is the case – that he’s moving on to a bigger and better job – I certainly understand his reasons.”

The district covers around 90 square miles, and around 2,000 people live within its boundaries, according to the District 5 website. The force consists of three commissioners, a paid administrator and about 25 volunteer firefighters.

Scott has lived in the area for around 13 years, and his parents have been on the prairie for 50. When visiting from his hometown of Salem, Oregon, as a child, he said that the region “always felt like home.”

When his uncle, a retired fire chief in the district, told him there was a commissioner position up for grabs, Scott thought he might be able to help out.

“I’m not looking to use it as a stepping stone for anything further,” he said. “I just wanted to see somebody who would be a good steward of the taxpayers’ dollars in that role, and I think I could be a help there.”

While he believes that the fire district does a “very good job with their core functions,” Scott said if elected he would focus on an effective use of tax dollars and preventing fires by clearing brush.

“From what I’ve seen, the fire district does a very good job with their core functions. They respond well to calls, they do what they’re supposed to do,” he said. “I’d like to see a little more emphasis on fire prevention. Getting rid of fuels in, you know, it’s an almost entirely rural district. There’s lots of property that’s either used for farming or it’s not used for anything in particular; it’s semi-forested.”

The election will be on Nov. 4, and despite Williams being listed on the ballot, Scott is the only one of the two who would accept the position if elected.

“If I’m going to put it very briefly, I’m just going to say I’ll be a good steward of their tax dollars,” Scott said. “I’ll make sure that their money is spent effectively on the best little firefighting – volunteer firefighting service – that we can have on this prairie.”