Hired from Westport with 15-years experience with various fire departments, Chief Janke established regular drills and outfitted firefighters with a complete set of turn-outs. He installed the first radio communications and greatly improved emergency response times.
GORDON FOX 1975 - 1984
Hired from within the Orcas Fire Department, he had 7-years experience serving as a firefighter, district mechanic and Assistant Chief before accepting the position. He is credited with bringing Emergency Medical Services to the department.
RON JUDSON 1984 - 1989
Chief Judson moved from the San Francisco area where he had retired as a Battalion Chief. He is responsible for lowering the Home Insurance Fire costs by improving training and the district’s ability to provide water on fire scenes.
RICHARD SWARTOUT 1989 - 1992
Chief Swartout served for 25 years with the Seattle Fire Department before becoming hired on with Orcas. He was tasked with bringing the 911 system to the island. He also brought improvement throughout the department with better safety standards and station upgrades.
DON JENSEN 1992 - 1995
Chief Jensen was hired from Colinga, California where he was a Captain within a paid department. He is responsible for moving on-island emergency dispatching to the current all-county dispatch system based in Friday Harbor.
GARY BENNETT 1995 - 2004
Chief Bennett joined the department as a volunteer in 1977 and worked through the ranks as Captain, Battalion Chief, Training Officer and then as the longest running Chief. He moved the growing department forward by updating the data systems with computers, purchased both the current Ambulances and replaced 4 fire engines to meet the growing response needs.
MIKE HARRIS 2004 – present
Chief Harris was hired for his extensive career in the fire service. His background includes Fire Chief of both paid and volunteer departments, Paramedic, Fire Marshal and military service. He has worked closely with the Strategic plan to hire fire-paramedics, double the amount of water brought to a fire scene and purchase smaller, more nimble fast attack engines.