Feb. 26--YAKIMA, WA-- At 27 years old, Bob Stewart and two friends made a road trip that would change his life.
On a whim, the three drove from Salem, Ore., to Yakima -- a town Stewart says at the time he couldn't have pointed to on a map -- to take a test to become firefighters.
Some 30 years after that road trip, Stewart will retire -- on Wednesday -- from his post as chief of the Yakima Fire Department.
"I remember when I had been on the job for six or eight weeks and there was a fire captain who had 20 or 25 years on the job and he believed in hiring local people," Stewart recalled. "He said, 'I don't know why we're hiring a guy from Oregon. He doesn't have any roots here.' I'm so glad I proved him wrong."
Stewart was hired in 1988 and subsequently promoted to lieutenant, shift captain, training captain and deputy chief before becoming chief in June 2014.
The first attribute most people notice about the 57-year-old is his height -- 6-feet 7-inches to be exact.
"I was always amused when he came up in front of the (Yakima City Council) and he would be speaking and his head would just about be hitting the television monitor," said Mayor Kathy Coffey. "We would all just hold our breath hoping he didn't hit his head."
But it doesn't take long to see what makes Stewart memorable -- he thrives off energy from interacting with and helping others, said Yakima Fire Department office assistant Susie Madrigal, who's known the chief for just under three years.
"While being a chief comes with a lot of responsibilities, he has always been lighthearted, easygoing, thoughtful and an overall good people person," she said. "He rarely shows the burden that sits on his shoulders."
With nearly three decades in the department, Stewart knows it better than most, calling the firefighters and other staff his "family" and crediting them with helping him handle particularly challenging situations.
Stewart recently sat down to talk about his years as a firefighter and as chief and his thoughts for the department as it moves forward after his departure.
Did you always want to be a firefighter?
Not really. But when I was in the Navy I became intrigued by them, so that's what I did on a helicopter carrier. Then when I got out of the Navy, one of my wife's and my friends was a captain for the Salem Fire Department and he asked if I had thought about a career in the fire service. I went to college and then tested to work for the Yakima Fire Department. He really gave me the push I needed.
What memories stick out to you when thinking back over your career?
There's nothing quite like the sound of a mother's gut-wrenching scream having lost an infant to SIDS. That's something I will always remember -- that scream. I also think back to one summer afternoon where we received a call for a child with her hand caught. She was playing in the back of her father's pickup truck and got her hand -- all the way up to her wrist -- stuck in one of the stake pockets on the side. We ended up having to cut away part of the fender to free her hand. While we were working, maybe 75 neighbors gathered and when the child stood up and saw everything was OK, everyone erupted in applause. That made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because people had trusted us with their child and to take power equipment and tear up the truck. But the neighborhood was just so grateful and gracious.
How has the industry changed since you started?
There were times when the older firefighters would go into fires without respiratory protection. So, in that day and age it was almost an optional thing. But today, you don't go anywhere near those products of combustion without an air pack -- safety has improved. There's also a host of mandated classes that we have to take. And there's been improvements in technology. For example, we have thermal imaging so we don't have to cut down a whole wall. We can pinpoint where the fire is and just cut through the wall in one place, which decreases the time that we have to fight the fire and decreases the damage.
What's has been your favorite part of your job?
I love interacting with people. Even if we don't save a life or property, oftentimes if you just treat people with respect and compassion, that makes a significant difference to them.
What part of your job do you dislike?
If I had to name one thing, it would have to do with budget. Compared to other departments, we are lean budget-wise, personnel-wise and administrative support-wise. So one of my biggest challenges is having to spend our limited dollars the right way. Because of that I've had to implement what's called a brownout, where not all the fire apparatuses can go out because there aren't enough firefighters for them, which decreases my overtime costs.
It's difficult for me to do that, and it's difficult for some of the firefighters to see that. I try to educate that it's not my rule, it's from the city, but I'm the guy in the corner office and I have to carry it out.
With that said, if you could, what budget changes would you make for the next chief?
I would look at patterns so we can predict how many staff members we'll need at what time, such as in July when we know we'll have inclement weather, higher call volume and firefighters out there in hot equipment and they get worn out. So we need that secondary fire force to relieve them and rehab them.
But I'm also not going to tell you we need 10 fully staffed fire engines 24/7 because that's overkill and I think anyone telling you the truth would say that's overkill.
What career moments are you proud of?
The improvement of our fire protection class rating in late 2017. The ratings are set based on operations, water system capabilities, communications technology and fire safety. They are used by many insurance underwriters to determine the cost of premiums. I remember in 2012 when we set that goal and at that time it was lofty. But through teamwork, we reached it. I would also say serving the city of Union Gap has been huge as well. They took a chance on us to provide service to their city, and it's been a phenomenal success and a lot of people are looking at it as a model.
How did you make the decision to retire?
I've wondered for 10 years how I'd know when it was time to leave. I've always admired sports figures who have done a solid job and they have stepped away from that sport before they started to lose their edge. One day in early January I was working on a couple projects and I just thought, "It's time."
I typed a short but concise resignation letter and took it over to the city manager who came unglued, probably because we hadn't talked about it before.
Then that night I was telling my wife about my day and I said, "Well, I did this and I had a couple of personnel evaluations to do and then I had this meeting and then I quit my job and then I did this." She and I had preliminarily talked about the potential might be coming up, but she looked at me and said, "You did what?" It was hilarious. You can't make this stuff up.
What's next for you?
I'm not a young boy anymore. But there's still a young boy in this aging body. I want another challenge and I will work, but I'm not sure what I will do.
For the here and now, there have been some projects that have been on hold at our home and I have some hobbies -- mountain and road biking, riding motorcycles, kayaking, woodworking and others -- that have been collecting dust and just beg me to pay attention to them.
What characteristics does the next chief need to have?
They need to be able to communicate and listen, to be a people person and not be a dictator. You can have all the knowledge, skills and ability in the world, but if you can't relate to people, then you're not going to be successful.
City hiring plans
The city announced the open chief position about a week ago, said City Manager Cliff Moore, and applications are due in about five weeks. A plan on how to pick the next chief has not yet been finalized, but Moore anticipates three committees will work together to make the determination. The committees comprise: a professional group with representatives from other emergency service providers; an internal committee made up of city staff; and a community group of local business owners and other residents.
CELEBRATION: The Yakima Fire Department will host a retirement gathering for Stewart from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the department's training center at 807 E. Nob Hill Blvd.
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