Eastsound, WA – Holly vanSchaick is the new fire chief for Orcas Island Fire & Rescue.
The Board of Fire Commissioners appointed vanSchaick at the Regular Meeting on August 21, 2023.
Chief vanSchaick joined Orcas Island Fire & Rescue in December of 2021 as the assistant chief and as a responding Fire/Medic.
She started her career as a volunteer firefighter/EMT with Bainbridge Island Fire Department in 2007, graduated from Fire Academy in 2009, and from paramedic school at Tacoma Community College in 2010, where she finished at the top of her class.
vanSchaick went on in 2010 to become the first female firefighter paramedic for the City of Sunnyside in Yakima County while continuing to volunteer in her home community, eventually becoming the MSO and second in command of the Bainbridge Island Ambulance Association.
Most recently, she completed a bachelor of science degree in fire service administration, graduating with a 4.0 in her field of study and Magna Cum Laude overall.
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