A finalist has emerged from the pack of three candidates to take over as the next fire chief for Kittitas Valley Fire & Rescue.
At the close of a special meeting Tuesday, the board of fire commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with negotiating a job offer with the top choice.
Fire Commissioner Jerry Pettit said the board will announce the finalist on July 21.
“Hopefully as things move forward with background checks, and all the other things that go with that,” Pettit said.
This week’s announcement was the next step in a selection process that saw four applicants for the job interviewed by fire commissioners on July 1 at Ellensburg City Hall.
Three finalists were chosen from the field of four: Greg Rightmier, Patrick Reid and Ken Anderson.
Rightmier is the fire chief for the Lewiston Fire Department in Idaho and has more than 40 years of experience in the field of fire and emergency services. Reid retired as a deputy fire chief from the Pasco Fire Department in 2024 and now works at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. Anderson is a former Kittitas County resident and currently works as a paramedic and registered nurse who transports critical care patients.
At this week’s meeting, Pettit thanked those from outside the fire department who helped review the finalists.
Fire commissioners said earlier a review panel would be formed to include a union member and a representative from the volunteers, plus representatives from the city of Ellensburg, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office and Kittitas Valley Healthcare.
“It’s been an amazing process. I want to thank everyone who’s been involved,” Pettit said.
Before the announcement of a finalist, fire commissioners met in a closed-door session for an hour to discuss the qualifications of the candidates. Local officials who had participated in vetting the candidates were seen leaving the private session 30 minutes after it started.
Pettit also thanked the department’s partnership agencies that assisted with candidate interviews.
“They did a great job; appreciate all the work that they did to help us through this process,” he said.
Kittitas Valley Fire & Rescue has been searching for a new chief since Interim Chief Roy Palmer resigned in April.
Palmer was hired in January, but became the second chief to leave Kittitas Valley Fire & Rescue since the retirement of longtime chief John Sinclair in December 2024.
DJ Goldsmith, who became chief after Sinclair’s departure, was fired by the board of commissioners in late December.