Chief Ken Cardinale smiles while supervising training exercises at Stan Hedwall Park in Chehalis.
Ken Cardinale, who has been serving as both the Chehalis Fire Department Fire Chief and Lewis County Fire District 6 Interim Chief, has accepted a full-time fire chief position with LCFD6 and will be leaving the Chehalis Fire Department.
Cardinale’s transition from LCFD6 Interim Chief to full-time fire chief will go into effect on Sept. 1, 2020, however, he may be able to assume that role sooner as Chehalis explores the option of bringing in an interim chief after the fire chief sharing agreement between Chehalis Fire Department and LCFD6 ends on July 1.
“We were assuming that district 6 would want to extend that agreement out until September. At this point though, since district 6 has asked us to vacate the station we are looking at the possibility of bringing in an interim chief for the City of Chehalis which would allow Cardinale to assume his new role sooner,” said Chehalis City Manager Jill Anderson.
In late April, Lewis County Fire District 6 Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the interlocal fire station sharing agreement with the Chehalis Fire Department giving the City of Chehalis until July 5 to find an emergency fire station location. The ending of this agreement has prompted the city to attempt to find an interim fire chief sooner than initially anticipated.
Cardinale has been with the Chehalis Fire Department since May of 2015, Anderson said.
“I gave notice back on March 1 of my departure. I provided the city manager with a six-month notice so they would have ample time to find a replacement. I do not know what the status of that is,” said Cardinale.
Anderson said that the city is in the process of finding an interim fire chief that will fill the role until the city is able to find a permanent chief.
“We’re very sorry to see (Cardinale) go. He’s been a great chief and he’s made significant advancements in the safety of the City of Chehalis and for our firefighters. He’s been an advocate for cooperative partnerships with other agencies in the county and has brought tireless energy to improving fire response,” said Anderson.
