A Chehalis Fire Department truck is parked outside, while a Lewis County Fire District 6 truck is parked inside the Fire District 6 station on Jackson Highway in May.
The Chehalis City Council approved the addition of a code inspector/fire marshal position to be added to the 2020 salary budget during the Tuesday afternoon council meeting. The city is required to provide fire marshal services to Chehalis citizens, said the City of Chehalis’ Human Resources Manager Judy Schave.
In 2012 the city entered into an interlocal agreement with Riverside Fire Authority (RFA) to provide fire marshal services to the citizens of Chehalis. Former RFA Assistant Chief Richard Mack, who was providing the fire marshal services to Chehalis, retired this year.
“In this case, the interlocal agreement did expire on December 31, 2019, and since that time the city has been available to provide some of these services but not all of them. There are certain credentials and certain knowledge required to do this kind of work,” said Schave.
The position that was approved by the council and added to the 2020 salary schedule was a part-time code enforcement/ fire marshal position with a flat rate of $46.50 per hour. The position is ineligible for retirement benefits and health benefits are limited, Schave said.
The annual financial impact of the position, working about 78 hours a month, is about $46,000. Schave said that the city does have someone in mind to fill the code inspector/ fire marshal position.
