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 City of Chehalis selected Ted Hendershot, former assistant fire chief with McLane/Black Lake Fire Department in Thurston County, to serve as the interim fire chief of the Chehalis Fire Department.
The city is searching for a permanent replacement after the departure of Fire Chief Ken Cardinale.
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.
Hendershot has 42 years of experience in the fire service — 18 of those as a volunteer, 5 with the Littlerock Fire Department, and 22 years with McLane/Black Lake Fire Department in Thurston County.
“I was also the program director for the fire and emergency services technology program at South Puget Sound Community College since about 1999 and I served on the state fire defense committee and was also the fire defense regional manager for Thurston, Lewis and Pacific County for state mobilization,” said Hendershot.
He said he is excited to bring his experience and knowledge in fire service and incident management to the Chehalis Fire Department.
“(Hendershot) has had an opportunity to work with (Cardinale) over the last several days and of course, will continue to work with Chief Cardinale in his new capacity as the Chief of the Lewis County Fire District 6,” said Chehalis City Manager Jill Anderson.
Anderson said that the city is continuing with the search of a permanent fire chief but the process has been slowed by the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I was kind of eager to get back in because I hear sirens around my house a lot and I’m always looking at my pagers... I’ve missed the fire service. It’s a need for me to serve the public and the city,” said Hendershot.
