Updated
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The city of Chehalis enthusiastically announced the hiring of a fire chief, a man the city manager says brings a wealth of experience and will provide the needed leadership to help chart the course of the department over the next five to 10 years.
[1]Ken Cardinale
Ken Cardinale starts work on May 18, according to City Manager Merlin MacReynold.
“He is the right fit for our fire department, the city administration and our community and we are looking forward to him starting,” MacReynold stated in a news release this morning.
Cardinale has over 32 years of service as a fire professional with 29 years with the Palo Alto (California) Fire Department. He and his wife Beth moved to Kelso to be closer to family and will soon relocate to the Chehalis area, according to MacReynold.
The Chehalis Fire Department last had a full time chief in April of 2013, when Chief Kelvin Johnson retired.
Cardinale, 58, has served in numerous positions including battalion chief, acting EMS chief and acting deputy chief. Among his assignments was chief of the Stanford Linear Accelerator, a mostly underground complex at the university where experiments were conducted splitting atoms.
“I am honored and humbled to have this opportunity to help move the Chehalis Fire Department in a positive direction into the future and I look forward to serving the citizens of Chehalis and the community,” Cardinale stated in the news release.
His annual salary will be $87,192. MacReynold said it’s toward the top of the range they planned for, based on the amount of experience he will bring to the job. The Chehalis Fire Department has 14 employees.
Cardinale said he’s very excited and even a bit surprised to have been chosen, given that he’s an outsider from another state.
Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Casey Beck, who is president of the IAFF Local 2510 representing his department’s union members, indicated this morning he’s pleased with the choice.
“He’s a great guy, highly qualified,” Beck said. “He’s somebody we can really work with.”
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For background, read : “Chehalis fire chief search winding down” from Monday April 6, 2015, here [2]