Bellingham Fire Department chief planning to retire in March
JAN. 24, 2018, UPDATE: Information from the City of Bellingham’s Jan. 24 press release was added to this story.
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Bellingham Fire Department Chief Bill Newbold, who has held the position for five years and worked for the department since 2013, is planning to retire in March.
“It is with excitement and sadness that I am leaving the City and the great people I’ve worked with for the past several years,” Chief Newbold said in a City of Bellingham press release Thursday. “I’m excited because this decision begins my retirement years with my family. It’s also sad because this ends a great relationship in working with the mayor, city council, my staff and my colleagues. I will miss serving this great community.”
Mayor Kelli Linville said in the release that an interim fire chief will be appointed in March while the city conducts a search for a permanent chief.
“Bill has led his department through many challenges and successes, and he has always been professional throughout his time working with me and with the city,” Mayor Linville said in the release. “He cares deeply about his department and their mission to help people every day, and he will be missed. While I’m disappointed he’s leaving and his shoes will be difficult to fill, I know he’s been planning this for almost a year and I wish him the best in his retirement.”
Newbold was appointed interim fire chief by Linville after Roger Christensen retired as chief on Jan. 15, 2014. Newbold came to Bellingham a year earlier as an assistant chief after working for the Redmond Fire Department and serving in a number of roles, including deputy chief of emergency medical services.
In March of 2014, the city removed “interim” from Newbold’s title. The 2017-18 city budget listed the chief’s salary as $140,916 annually.
According to the release, Newbold began his career as a volunteer firefighter with King County Fire District 44 in 1991 while also working as an aerospace engineer at Boeing.
“Chief Newbold has a diverse work history in the fire service, which I have seen reflected in significant perspective when dealing with complex issues,” Assistant Chief Jay Comfort told The Bellingham Herald in the email Tuesday. “I’ve found the Chief to be quick in thought but not overly quick to react unless need be. I’ve very much appreciated his insight and attention to detail.”
Among the Bellingham Fire Department’s accomplishments under Newbold’s watch were the addition of the $1 million fireboat Salish Star in 2015 and successfully getting voters to pass an EMS levy to expand Advanced Life Support ambulance service to the county in 2016.
“I’m excited for Chief Newbold to retire at a young age and wish him a long, healthy and happy retirement,” Comfort told The Herald. “I will miss his professionalism and thoughtful consideration to make this organization better.”
Last year, Chief Newbold had to help the department navigate an incident in late July that saw 11 fire department employees intubate the body of a man who had died on the floor on the apparatus bay floor of Station 1. In early October, Chief Newbold said the practice of tube checking, or removing an intubation tube from a deceased patient and reinserting it to help paramedics meet certification requirements, was no longer allowed by the Bellingham Fire Department.
The city facing three separate claims for damages seeking more than $15.5 million from the family of the man, and the city council at its Jan. 7 meeting took no actions on the potential litigation.
This story was originally published January 23, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
