Woodinville Deputy Fire Chief Appointed to Chief for King County District 20

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King County Fire District 20 Fire Commissioners said Friday they have appointed Woodinville Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Mark Chubb to be their fire district’s next fire chief.

Chubb, who was chosen as interim fire chief of Woodinville Fire and Rescue in August 2011, told the board of commissioners in February 2012 that he did not want the job permanently. He said at the time that it became clear as interim chief that the District’s fire commissioners and employees faced some very difficult decisions and that he had not succeeded in bringing these issues into sharp focus or bringing everyone together to address them constructively.

In December, Woodinville Fire and Rescue Board of Fire Commissioners selected Mark Risen as the interim chief at a special meeting Dec. 5, and Chubb went back to solely his duties as deputy chief.

On Friday afternoon Risen had this to say about Chubb's new endeavor:

On behalf of Woodinville Fire Rescue, I wish Chief Chubb the very best in his new position and thank him for his service with our organization. Chief Chubb is committed to working with Woodinville Fire to ensure a smooth transition. This is a great opportunity for Chief Chubb as he continues his fire service career.  -- Mark Risen, Fire Chief, Woodinville Fire and Rescue

Chubb’s experience includes emergency management, public safety research and consulting, and graduate education.

His fire service career started in 1981 in Ohio and has taken him all over the United States and as far away as New Zealand, where he served as one of 16 assistant fire region commanders for the New Zealand Fire Service from 2001 to 2007. In his last assignment with the New Zealand Fire Service, he served as the chief fire officer in Christchurch from 2005 to 2007.

Chubb holds a graduate degree in public policy, a graduate certificate in applied management and an undergraduate degree in fire science and urban studies. He has achieved designation as a chief fire officer from the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

He has held leadership positions in national fire service organizations and is an active member of several professional societies, including the Institution of Fire Engineers, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Emergency Management Association, and the American Society of Public Administration.

Outside work, he is actively involved in community service through Rotary and United Way. He and his wife Alice Ann have two teenage daughters.

King County Fire District 20 is a combination district (volunteer and career) serving the residents of West Hill (Skyway, Lakeridge, Bryn Mawr, and Campbell Hill) just outside of Seattle and responds to more than 2,000 calls each year.