Selkirk Fire announces new fire chief

SANDPOINT — New fire chief Gavin Gilcrease for Sandpoint, Westside and Sagle fire districts was sworn in Monday.

Gilcrease started fighting fires during the first Gulf War when he was in the Navy. He transitioned to a volunteer firefighter before starting his career in fire services. Gilcrease comes to the city from St. Johns, South Carolina, where he started in 1997 as a firefighter and worked his way up to assistant chief.

The Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS position garnered over 20 qualified candidates, Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said. Gilcrease was one of four finalists who met or exceeded preferred qualifications.

City officials unanimously recommended Gilcrease for the position at a July City Council meeting. The council unanimously approved Gilcrease for the position.

Gilcrease is just getting brought up to speed, the transition has been tricky from South Carolina to Idaho and learning the role when out of state. Right now Hopkins and Gilcrease are pinning down projects that need to be done and recognizing that some systems are different, Gilcrease said.

“In the end, we still want to get the trucks out the door to mitigate the incident. That's our job. That's what we're here for. Making sure that everybody's taking care of safety and crews and getting everybody back home and everybody goes home safe,” Gilcrease said.

It is different coming to an organization like the one that covers the Sandpoint, Westside and Sagle fire districts because coming from a fire department and not a district, everything from payroll to HR was internal. Hopkins and Gilcrease said Selkirk is a unique situation because it covers a city department and two fire districts. In essence, they said Selkirk covers three separate entities working together as one under the joint powers agreement.

Gilcrease said having three departments under the same umbrella is more than helpful. In addition to keeping everyone on the same page, he said it ensures employees receive the same benefits. Centralization of the three fire departments also ensures better accountability and stewardship of taxpayer dollars, he said

“I think we [the departments] are positioned well to move forward,” Gilcrease added. “The crews are ready, the agencies and the city are ready as well.”

Gilcrease is hopeful that the community is ready to move forward as well and plans to bring back Fire Prevention week in October.

“We want to follow CDC guidelines, but if it's something that we think we can pull off then we will,” Gilcrease said.

Fire departments and stations are located in the communities because they're a part of that community, and they want local residents to come in and say “hi.” The departments want to show taxpayers where their money is going, the different fire service vehicles and personnel, Gilcrease said.

“That’s how firefighters engage the community and encourage community involvement,” Gilcrease said.

Gilcrease and his wife found Sandpoint by accident. They had planned to move to Montana, either to Missoula or Kalispell, where they have friends. It wasn't until he saw pictures of Lake Pend Oreille that Gilcrease turned his eyes toward Sandpoint.

The fire chief position hits every mark for him, Gilcrease said, adding he and his wife are looking forward to staying in Bonner County until the end of his career and hopefully retire here.

Dale Hopkins, who served as interim chief after Ron Stocking stepped down as Selkirk’s fire chief, retired Monday. Hopkins spent most of his career in fire services in Kootenai County and was fire chief in Dover. Hopkins was the deputy chief of the fire department when Stocking retired.

He had agreed to fill the chief’s position for three months — that was two years ago. Hopkins gave his retirement notice six months ago, he said.

Gilcrease and Hopkins haven’t spent a lot of time to really get to know each other, but both are excited for the future, Hopkins said.

“I think Gavin and I have a lot of the same ideas and pretty much the same goals. I'm excited,” Hopkins said.

Gilcrease commended Hopkins to his loyalty and dedication to the department. Hopkins originally planned to only stay on as fire chief for three months, but stayed after two years because he wasn’t going to leave the crew, the agency nor the citizens in the lurch, Gilcrease said.

“Kudos to him for basically putting his retirement lifestyle on hold for a little bit just to make sure that we get to this point. I don't know a lot of people that would do that. I think that's just a testament to his character,” Gilcrease said.

Hopkins looks forward to retirement where he plans to work on his 10 acres and look after his parents.

Gilcrease is currently working on housing and moving logistics as he and his family relocate to Bonner County. He is looking forward to golfing, fishing and hunting.

Selkirk Fire has not had a lot of personnel turnover the past year. Even so, Gilcrease said the department can never have enough personnel and is always looking for volunteers and qualified and passionate firefighters.

With Gilcrease on board, city officials said the next step for the fire department will be to hire a deputy fire chief.