It’s time for an overdue introduction:
My name is Russ Gawler. I was appointed as the Baneberry Fire Chief this past July.
As many of you may know, Jay Brombach served as your interim Fire Chief for seven months prior to my appointment and I want to thank him for his service!
I retired in February 2022 from Eastside Fire and Rescue which is a large metropolitan fire department on the outskirts of Seattle in Washington State. That same month my wife Joni and I, along with our dog Jake relocated to White Pine where we reside currently. Although we have a White Pine address our home is in the Baneberry Fire District.
“My number one goal as your Fire Chief is to provide reliable consistent service with a focus on fire prevention.”
As you know we are an all-volunteer organization and we have committed members who are ready to serve. As volunteers responding from home and/or work we do not have the luxury of response times that departments with staffed career firefighters have.
This coming year we will be emphasizing fire safety in and around the home. We will also be implementing a Firewise Program to educate and prepare homeowners for dealing with brush and wildland fires.
We will be keeping you informed of happenings, events, and significant incidents on our web page as well as through social media. I monitor social media closely and if you have any questions comments or suggestions, please feel free to message me. I plan to attend or have a representative at the monthly city meetings as well.
Lastly, if you see me or any of our members at the station periodically, please feel free to stop in and say “Hello!”
