When he graduated from Washougal High School in 1986, Wesley Long’s career plan was the same as many graduates in that part of Clark County: hook on at the paper mill in Camas and try to keep moving up to jobs with higher pay and more responsibility.
He got a good job at the mill in 1987, operating heavy equipment: forklifts, grab trucks, you name it. The pay was good, if not so much the hours.
One night in 1992 Long reported to work on the graveyard shift. As he was punching his timecard into the clock, he not-iced a posting on the adjacent employee bulletin board.
It was an announcement for a position on the mill’s fire control and emergency response team. A light bulb clicked on in Long’s head.
“It sounded interesting so I put my name in for it,” Long says.
He got the job, and by the time he left the mill’s employment in 2006, he had achieved the unit’s highest rank: fire chief and emergency response coordinator.
“That job set the pattern for what I do today,” Long says. “If I hadn’t taken that risk when I was checking in for graveyard, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Long moved on after nearly 20 years at the mill only because he had realized his passion for the fire service, and gotten a job as a captain and emergency medical technician with East County Fire and Rescue, based in Washou-gal.
That’s where Long last work-ed before Fire District No. 3’s board of commissioners hired him in May to be the first full-time fire chief in the district’s nearly 64-year existence.
In person, or in a public setting, Long has a presence, as the saying goes. His handshake is firm; his eyes don’t avert contact with the interviewer’s.
Long succeeded longtime Fire Chief Chuck Virts in May. The creation of the full-time position by the Fire Board, moreover, fulfilled the recommendation made by a 12-member level-of-service citizen task force in 2013, following a lengthy, in-depth review of district operations and management.
Commissioners Bob Connor, Tom Monahan, and Mark Zoller selected Long from a final list of three applicants, after putting the finalists through their paces: exercises to demonstrate knowledge, skill, and professionalism, followed by a series of interviews (with volunteers, task force members, and finally, the commissioners).
The commissioners judged Long to be the best fit for Fire District No. 3 and offered him the job.
“The fact that Fire District 3 is an all-volunteer agency is what drew me to apply for the position of fire chief,” Long says. “These volunteer firefighters and EMTs are the people looking out for their friends and neighbors, and who will answer the call at any time of day. They’ve got a strong, broad base of support in the community. Who wouldn’t want to lead such a department?”
Long got a chance to wear the chief’s hat again in 2008 when he took a position with a rural fire district in Washakie County, Wyo. Turned out, the job of chief of Worland Fire Protection District One required Long to wear several hats. In addition to running the fire district, Long served as the Washakie County fire warden and Region 6 administrator for the federal Department of Homeland Security.
“It was a great experience, a wonderful job. I absorbed a wealth of knowledge,” Long says, “but we were also 1,200 miles from our children, and that was hard.”
After a couple of years in Wyoming, the yearning for home intensified. Long resigned his post, moved back to the Washougal area, and returned to East County Fire and Rescue as a shift captain/EMT.
Life was good. Long was doing what he enjoys most: working with volunteers in a smaller agency. Then serendipity struck again as he came across a job posting in early 2016 that piqued his interest. After reading the 2013 task force report as part of his research, Long made the decision to apply for the Fire District No. 3 opening.
“There are very few places in our state where fire agencies have been successful in engaging the public,” Long notes. “People spoke and said what they wanted from Fire District 3. I take that report seriously, and it will be used to work toward the goals the task force set.”
Long said he plans to use the task force in the future as a sounding board “to make sure the public always has a chance to communicate with Fire District leadership.”
“My job,” he adds, “is to reach out and communicate to the public how the district is doing, and to get feedback on how we’re doing on meeting the community’s goals.”
One of his missions, Long says, is to get fire bureau ratings down throughout the district, which would help property owners save anywhere for $500 to $1,500 a year in insurance premium costs.
Another is to make sure the Fire District has enough personnel and the right equipment to meet its level of service demands.
“People, that’s the most important piece,” Long says about running a fire district. “We need good, quality people who can think on their feet and who want to give something back to their community. It’s my job to make sure everybody and everything is response-ready, through training and maintenance.”
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