Allen D. “Al” Church is the Fire Chief Administrator for South King Fire and Rescue, serving the citizens of Federal Way and Des Moines. Al also serves on the Washington Fire Chiefs Board of Directors as Vice President. Al has been in the fire service for nearly 33 years, with 31 of those years spent with Federal Way/South King Fire. He has held every rank/position in the fire department, including Fire Chief/Administrator for the past 8 years.
Al represents the Washington Fire Chiefs as the Chair of the Chief’s Legislative Committee, and was elected Vice President of the Association in 2008. He has held the position as Chair of the South King County “Zone 3” Fire Chiefs Committee since 2002. He is a member of the King County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Advisory Committee, the Valley Communications Center Operations Board, and also represents King County on the Washington State Urban Search and Rescue Policy Board.
On a professional level, Al has earned four (4) educational degrees including his Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership through Chapman University. He has completed the Executive Fire Officer program (EFO) through the National Fire Academy, and is a Designated Chief Fire Officer (CFOD) through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Murray Gordon was hired by the Everett Fire Department in 1977, and has held several positions, including: Firefighter, Paramedic, Captain, Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services, and Assistant Chief. In 2001 he was appointed as Fire Chief.
He serves on numerous boards and committees, including: Chairperson, Snohomish County CAD Oversight Council; Director, Snohomish County Emergency Radio System (SERS) and Director, Snohomish County Police Staff and Auxiliary Service Center (SNOPAC 9-11 center). Chief Gordon is a member of the Snohomish County Fire Chief’s Association where he previously served as President from 2007 - 2009. Chief Gordon is also a member of the International Fire Chiefs Association, the National Fire Protection Association, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and several other professional fire service organizations and associations. He attended Everett Community College, and received his Paramedic Training at the University of Washington. He has received extensive training at the National Fire Academy, taking multiple executive level courses.
Murray lives in Mukilteo with his wife and daughter. In his spare time he is active with the Snohomish County Football Officials Association, and the Snohomish County Football Official's Hall of Fame which honors scholar athletes in Snohomish and Island Counties. Murray serves the Association by refereeing little league, junior high, high school and semi-pro football games.
Chief Wayne Senter is the past president for the Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs. Chief Senter is currently the Fire Chief for South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and has more than 27 years of Fire Service experience in Washington State. He is the President of the Kitsap County Fire Chiefs Association, is a Board Member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Fire and Life Safety Section and a member of the Underwriters Laboratory's Fire Council.
Chief Senter is the first Chief Fire Officer Designee from a Washington State Fire District and is active as a peer reviewer for both CFOD and Fire Service Accreditation International. He earned an Associates of Technical Arts in Fire Command Administration from Edmonds Community College and a Bachelors of Science in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1997.
He is the author of many professional articles and recently was a contributing author to the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Chief Fire Officer's Handbook. He has presented testimony on behalf of the fire service at all levels of government and continues to involve himself in providing training, education and testimony on fire service subjects. Chief Senter is a Past President of Port Orchard Rotary and was recently named Man of the Year for 2006 by the South Kitsap Area Chamber of Commerce.
Wayne and Kim have been married for 25 years and they have three children, Aaron is Senior at Central Washington University; Craig is a Junior at University of Hawaii and Chelsea is a Sophomore at Washington State University. Wayne and Kim are very involved in their community and enjoy golfing, fishing and camping.
Keith currently serves as Deputy Chief of Central Pierce Fire & Rescue. He began his fire service career as a resident volunteer at Parkland Fire Department in 1988 and was hired a year later. Parkland Fire Department later became Central Pierce Fire & Rescue through a merger of several fire districts.
Over the years Keith has served as a Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Assistant Chief and was appointed Deputy Chief in June 2010. He is also serving as the Vice President of the Pierce County Fire Chief’s Association. Keith spent several years as a member of the department’s Special Operations Team as well as a member of FEMA Washington Task Force 1. As a member of the task force he deployed to Oklahoma City for the Alfred P. Murrah Building bombing and to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack at New York City.
He has earned his Associates Degree in Fire Command and Administration from Bellevue Community College. In June of 2011, he graduated from Eastern Oregon University with his Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Service Administration.
Keith has been married to his wonderful wife Marlene for 20 years and has three great children. He enjoys spending time with his family, Boy Scout activities, camping, golf, and being outdoors.
Chief Jim Walkowski was hired as Fire Chief on May 1, 2006 of both the City of Centralia Fire Department and Lewis County Fire District #12 with the specific mission to combine the two organizations. On October 1, 2008, the Riverside Fire Authority was born as the first city-fire district RFA in Washington State. The Riverside Fire Authority serves northern Lewis County and provides services to 26,000 citizens within a 186 square mile service area, from 8 fire stations.
Chief Walkowski has 25 years in the fire service and has served as a firefighter, company officer, and chief officer in his career with the City of SeaTac Fire Department, South Kitsap Fire and Rescue, and Bainbridge Island Fire Department. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute and Western Oregon University and has presented numerous fire service related training classes, many of these focusing on firefighter safety and preservation. Chief Walkowski and the Riverside Fire Authority have committed resources towards the education and development of regional fire protection service authorities across the state.
He serves on numerous teams, groups, boards and committees in various capacities, including; the Lewis County Type 3 IMT as an Incident Commander and Operations Section Chief, team member (Centralia PD/RFA Fire Origin and Cause Task Force), and Lewis County Central Communications Fire User Group Chairman. Chief Walkowski is also a member of the International Fire Chiefs Association, Lewis County Fire Chiefs Association, the National Fire Protection Association, and several other professional fire service organizations and associations.
Jim lives in Centralia with his wife and three children. When he is not in the office, he enjoys chauffeuring his children to their various activities, instructing fire service subject matter to departments across the state, and attempting to complete his project to-do list around their home.
Chief Walkup has over 30 years in the fire service in Washington State. Nineteen of those in a chief officer rank. Since October of 2004, Bill has served as the Fire Chief/Chief Executive Officer for Spokane County Fire District 8 in southern Spokane County. Fire District 8 provides a full range of services to over 25,000 residents. Prior to being appointed at Fire District 8, Bill spent 10 years at Lacey Fire District as the Assistant Fire Chief and prior to his work at Lacey, he was employed by Spokane County Fire District’s 8 and 9.
Chief Walkup has served the Washington fire service on a number of committees during his career in the fire service. Most recently he has served the last 12 years on the Washington State Fire Defense Committee as a regional representative. He also has served since 2000 as the Washington fire service representative to the Washington State Geographic Board with our 5 federal fire service partners, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Washington State Patrol Fire Protection Services Division. Some of the other committees he has served on behalf of the Washington fire service include: the Interagency Rate Committee, the Washington Survey and Rating Committee, and the Certification and Accreditation TAG. On a local level, Bill serves on the: Combined Communications Center Policy Board, Joint Public Safety Leadership Committee, Inland Empire Fire Chief’s Disaster Committee, and he also chairs the Ambulance Service Board for 12 fire service agencies within Spokane County.
Bill and Kay have been married for over 29 years and they will tell you how proud they are of their truly phenomenal 3 grown children. Chief Walkup has a passion and enthusiasm for the extremely worthwhile and important work that we are engaged in and he is looking forward to serving you in this new capacity.
Warren Merritt is the Position No. 5 Board Member for the Washington State Fire Chiefs Association. Chief Merritt is the Deputy Chief of Operations and oversees approximately 220 dedicated employees in the Fire Suppression & Rescue, Emergency Medical, and Training Divisions. Chief Merritt began his career as a volunteer in 1974 with King County Fire District # 10 (now Eastside Fire & Rescue) and served until 1994, concurrent with his employment at the Bellevue Fire Department.
Chief Merritt joined the Bellevue Fire Department in 1980. He has served as an Engineer, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, and has been the Department’s Deputy Chief since 2005 and a chief officer since 1992. Chief Merritt has an Associates in Arts Degree in Fire Science from Bellevue Community College (1997), is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program (2001), achieved a Chief Fire Officer Designation (COFD) in 2007, and graduated in March 2009 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Public Safety Administration from Grand Canyon University (AZ). Chief Merritt teaches across the state on a variety of subjects. He is an adjunct instructor at Bellevue College, co-author of the Washington State Fire Chiefs, WSDOT, and WSP Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Program, and authored King County’s Crime Scene Preservation for Fire Responders Handbook.
Chief Merritt has been married to his high school sweetheart, Dana, for more than 30 years and has two grown children; Jessica and Ryan, who both also serve the public; a teacher and National Guardsman. Chief Merritt’s hobbies include spending time with family, hunting, camping, and playing soccer. He is a ‘student of the fire service’ and works passionately to improve organizational culture, firefighter safety through training, and believes strongly in public service and the mission of the fire service.
Dennis is a 30 year veteran of the fire service and has been with Clark County Fire & Rescue (formerly Fire District 11) since 1977 when he first joined as a volunteer. He took the position of part-paid Fire Chief in 1986 and became the full-time Chief in 1991. During his 33 years in the fire service he has served in the position of Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, and Fire Chief. Prior to taking the full-time Chief’s position in 1991, Dennis was the Deputy Director of Clark Regional Communications Agency (the county’s 911 center) for five years. Prior to that, he served as a paramedic and eventually as General Manager of American Ambulance here in Clark County, Washington. In 2003-2004, Dennis served as a team member on a National Type 1 Incident Management Team. He is currently serves as a type 2 Logistics Section Chief on Washington State Incident Management Team #3. In addition to his position as Fire Chief of Clark County Fire & Rescue, Dennis serves as a Board Member for a number of organizations, including: Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency, Clark County EMS Council, and Homeland Security Region IV Council.
Dennis has an associate’s degree in fire science and a bachelor’s degree in public administration. He is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer (EFO) program through the National Fire Academy and has achieved Chief Fire Officer Designation from the Commission on Fire Service Accreditation.
Dennis lives in Ridgefield with his wife Cindy. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.
My fire service career began in New Zealand in 1978. After moving to the US in 1995, I joined the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office in 1996. In December 1999 I became the Deputy Fire Chief for the City of Richland. I was promoted to Chief in 2003. In 2009 I became the Administrative Chief for BCFD #1 through a contract between the District and the City.
My education credentials include: Diploma of Teaching (1977), Bachelor of Arts (1980), Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE: 1986), Executive Fire Officer Program (2005), and Master of Public Administration in 2010.
Tim Clark’s operational and leadership experience began with a 23 year career as an infantry officer in the US Army. His experience and background includes numerous command, operations, personnel and training related assignments. Tim holds a Bachelor’s in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana and Masters of Public Administration from Northeastern University at Boston.
Tim began his emergency management career in 2000 as the Chief of Staff of the Washington State Emergency Management Division. He has participated in every major activation in the state since, as well as the 9-11 and Katrina response and recovery efforts.
Tim is married to Lynn and has one child, Ashlea. He enjoys, skiing, golf and free time spent with friends.
Charles M. Duffy is an experienced fire service professional with a broad career that spans 40 years.
His career began in 1969, as a wildland firefighter, followed by service as a volunteer firefighter in three fire departments in Colorado and Washington. In 1979, he joined the United States Air Force Reserve as a Fire Protection Specialist. His professional career began in 1980, with the Kent Fire Department.
Charles began his service with the Renton Fire and Emergency Services Department in 1983, where he remained, rising to the position of Deputy Chief. He retired from Renton in June 2008, and immediately joined the State Fire Marshal’s Office where he began his employment as the Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Licensing Section. Most recently, Charles was the Chief of Instruction at the Fire Training Academy.
In addition to his fire service career, Charles continued his service in the Air Force Reserve. In 1985, he received a direct commission to Second Lieutenant and retired as a Major in 1999. He received a Meritorious Service medal with two oak clusters.
Charles has continued to support his community through participation in the Boy Scouts of America, his local Parent Teacher Student Association and Kiwanis.
Charles is married to Kelly Duffy. They have two children, a daughter Christine and son John.