North Whidbey Fire & Rescue hires Ian Walton, training-safety battalion chief

Fire Chief Chris Swiger won unanimous authorization from the North Whidbey Fire & Rescue board of commissioners on Feb. 24 to hire Ian Walton as the district’s battalion chief of training and safety, filling a position that had been vacant for six months. The original report of the board action ends mid-sentence with the words, "to hire Ian Walton int," indicating the notice was truncated.

The battalion chief of training and safety is a command-staff rank listed in the Western Fire Chiefs Association and NWFR job posting as Battalion Chief of Training & Safety and as holding the rank of Battalion Fire Chief. The posting lists a salary of $101,593.22 DOE and outlines administrative duties: "This position involves administrative work in the performance and direction of activities to manage the district’s training/safety program" and requires the incumbent to "Ensure that personnel are trained and competent to effectively and safely execute all responsibilities consistent with the district’s policies and standard operating guidelines for emergency services delivery."

The job posting further states, "Under general direction, the battalion chief of training and safety carries out their responsibilities in accordance with North Whidbey Fire and Rescues (NWFR) mission, values, policies, procedures, and all local, state, and federal regulations," and emphasizes service on the district command staff and commitment to "the highest legal and moral standards of this district" and a public-service philosophy "compromising their interest for the common good of the public." The posting materials present inconsistent application status, showing both "Open Until Filled" in the header and the line "This job is no longer accepting applications."

North Whidbey Fire & Rescue, which operates out of 7 fire stations and "responds to over 2500 calls annually," serves a predominately rural area of North Whidbey Island surrounding the City of Oak Harbor and NAS Whidbey Island. The district administrative office is at 770 NE Midway Blvd, Oak Harbor, WA 98277; the office telephone number is (360) 675-1131. NWFR site content carries a 2026 copyright line, indicating current postings and staff listings are up to date as of 2026.

NWFR administrative staff listed on the department page include Fire Chief Chris Swiger, who has served since 2014, and Deputy Chief R. Merrill, serving since 2024. Other officials named with contact emails are Battalion Chief Operations/Support D. Horton (chiefhorton@nwfr.org), Lieutenant/Mechanic M. Reinstra (Mike@nwfr.org), Accounting/Office Manager/Board Secretary N. Spydell (natasha@nwfr.org), Human Resource Specialist A. Jennings (hradmin@nwfr.org), Recruitment & Retention Coordinator C. Kohfield (c.kohfield@nwfr.org) and Administrative Assistant A. Pippins (frontdesk1@nwfr.org).

The NWFR hire is separate from a joint battalion chief arrangement on south Whidbey Island: South Whidbey Fire/EMS and Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue began staffing a rotating joint battalion chief on Sept. 1, 2025, with John Lloyd, Alex Magallon and Joe Burbank rotating, stationed out of South Whidbey station 31 in Freeland to cover areas south of Libby Road and to provide 24-hour on-duty management and incident command.

The NWFR board action on Feb. 24 authorized Chief Swiger to hire Ian Walton, but the public record available to this reporting notes neither a start date for Walton nor an executed employment agreement; the truncated original wording and the mixed job-posting status leave some administrative details unresolved.