This Boise fire chief quit rather than be fired. Now he’s a finalist in another city
Dennis Doan, Boise’s former fire chief, is a finalist for a chief’s job in Washington state.
Doan is one of three people being considered to lead the fire department in Gig Harbor, Washington. If selected, he would lead a fire department for the first time since he left Boise’s nearly a year ago. He quit during a tumultuous week that saw him start out on administrative leave and finish by resigning just minutes before the Boise City Council voted on whether to fire him.
If Doan is chosen, he’d lead a department with about 125 full-time employees working to cover 54 square miles of the Gig Harbor Peninsula. The Boise Fire Department has about 300 employees in total, said Seth Ogilvie, Mayor Lauren McLean’s spokesperson.
Boise has a population of about 229,000 people; Gig Harbor has a population of about 10,700, according to the Census Bureau, but the job would also cover much of the unincorporated land outside of the city, which is just northwest of Tacoma.
The job would come with a potential pay raise. A listing for the job in Gig Harbor puts the starting salary at $182,750, up to $215,000. Doan made $165,006 in Boise after being given a raise by former Mayor David Bieter in 2019, making him the second-highest-paid employee of the city, behind only Airport Director Rebecca Hupp.
Gig Harbor has a higher median household income than Boise, according to Census data — Boise’s median income is about $60,000, while Gig Harbor’s is more than $84,000.
It’s still not clear why Doan, 52, was put on administrative leave in Boise last year, and city officials aren’t saying. Idaho’s public records law says personnel files are not public information.
He said then, as he told a reporter when reached for comment for this story, that he was pushed out for political reasons. Doan had backed Bieter and held fundraisers for his re-election campaign in 2019. McLean ultimately beat Bieter in a runoff election.
Doan told a reporter for this story that he had given permission for his file to be released to the media. A records request to the city of Boise made Wednesday night for his file was acknowledged but not immediately filled. Ogilvie said in a text message that Doan should be able to give it to reporters, but Doan said he did not have a copy available.
“There was not a ‘personnel issue.’ I did not do anything illegal, immoral, or substandard,” Doan wrote in an email Wednesday. “My departure was political, which is not uncommon in a strong mayor form of city government. There isn’t anything else to add.”
The board of commissioners of Gig Harbor Fire declined to comment on the specifics of the candidate selection process in picking Doan. The board said a consultant “provided detailed information about their background, to include their educational and work history.”
An emailed statement also said that “the district does not plan to make any further public statements regarding the candidates until our special meeting on Wednesday, January 20th, at 5 pm.”
Boise has since filled its chief’s job with Mark Niemeyer, the former Meridian chief, on Nov. 30.
Since resigning , Doan has stayed involved in the Boise community. He recently won election to his first full six-year term on the Boise School Board after being selected to fill a vacancy in 2018. He said he is also a member of the Rotary Club of Boise Downtown, serves on the board at Eastwind Community Church in Boise and volunteers as a Ridge to Rivers Foothills ranger.
He recently launched a consulting business offering training on leadership and teamwork. One program he put on was commended by the Nampa Fire Department, according to a post on the business’s Facebook page.
Asked why he wanted to work in Gig Harbor, Doan responded, “Why not?!”
“All the pieces are in place for the next Fire Chief to be successful,” Doan wrote. “My wife and I are looking for a community to be a part of. We are very active and enjoy kayaking, paddle boarding, golfing, skiing, hiking and biking. Gig Harbor seems to be a great fit for me and my family.”
The other two finalists to be chief of the Gig Harbor’s fire department, also known as Pierce County Fire District #5, are both long-term veterans of the department. One finalist, Dan Bjurstrom, has worked there in several roles since 2001, and Todd Meyer, the other finalist, has been involved since 1994, according to a Facebook post from the department.
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