Boise Fire’s former chief quit last year amid controversy. Now he has a new job offer
Dennis Doan, Boise’s ex-fire chief, just got a new job offer.
Commissioners of Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One, located in Gig Habor, Washington, unanimously selected him over two internal candidates to serve as the department’s new chief during a meeting Wednesday. It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday if Doan had accepted the position. Commissioners said they expect to report back on his decision at their meeting next week.
Several public commenters voiced their support for Doan during the selection meeting. He was also endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3390, the union that represents the new department, after members visited Boise to see Doan’s past work.
“We enjoy what he has to offer,” Jacob Flick, the union president, said during the meeting. “He has previous experience as a fire chief in a major department in Idaho that I think should lend to his progressive experience that can lead our organization here in Gig Habor to the next level.”
If Doan accepts the job, he will lead a department with about 125 full-time employees working to cover 54 square miles of the Gig Harbor Peninsula. He would replace the outgoing chief, John Burgess, who will retire on April 1 after more than a decade in the position.
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 could come with a 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.
Doan, 52, left the Boise Fire Department in March as the conclusion to a week that saw him begin on administrative leave and finish by resigning just minutes before the Boise City Council was to vote on whether to fire him.
It remains unclear why Doan was put on leave. Boise officials have not said. Idaho’s public records law says personnel files are not public information, so they cannot be released without that employee’s permission.
Doan has said he has granted permission to make his file public, but a Statesman request to the city for the file was not filled. A city paralegal suggested Doan should request his own file and release it to the media. Doan has not responded to reporters’ requests to do so.
He started his career with the Boise Fire Department in 1991 and was an original member of the Hazardous Materials Team, according to his biography formerly available on the department’s website. He became a captain in 2002 and received several commendations, including as Boise City Firefighter of the Year in 2003.
In 2019, Doan was offered a job as fire chief in Bend, Oregon, but he turned it down. At the time, he said he opted to stay in Boise because after completing the interview process, he realized he loved Boise “more than ever.”
Since leaving the Boise Fire Department, Doan has been active 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 and has launched a leadership consulting business.
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