Soap Lake seeking new fire chief

SOAP LAKE - The City of Soap Lake is again looking for a new fire chief after Chief Brandon Hood was placed on administrative leave and has reportedly moved out of state.

Mayor Raymond Gravelle confirmed Monday Hood is no longer with the department as of last week after being hired just seven months ago to rebuild the volunteer department. Hood was the department's third chief since January of last year. Dan Shields was fired in June last year and interim Chief Debbie Bowen resigned in December because of health concerns.

Gravelle said Hood was placed on leave as this city conducts an audit of the fire department. Gravelle declined to comment on the details of the audit. Hood could not be reached for comment Monday.

In May, the City Council approved investing an additional $20,000 to the fire department's budget to bring the department into compliance with state regulations and renew mutual aid contracts. The increased budget came just two months after the City Council rejected a contract with Grant County Fire District 7 to provide fire services for the city.

Gravelle said the city will begin right away to hire a new chief and several good candidates are being considered to continue to rebuild the department.

In addition to finding a new chief, Gravelle said he is looking to reorganize the police and fire departments, including naming a public safety officer for both departments to improve efficiency. Gravelle said the public safety officer would likely be current police Chief Glenn Quantz.