Kennewick gets new fire chief

Starting in December, there will be a new fire chief who oversees daily operations of the Kennewick Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Vince Beasley will transition to fire chief in November and officially take over Dec. 1, city spokeswoman Evelyn Lusignan said. He will provide overall leadership to department operations and lead the departments’ three shifts of firefighters.

Beasley will be the city’s 12th fire chief.

Current Chief Neil Hines will switch roles to become the operations chief and project manager for the department, Lusignan said. He will oversee inspections, training and special projects in the city, including adding a fifth fire station.

The decision to restructure the department and have dual chiefs came after the recent retirement of two of Kennewick’s top fire officials, who were deputy chiefs, Lusignan said. The city declined to fill the deputy chief positions.

Lusignan said city officials decided on the moves after consulting with Hines.

“Anytime we have vacancies within the city we evaluate before filling (the positions),” she said. “We wanted to best align to meet the goals of the (city) council.”

Hines became chief in 2005, replacing longtime Chief Bob Kirk. Hines was promoted from operations manager.

Beasley has been a city of Kennewick employee since 1982. He was promoted to battalion chief in 2003 and turned down an opportunity in 2007 to be Wenatchee’s fire chief.

“I am pleased to have the experience and expertise of both chiefs, who will provide exceptional leadership in their respective area of responsibility and align us to meet and sustain city council’s priorities for community safety,” City Manager Marie Mosley said in a news release.

Lusignan said Hines will be paid the same and Beasley will get a raise. Salaries weren’t immediately available.

This story was originally published October 30, 2014 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Kennewick gets new fire chief."