Skip to main content

Chief Bill Whealan Retires from Benton County Fire District 4

February 8, 2021 marks the official retirement of Fire Chief Bill Whealan from Benton County Fire District 4. Chief Whealan’s fire service career spans almost four decades, the last nine years of which he served as Fire Chief for the agency that serves 20,000 people in the city of West Richland and its immediate unincorporated areas.

Chief Whealan moved to Benton County in 2011 from Hemet, Calif. where he served as its Interim Fire Chief. In total, Chief Whealan has 25 years of his career in chief officer level positions in Nev., Calif., and Wash. He says that one of his greatest accomplishments during this time is not having any firefighter deaths or serious injuries under his watch.

“That’s what this is about. Saving lives and property and bringing your people through each call safely,” said Chief Whealan. “There’s no greater accomplishment than that.”

While at Benton 4, Chief Whealan increased the standards of medical evaluations for emergency personnel that were credited with saving two lives by catching underlying health issues. He is also responsible for pursuing voter-approved funding measures to improve fire and emergency medical service for area residents. His effort to build and equip a new fire station in the western half of the fire district have reduced response times and provided additional emergency units and personnel for all residents.

“The Benton County community understands the value of emergency services,” said Chief Whealan. “We have the ideas, but our community makes it possible. We are forever grateful for their support.”

Chief Whealan’s immediate retirement plans include spending every anniversary, holiday and birthday with his family members. (This is not a luxury that many in emergency services are afforded.) He also plans to spend more time outdoors backpacking, hiking and cycling both road and mountain terrain. When he’s had his fill of these activities, Chief Whealan will be providing consulting services through the Ammonia Safety Training Institute, which provides safety training for hazardous materials.

  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Letter: BENTON DISTRICT 4 CALL VOLUME HIGHER (Tri-city Herald 2/11/21)

We wanted to report back to our community about 2020 emergency call volumes for Benton County Fire District No. 4. In 2020, personnel responded to 1,686 calls, almost 5% higher than 2019. Emergency medical service (EMS) accounted for 67% of all calls. Benton 4 serves 20,000 people over 52 square miles, including the city of West Richland and its immediate unincorporated areas. We are independent of the city and county, and receive funding from a fire levy and an EMS levy paid through property taxes. In 2020, voters approved a fire levy lid lift to hire three full-time firefighters to respond to higher call volumes. These positions have been filled, and we’re seeing faster response times as a result. Voters also approved a bond in 2018 to build and equip a new fire station. That project is near completion, and we look forward to welcoming our community to the facility when it’s safe to do so. We appreciate the support of our community, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Benton County Fire District 4 to Hold Budget Meetings - Public Invited to Participate

Benton County Fire District 4 is starting its annual budget process for 2021. Members of the public are invited to participate at two upcoming meetings with the Board of Fire Commissioners: ·         Thursday, October 22 at 6 p.m. – This is a budget workshop where funding issues are discussed. ·         Thursday, November 5 at 6 p.m. – This is a public hearing and the Board is expected to take action on the budget for 2021. Due to the current pandemic, all meetings are held by conference call. To participate in the meetings, call 571-748-4021 and enter the pass code 977-1116. The fire district would like to share information as to how it develops its annual budget. First, it determines the revenue it will receive based on assessed property values combined with its levies for fire and emergency medical service. Then, an executive team works with emergency personnel to develop a list of priorities based on call ...
Post a Comment
Read more