A former fire chief has come out of retirement to lead Central Pierce Fire & Rescue until the district can replace Chief Keith Wright, who stepped down abruptly two weeks ago amid fears he would be ousted by the district’s board of commissioners.
Board members unanimously approved Chief Jack Andren’s contract Monday while they search for Wright’s permanent replacement. Andren retired five years ago after receiving a pay raise that state auditors later challenged, saying it was given improperly in a way that improved his pension benefits.
Andren will again lead a fire district that serves about 200,000 people in communities from Parkland to Puyallup.
“We needed to make a change,” chairman Bob Willis said. “The board did not feel that the division heads were getting adequate direction, and that Chief Wright wasn’t giving adequate follow-through.”
Wright has taken an assistant chief job in the district. He said he was blindsided when the board went into executive session Sept. 14 and asked him to wait outside. The closed-door sessions are reserved for topics such as real estate negotiations and personnel issues.
“That was a red flag for me that something wasn’t right,” Wright said. “If they were talking about somebody else, I would have been in there.”
Wright said he feared worst-case outcomes from the meeting, including termination. To simplify the process, he said, he walked into the meeting with a letter notifying the board that he was stepping down.