The Tumwater Civil Service Commission heard an informational update Thursday that the city will discontinue its continuous application process for lateral firefighter, lateral paramedic and entry-level paramedic classifications and switch to scheduled annual recruitments.
Commission Secretary Examiner Michelle Sutherland told commissioners the change follows a review of the city’s open applications. “Over the past year, numerous candidates have applied under the continuous process,” she said, noting some applications date back to 2024 and many candidates had not been interviewed because there were no current openings.
Deputy Fire Chief (unnamed) said the department began the continuous process several years ago to address recruitment shortages, particularly for paramedics. “We actually started doing a continuous process a few years ago, especially on the paramedic side, because we were just having such a hard time getting applicants,” the deputy fire chief said. He said the department plans to hold a limited schedule of testing and hiring cycles — for example a winter entry-level firefighter test and late-summer/early-fall lateral/paramedic processes — and to establish eligibility lists from those cycles that will remain valid for one year.
The deputy fire chief said interviews already are scheduled for the week of Oct. 13 for lateral firefighter, lateral firefighter-paramedic and entry-level paramedic candidates; after those interviews the department will bring the resulting lists to the commission, likely in November. The commission was told the lists will be maintained until candidates expire or the lists are exhausted, and the department will reassess hiring cadence based on needs.
No vote was requested or taken; staff presented the item as a procedural change and informational update. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the practical difference between the continuous and scheduled processes and were told the scheduled cycles are intended to improve fairness to applicants and help Human Resources manage interview scheduling.
The change affects applicants for Tumwater’s fire classifications; it does not change current hiring standards or the requirement that candidates pass departmental interviews and other checks.
The commission did not adopt a formal action; staff will return with the established eligibility lists after the October interviews.