Tumwater commission approves internal-only exam plan for fire prevention officer

The Tumwater Civil Service Commission approved a phased exam plan for the Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Officer position that limits the initial recruitment to internal applicants and requires Joint Apprenticeship Training Council (JATC) completion for consideration.

Administrative Services Director Michelle Sutherland presented the plan, describing Phase 1 as a review of applicants and a requirement that candidates have completed JATC to be considered. Phase 2 includes an oral board; candidates scoring 70% or above on the oral board would be ranked on promotional eligibility lists by their oral-board score. The plan also allows the fire chief to interview the top seven candidates on the promotional eligibility list.

Fire Chief Bridal Hurley explained JATC to the commission: "JATC is the Joint Apprenticeship Training Council. So it's our firefighter apprenticeship program which is a 3 year program. ... they have to get 6,000 hours and complete 5 college level courses," she said. Commissioners asked whether the process was internal only; Hurley confirmed it was intended for internal applicants but said the department has opened it to external candidates in the past if there were no internal applicants.

Commissioners discussed timeline clarifications and how the plan relates to an existing lateral eligible list. Pat Schneider moved to approve the exam plan; Wendy Moudy seconded. The motion passed by voice vote.

The approved plan sets an internal promotion pathway that prioritizes candidates who have completed the city’s firefighting apprenticeship requirements and establishes an oral-board ranking and a chief interview for top candidates. The commission did not specify exact dates in the motion; timelines appended to the plan were referenced but not read verbatim at the meeting.