Tumwater promotes Brian Hurley to fire chief

The Tumwater City Council promoted Brian Hurley to Fire Chief during the regular city council meeting yesterday. In his recommendation, Tumwater City Administrator John Doan shared that Hurley is one of the most well-educated fire chiefs in the state. 

Hurley began his career with Tumwater in 1995 with the city’s fire department as a firefighter and paramedic. Five years later he was promoted to Lieutenant. Then in 2007, Hurley was promoted to  Captain.

In 2020 Hurley became the Acting Fire Chief after former Fire Chief Scott LaVielle announced his retirement. In the past year, Hurley has dealt with extraordinary issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, protests, and wildfires response.

Prior to joining the Tumwater Fire Department, Hurley earned had a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Puget Sound and a doctorate in bioengineering from the University of Washington. He is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy.

In his volunteer work, Hurley is an active member of the Washington Council of Firefighters and was a part of its executive board from 1997 to 2018.

Doan shared, “during the past year, Brian had shown himself to be committed, compassionate, and a professional leader dedicated to the safety of the community and to the safety of the firefighters and paramedics.”

As Tumwater’s permanent fire chief, Hurley will participate in discussions with Olympia that might lead to the creation of a Regional Fire Authority. If approved by both city councils and voters, the RFA would merge Olympia and Tumwater fire departments under one office. To start the process, the two cities earlier this year approved an interlocal agreement to conduct a study regarding the proposed RFA.