Sitka Assembly to vote Aug. 25 on hiring Brian McLaughlin as fire chief

Sitka's Fire Department, a hybrid force of paid staff and volunteers covering 4,710 square miles, is set to get new leadership if the Assembly confirms Brian McLaughlin as fire chief. The Sitka Assembly is scheduled to vote Tuesday, Aug. 25, on the appointment, which Municipal Administrator John Leach recommended. The item is listed as new business on the regular meeting agenda, set for 6 p.m. in Assembly Chambers at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

The position carries the department's operational authority. The city's job posting for the role describes the chief as supervising and managing all staff and operations of the Fire Department, covering fire suppression, fire prevention, emergency medical services, natural disasters, air emergencies, search and rescue and emergency management. The chief is expected to be available on call around the clock, rotating with the assistant chief.

McLaughlin is not new to the department. Sitka Fire Department personnel records list him as search and rescue captain. The city announced a public meet-and-greet with him in an Aug. 7 press release, inviting residents to the Fire Hall at 209 Lake Street from 5 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13. A city press release on a June 22 Harbor Mountain emergency response already identified him in the chief's role at the scene, saying Fire Chief Brian McLaughlin arrived at approximately 10:35 a.m. The city has not said publicly whether he has been filling the job in an acting capacity. The Aug. 25 vote is the formal hire.

What the next chief inherits is a department built on volunteer labor. The city's own description says its "four divisions 14 paid staff, and approximately 85 dedicated volunteers deliver fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, rescue, SAR, fire prevention, and fire investigative services to the 4,710 square miles which make up the City and Borough of Sitka." The Fire Division averages 200 calls a year. Volunteers respond directly to scenes, carrying issued bunking gear in their personal vehicles, an arrangement the city credits for fast response times and one that places much of the workload on unpaid responders.

The agenda's first public comment period is limited to matters off the agenda. The period allowing comment on any agenda item comes after new business, after the scheduled vote. Testimony is capped at three minutes per person.