Submitted by the San Juan Island Fire Department

Fire District No. 3 Commissioner Robert Low retired on Monday, Aug. 9, after 19 years of service on San Juan Island. Commissioner Low served as Fire Chief of the Town of Friday Harbor Fire Department from 1998 to 2006, as well as San Juan County Fire Marshal. Low said his most memorable event occurred during the downtown grocery store fire in May of 2002, when the town and district started working together.

“We realized we couldn’t do a large fire like that without the help of other departments, including Orcas and Lopez. When Chief Marler came on board, without the old rivalry of the two departments, we started the path to becoming a professional department,” said Low.

Commissioner Low is retiring before the end of his term, so the board is accepting applications for an interim commissioner, starting as early as September.

The current Board Chair John Jensen and Vice-Chair Albert Olson will interview applicants and appoint a new commissioner at a special meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. at the fire department headquarters at 1011 Mullis St.

Interested candidates should submit an application and a letter of interest to San Juan County Fire District No. 3, 1011 Mullis St., Friday Harbor, WA, 98250. Applications are available at www.sjifire.org or at the Mullis Street fire station. The deadline for applications is at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25.

San Juan County Fire District No. 3 serves San Juan Island, Brown and Pearl islands, with over 50 paid-call-firefighters, specialists and support volunteers supported by seven full-time staff members.

For more information, call 378-5334.