South Kitsap Fire and Rescue

Fire Chief Wayne Senter

Chief Wayne Senter was appointed to the position of Fire Chief December 2004 by the South Kitsap Fire Rescue Board of Fire Commissioners. Chief Senter has been with South Kitsap Fire and Rescue since 1997 when he was hired as the Assistant Chief for Support Services. He has a total of 30 years of fire service experience in Washington State, 18 of those years were spent with Auburn WA Fire Department.

Chief Senter earned an ATA in Fire Command Administration in 1985 from Edmonds Community College and a BS in Post-Secondary Education in 1997 at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He was the first District Chief in Washington to earn the Chief Fire Officer designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He is an active peer reviewer for designation and accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

Chief Senter has developed and delivered fire prevention and leadership presentations locally and internationally. Chief Senter’s leadership experience include: President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire and Life Safety Section, President of the Washington Fire Chiefs, President of the Kitsap County Fire Chiefs and Underwriters Laboratory Fire Council. Chief Senter is actively involved in our community and has leadership experience as: President of Port Orchard Rotary, President South Kitsap High School Football Association, and President First Lutheran Community Church Council.

Deputy Chief Steve Wright

Deputy Chief Steve Wright has lived and worked in Kitsap County for the past twenty four years. Hired by then Kitsap County Fire District 7 in 1986 as a firefighter/EMT he has promoted through the organization to his current position of Deputy Chief. Steve worked as a Firefighter for three and a half years before promoting to Lieutenant in 1990 a position he filled for fourteen years. Promoted to Battalion Chief in 2004 he served as the district Medical Officer in the administrative staff for one year before being transferred back to the line to supervise B-shift for three years before his appointment to Deputy Chief in July 2008.

Over his fire service career Steve has continually worked to improve himself in service to the citizens and members of South Kitsap Fire and Rescue. His education includes an Associates in Arts and Science Degree from Pierce College, A bachelors of Science Degree in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University, and a Associates in Technical Arts Degree in Fire Command Administration from Olympic College in Bremerton. Steve has attended a number of National Fire Academy courses and is currently enrolled in the four year Executive Fire Officer (EFO) program at their campus in Emmitsburg Maryland.

Steve has built a home for his family in Olalla where he and his wife Katie and their four children have lived since 1992. An outdoor enthusiast who loves both the mountains and Puget Sound, Kitsap County has been a perfect match for a place to work and live. A life long boy scouter and Eagle Scout, Steve is the current Scoutmaster for BSA troop 1529 in Port Orchard.

Day Battalion Chief Mike Wernet

Battalion Chief Mike Wernet has spent most of his life living in and being part of the South Kitsap Community. He is married with three children and a granddaughter. A 1980 graduate of South Kitsap High School, he started in the fire service as a volunteer firefighter with the Port Orchard Fire Department in 1979. In 1980 he became a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with Kitsap County Fire District #7. Mike comes from a fire family, his dad is a retired Assistant Chief and his brother is a Lieutenant with the Seattle Fire Department.

In 1983 Mike began his fire career as the first paid firefighter hired by North Kitsap Fire & Rescue in Kingston. Two years later he was hired by and returned to South Kitsap. Mike has spent the last 30 years serving the citizens of South Kitsap, 5 years as a volunteer and 25 years as a career firefighter. In 1988 Mike was promoted to lieutenant and in 1996 to shift battalion chief, a role he filled until 2006. At that time, Mike was transferred to a day time battalion chief where he now fills the role of the District’s Medical Officer. Mike oversees the chaplains, fleet, facilities and public education divisions. He is also a member of the South Kitsap Athletic Medicine Career & Technical Education Committee and currently serves as the President of the Kitsap County Medical Operations Group.

Mike has also served as the President of the South Kitsap Firefighters Local, the second vice-president of the Kitsap County Professional Firefighters Local and President of the South Kitsap Fire Chiefs Local. When not dedicating his time to the fire service he enjoys camping, quading, softball and soccer. Mike has spent many years volunteering in the community. He has coached youth soccer, basketball and spent years helping out at Just for Kicks School of Dance. He currently works part time for Bayside Photography.

Day Battalion Chief Ron Powers

Battalion Chief Ron Powers started with Graham Fire and Rescue in October 1988, and transferred to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue as a lieutenant in September 1995. After spending 18 years as a line responder, he was promoted to Battalion Chief where he spent 18 months working as a shift commander. Currently, BC Powers is assigned as the officer in charge of our Training, Prevention, and IT divisions. BC Powers has a Bachelors degree in Fire Command Administration from Eastern Oregon University and is currently finishing his final requirement which will lead to an IFSAC Fire Officer IV credential. Future goals include pursuing a Master Degree, as well as the prestigious credential of "Chief Fire Officer" through the national accreditation agency; CFAI. His organizational and management skills, as well as a lifetime of computer experience are great assets that he brings to South Kitsap Fire and Rescue.

BC Powers has served as the local union president or on the executive board of the International Association Of Firefighters for a large portion of his career. Volunteer service has included involvement as a member of the KC DEM Christian Medical Response Team, AHA CPR Instructor, KC Adopt a Road, as well as various activities that support community involvement. During non-work hours BC Powers can be found serving as the head wrestling coach of Peninsula High School, or planning camps and club activities to support the program.

A-Shift Battalion Chief Guy Dalrymple

Battalion Chief Dalrymple has been in the Fire Service since 1990. Starting as a Resident Firefighter with then Kitsap County Fire District 7, he was soon hired by the City of SeaTac Fire Department. In 1995 he returned to Kitsap County in a lateral hire as a Lieutenant to help open the fire stations in Banner and Glenwood. He was promoted to Battalion Chief in 2008 and currently leads the fine men and women of 'A' Shift with primary responsibility for Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials response, and Fire Apparatus.

Chief Dalrymple has been in public service all of his adult life. First serving in the reserves, he then served six years in the Navy attaining the rank of Petty Officer First Class onboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz CVN-68. Chief Dalrymple holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Fire Administration with undergraduate studies in Bio-Chemistry and Law Enforcement.

 B-Shift Battalion Chief Doug Richards

Battalion Chief Doug Richards has lived and worked in Kitsap County for the past 30 years. Doug grew up in Port Orchard,graduated South Kitsap High in 1987 and joined the Navy serving on the USS Carl Vinson in the Persian gulf until 1990. In 1991 after leaving the Navy Doug became a firefighter at the City of Seatac Fire Department where he spent the next five years. In 1995 Doug took a lateral promotion and joined Kitsap Fire 7 as a Lieutenant. After serving 13 years as a lieutenant, Doug was promoted to Battalion Chief in 2008 and currently serves as Duty Chief on B shift.

Doug has continued preparing himself for his future by attaining a Associates Degree from Olympic Community College in 1995, and more recently he received a Bachelors degree from Eastern Oregon University in Fire Command Administration in 2009. Doug has also completed the Management Science curriculum at the National Fire Academy. In addition to education Doug has had the pleasure of serving in the Firefighter's union as President, and Vice president and is the current president of the Battalion Chief's union.

Doug currently resides in the Olalla community with his high school sweetheart, Whitney, and their four children Mackenzie, Delainie, Rebekah and Sam. Doug is active in his children's lives and can often be found playing catch with his kids in the front yard. Doug is also committed to serving his church as a Deacon and also volunteers with various functions. Doug loves to travel and has been to China over 14 times doing missionary work and serves as the current president of the non-profit organization Adonai Harvest.

C-Shift Battalion Chief Jon Gudmundsen

Battalion Chief Jon Gudmundsen started in the Fire Service in 1988, volunteering with the Fire Department in his hometown of Grays River, Wa. In 1989 he enrolled in the Fire Service Training Program at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Wa and also became a Resident Firefighter/EMT with then Kitsap County Fire District 7. In 1990 he graduated from Bates and was hired as a career Firefighter/EMT by Kitsap County Fire District 7 in 1991.

Since his initial employment with South Kitsap Fire & Rescue, BC Gudmundsen has filled the role of Resident Firefighter, Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain and was promoted to Battalion Chief in May 2009. During his career BC Gudmundsen has committed himself to numerous roles, committees, and needs of the organization. In 2008 he was awarded the South Kitsap Fire & Rescue ‘Officer of the Year’ and ‘Outstanding Member of the Year’. Currently BC Gudmundsen holds an AA in Fire Science and in the fall of 2010 will continue to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Fire Command and Administration through Eastern Oregon University.

In his off-duty time BC Gudmundsen enjoys spending time with his wife Stephanie and their three children, participating in various sporting and outdoor recreational activities, coaching youth sports, and tending to his farm in SW Washington. Professionally he is very committed to South Kitsap Fire & Rescue’s mission of providing excellent emergency and non-emergency service to the community of South Kitsap and challenging himself to be a leader, mentor, and visionary within the organization.