Kennewick postpones swearing in of new Fire Chief

KENNWICK, Wash.-- The Kennewick City Council was scheduled to swear-in its new fire chief Tuesday night, but with limits on the number of people permitted in the city council chambers, council opted to postpone the ceremony.

Only ten people were permitted to attend the meeting at City Hall, and city officials wanted to hold the ceremony at a time when fire department staff and others supporters could participate.

Chief Chad Michael officially started with the Kennewick Fire Department on Monday, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and isn't phased by the challenge.

"That's the nature of our work," Michael told Newsradio 610 KONA following Tuesday night's meeting. "We don't get advance notice that something bad is going to happen. That's an environment that I'm very comfortable with."

Chief Michael comes to the Tri-Cites from Vancouver, Wash., where he was the Deputy Chief of Operations for the Vancouver Fire Department.

His wife and 9-year old son stayed behind to finish out the school year, but will join him in Kennewick this summer.

A rescheduled date for the swearing-in ceremony hasn't yet been released.