Smith, 50, has served as the district’s Assistant Chief of Operations under Nichol for 15 years.  Widely respected by fire service professionals within Kitsap County as well as across Washington State, Smith has served in virtually every position during his 26 years in the field.  He began as a volunteer firefighter in 1981 and rose through the ranks, acquiring the kind of broad experience and training that comes with filling multiple roles in a small but rapidly growing department. 

First serving as a volunteer firefighter, the 66 year-old Nichol joined the former Kitsap County Fire District #10 (Kingston) in 1960.  After a short tenure as Fire Chief on Whidbey Island, he was wooed back to Kingston to serve as this department’s first paid employee in 1982.  Under his leadership, the department has become larger but far more efficient through three mergers.  Steering the district through rapid community growth and declining volunteerism, Nichol oversaw the agency’s transition from all-volunteer firefighters to a career-based response force that now numbers nearly thirty.  “Our district ‘came of age’ under his leadership,” notes NKF&R Board of Fire Commissioners Chairwoman Gillian Gregory.  “It’s because of Paul Nichol that NKF&R is what it is today, though one of his most endearing qualities is that he’ll deny it.” 

Commissioners Rename Headquarters Station in Honor of Retiring Chief --  In his first official act after being sworn in as the new head of NKF&R, Fire Chief Dan Smith offered up a surprise resolution for consideration by the Board of Fire Commissioners.  Before reading the document, Smith called the entire department to stand with him as he presented the idea.  Flanked by firefighters and staff, he suggested that the district's headquarters facility be renamed the "Paul T. Nichol Headquarters Fire Station."

The resolution was passed unanimously.