After 44 years, Skagit County Fire District 3 is looking for a new chief.
Longtime Chief John Van Pelt turned in his gear and his keys at the district’s Cedardale Station surrounded by friends and family — including his son Eric, a third-generation firefighter who works with the Mount Vernon Fire Department.
“It’s very special to have been a part of this,” Van Pelt said. “It’s very special and always will be.” Van Pelt said he never made a conscious decision to make firefighting his career.
Two things, however, led him down that path. His father was a volunteer firefighter, and there was a fire at Van Pelt’s home when he was 7 years old.