North Whatcom Fire and Rescue has hired four new career firefighters as of January 15.
The four firefighters – Patty McDermott, Jackson Sayler, Seth Meredith and Evan Maack – were hired out of a field of 50 applicants. Each made it through three rounds of rigorous interviews, before officially being selected for the department, said district fire chief Jason Van der Veen.
Van der Veen said the candidates stood out because they were recommended by their future peers.
“When we were hiring, we looked at things like are they trainable? Do they have good values and share our core values? Appreciate our culture, and do they add something to it?” he said.
Three of the new hires – McDermott, Sayler and Maack – headed to North Bend on January 27 to begin training at the Washington State Fire Training Academy.