Title
Approval to expire the Fire Lieutenant Register
Recommended Action
Staff Recommendation:
Move to approve the early expiration of the Fire Lieutenant Register effective August 18, 2026
Report
Staff Contact:
Hillory Flowers, Fire Chief, Olympia Fire Department, 360.753.8300
Telli Norton, Senior Human Resources Generalist/Chief Examiner, 360.709.2775
Background:
Based on Civil Service Rule V, Registers, the Fire Chief is requesting to expire the current register for Fire Lieutenant effective August 18, 2026, rather than the current expiration date of October 21, 2026. The Fire Department has elected to maintain the structure of previous Fire Lieutenant testing processes, however, contract the process through Public Safety Testing (PST), rather than creating the test within the department. This decision was made due to limits internally within the training division as a result of multiple staffing changes, and also to align better with the industry standards for testing. Shifting to a test through PST will allow the department to utilize their proven testing guidelines and processes to create a register of highly qualified and trained applicants. The need to expire the list early arises from the promotional process through PST being scheduled for September 2026. While the general composition of the assessment centers will be similar, the assessments through PST will differ from the assessment previously offered by OFD internally, which would combine the current register with applicants who completed a different assessment process.
Expiring the register will result in the removal of one candidate. This candidate on the list has been notified that they are no longer being considered for promotion at this time due to concerns about their training and need for continued professional development. The candidate has been offered to re-test in future promotional processes.
Findings:
The Fire Department will expire the current Fire Lieutenant register and hold a promotional assessment with Public Safety Testing to create a register of highly qualified and trained applicants who are ready to fulfill the duties of Lieutenant.