The Chehalis Fire Department welcomed two new firefighters this week.
The Chehalis City Council hosted the official swearing-in and pinning ceremony during its Monday evening business meeting. Chehalis Fire Chief Adam Fulbright led the ceremony, which he said “honors two new members to our service family.”
The ceremony was the first event of the Monday night meeting and kicked off with a brief introduction from Mayor Tony Ketchum with a quip about the swearing in process.
“So does that mean he swears when you stick him with the pin?” Ketchum asked.
Fulbright introduced the two new members of his department, Cody Clark and Jackson Sayler, and asked them to introduce any family members who came to the event with them.
According to Fulbright, the Chehalis Fire Department recruited Clark while he was working as an EMT in the area with Medix Ambulance. Before working for Medix, Clark served as a volunteer with the Lewis County Fire District 6. Clark served his first day on the job with Chehalis Fire on Feb. 4.
The department recruited Sayler all the way from the other side of the state. Before coming to Chehalis, Sayler worked for a year as a medic with AMR in the Spokane area. Before that, Sayler served as a reserve for the Pullman Fire Department and later the Clarkston Fire Department. Sayler served his first shift with the department earlier this month on Monday, March 2.
After introductions Fulbright asked the new firefighters to recite after him the oath of a Chehalis firefighter.
“I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of Washington, and that I will faithfully and impartially perform and discharge the duties of a Chehalis firefighter according to the law and to the best of my abilities,” states the oath of office.
After the official oath of office, Clark was first to receive his badge, with his wife coming to the front of the room to pin it to his shirt. Clark then signed the final paperwork making his swearing in official. Sayler went next, receiving his badge directly from Fulbright before signing the paperwork making his service with the local department official.
