Nestled in East Lewis County between Randle and Morton, the unincorporated community of Glenoma is home to an estimated 600 to 800 residents.
Those residents no longer have a local fire department to respond to emergencies after Lewis County Fire District (LCFD) 18 Chief Jeanine Armstrong resigned during a tense meeting on Tuesday night. LCFD 18 is also known as Glenoma Fire & EMS.
In her letter, she stated her resignation was prompted by the actions of recently elected LCFD 18 Commissioner Lonnie Houlbjerg.
Armstrong’s resignation letter was delivered and read into the record by LCFD 18 Commission Chair William Lauth during the commission’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the Glenoma Fire & EMS fire house.
“I, Jeanine Armstrong, resign from Lewis County Fire District #18 under duress,” the letter begins. “On January 13, 2026, I experienced direct verbal abuse from Commissioner (Lonnie) Houlbjerg in an open commissioners meeting, which significantly escalated and created a hostile work environment. During this incident, he tore up a draft of an anti-harassment policy, threw it back at me, and used profanities. This conduct left me fearing for both my physical and mental safety, as I was concerned that Commissioner Houlbjerg might escalate his aggression further by approaching me in a threatening manner or resorting to physical force. I will no longer be subject to this behavior from Commissioner Houlbjerg and his associations as fire chief of Lewis County Fire District #18. My decision to resign also has been prompted by a consistent pattern of belittling behavior from Commissioner Houlbjerg, which began even before he officially assumed his position. Throughout my tenure, I have endured defamation, slander and libel from members of the community, including Commissioner Houlbjerg and his associates in various public forums. Commissioner Houlbjerg has previously expressed his discomfort with women holding positions of authority, further contributing to a hostile environment. I have returned all fire department issued items including (a) laptop and phone to the station as well as removed all my personally owned items.”
Not only did Armstrong resign, but the rest of the volunteer force did, too, including the LCFD 18 commission’s secretary.
At first, LCFD 18 commissioners were unsure of what actions to take next. A member of the public in attendance at the meeting informed them they must publish public notices for the open fire chief position and wait at least 15 days for applicants to respond before making a selection and hiring a new chief.
In the meantime, LCFD 4 Chief Bill Reynolds — who was also in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting — stated his own department in Morton and the neighboring LCFD 14 in Randle would be collaborating to ensure calls from Glenoma were still responded to.
Meeting attendees expressed concern about response times in emergency situations, and tensions between the commission and attendees eventually boiled over to the point where Lauth abruptly ended public comment and the meeting.
After the meeting was adjourned, The Chronicle spoke with Houlbjerg and asked if he wanted to address any of Armstrong’s allegations in the resignation letter.
He declined to comment, simply stating that the department used to run fine until Armstrong and two other women took over. He claimed they started “drama.”
According to Houlbjerb, he served as a firefighter in the Glenoma district for around eight years or so, and was also involved in the construction of the current fire station as a contractor.
Armstrong spoke to The Chronicle the next morning. She stated she was now working for LCFD 14 in Randle. A career firefighter and EMT herself, Armstrong had previously worked for the fire districts in both Morton and Mineral before becoming fire chief in Glenoma around four and a half years ago.
She added she did not influence the other volunteers to resign.
Anyone interested in applying for the LCFD 18 chief position can contact Lauth at 360-751-2703 for more information.
Aside from Armstrong’s resignation, LCFD 18 Commissioner Philip Pokorski also announced his intention to resign due to health issues during the meeting, but he had not yet officially submitted his resignation letter.
