Lewis County Fire District 6 Chief Paul Patterson is out as chief after less than one year in the role, though the events that led up to his departure remain murky.
In conflicting accounts late last week, Patterson claimed he was “fired without cause” and that he “resigned under duress.” On Monday, The Chronicle left a voicemail for Patterson requesting additional comment.
Greg Greene, a fire commissioner for District 6, told The Chronicle on Monday that the board planned to meet on Tuesday.
“At this time, I do not have any comment on the matter,” Greene said.
Greene, however, disputed the notion that Patterson was fired by the commissioners.
“The board accepted his resignation during an open public meeting,” Greene said. “There wasn’t a dismissal. There was a resignation.”
In a since-deleted Facebook post on the district’s page Thursday evening, a person identifying themselves as Patterson wrote that he had been asked by the Lewis County Fire District 6 Board of Commissioners to either resign his post or be terminated.
“As you can imagine, I resigned under duress,” the post reads.
In the post, the author wrote that the request to resign came a week after he sought a raise to bring his salary “somewhat close to my comparable chiefs in neighboring districts.” Following the request, according to the post, the fire commissioners proposed the ultimatum.
“It is unfortunate to be one of one when it comes to being an African American Fire Chief in Lewis County,” the post reads. “I probably shouldn’t have asked for a raise and instead stayed in my place.”
While the post claims that Patterson resigned, a letter obtained by The Chronicle allegedly written by Patterson claims that he was terminated by the commissioners “without cause.”
On Friday, Patterson allegedly wrote to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and said he could not accept an offer to serve as chairman of the SERC.
“Safety from emergencies is not done on an island or in a vacuum,” the letter reads. “It is a collective effort from people who have a passion and a willingness to serve. I find it very disheartening that there are individuals in positions of power who can directly extinguish that passion for service.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Patterson started his fire service career in 1992. After retiring from the Detroit Fire Department in 2017, he moved to Georgia, returning to the fire service as a member of the Long County Fire Department, where he was ultimately appointed deputy chief.
“The hardest part of all it was the house that has gone into making this district better and to then have individuals who represent the interest of the District proceed in this manner is appalling,” the Facebook post reads. “Be careful who you let oversee your district. Sadly, the district has been weakened with my termination.”
Patterson was hired in September 2023 to fill a position vacated by former chief Ken Cardinale, who retired after eight years as fire chief for the City of Chehalis and Lewis County Fire District 6.
