Newman Lake Fire swears in new chief

The new fire chief of Newman Lake Fire and Rescue, Daron Bement, was sworn in Thursday during a special fire commissioners meeting.

The district also bid farewell to retiring fire chief Stan Cooke, who held the position for three years after retiring from a 37-year career at the Spokane Valley Fire Department. Cooke was given several farewell gifts during the meeting, including a hat that said “Retired. Not my problem anymore” and a sash that read “The legend has retired.”

Cooke laughed as he received the sash and put it on over his uniform. “Is there a pink boa that comes with this?” he asked.

Cooke served in his role part time, but Bement has been hired as a full-time chief. Bement, who spent decades working in the area before leaving to become the fire chief of the Tillamook Fire District in Oregon, said he is happy to be back.

His badge was pinned on by his wife, Ashley, during a short ceremony Thursday while their young son watched.

Bement said he thought his experience and background matched well with what the district needs.

“I saw an opportunity,” he said.

Bement grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, where he trained to be an EMT. He had friends living in Spokane who suggested he attend paramedic training here, so he moved when he was 20 and completed the paramedic program that was then run by Spokane Community College.

He would later earn an associate degree from Spokane Community College before moving on to earn a bachelor’s in fire services administration/emergency management from Columbia Southern University and, in 2020, a master’s of public administration in emergency management from Columbia Southern University.

Prior to his departure from Spokane County in 2019, Bement held positions in several public agencies simultaneously.

He was a part-time volunteer deputy chief with the Airway Heights Fire Department for 17 years and a field operations supervisor/paramedic with American Medical Response for 16 years. Beginning in 2014, he was also a part-time battalion chief with Spokane County Fire District 10.

It was hard work to attend school and hold down three jobs, Bement said.

“I made it work,” he said.

Early on, he had decided to work toward being a fire chief and was determined to reach that goal.

“I decided that fire administration was more my thing,” he said. “I focused my education and my career goals on becoming a fire chief.”

Bement was one of three candidates invited to Newman Lake for three days of interviews before panels of community members, volunteer firefighters and the fire commissioners.

Though Bement officially took over his position on June 5, Cooke is staying on as a consultant for five to 10 hours a week for the rest of the year to work on ongoing projects, including the levy lid lift that will be on the ballot in August.

“I think there’s several projects that Chief Cooke was in the middle of that we can work on together,” Bement said. “Chief Cooke has long been my mentor. I’ve learned a lot from him already.”

Cooke, who recused himself from voting on the hiring of the new chief because of his relationship with Bement, said it only seemed fair that he should finish the projects he started.

“I don’t want to just drop this in his lap,” Cooke said.

Cooke said he’s glad Bement was selected for the role.

“We go back 15, 20 years,” Cooke said. “That’s what makes it special.”