Matt began his career in the fire service in 1972 as a “Jr. Firefighter.” Then, a Jr. Firefighter was someone who was under 16 years of age who could drill and learn the skills of firefighting, but could not participate in any actually firefighting activities. Matt started at 15 years old and when he turned 16, he became a Volunteer Firefighter, which he continued to do throughout his high school years.

Matt attended Bates Vocational School after high school and became a Resident Volunteer Firefighter, living at a fire station, when not in school. In late 1977, he was hired at Fire District 9 (South Hill) and was only the fifth paid person to be hired there. The department remained mostly a volunteer fire department well into the late 1980’s.

Matt continued to expand his knowledge in the fire department by first becoming a training instructor for the department in the early 1980’s, then a Division Chief overseeing the department’s facilities and apparatus through the mid 1980’s to early 1990’s. As the department grew, Matt tested and was promoted to the position of Lieutenant, then Captain and finally a Battalion Chief in 1987.

Following the merger of Parkland/Midland, Spanaway and South Hill/Summit in the mid 1990’s (forming Central Pierce Fire & Rescue), Matt became Battalion Chief of ‘B’ Shift overseeing the daily emergency operations. In 2000, he was promoted to Assistant Chief overseeing Emergency Medical Services. In 2006, Matt moved full time into the position of Assistant Chief of the Prevention & Education Division. He now oversees prevention programs presented to the public, as well as, working with the fire marshal’s office. Matt is also the department’s Public Information Officer and works closely with the media, as well as, handling public speaking engagements on a regular basis to community groups, civic groups, etc.

After 38 years with Central Pierce, Matt has seen a lot of change and a steady growth in the department. Following the merger with the City of Puyallup, the department now has approximately 300 paid firefighters and responds to approximately 24,000 emergency calls each year. Matt remembers his first year when the department responded on 165 emergency calls. Back in those days, there was only one paid Chief and one paid Firefighter.

Matt is married to his wife Janet (for 26 years) she works at Clover Park Technical College. He has two boys, one is attending Central Washington University, and the other is attending Eastern Washington University. When not at work, Matt enjoys the outdoors (mostly on his Harley). Every day is a great day, especially if the sun is shining!