Mitch Nolze: South Whatcom Fire Authority Fire Chief

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – For nearly two decades, South Whatcom Fire Authority (SWFA) Fire Chief Mitch Nolze has worked to save people in Whatcom County from a variety of perilous situations. Nolze wears a lot of hats at the Fire Authority, and he tries to strike a healthy work-life balance as a husband and recent father of two.

Nolze first moved up to Whatcom County in 2007 after getting his start in firefighting in the Maple Valley and King County area three years earlier. He never expected to stay in Whatcom, but he liked the area during his visit and decided to stay. Nolze began his time at Whatcom Fire District 2, which was consolidated into the SWFA at the beginning of 2009.

At the same time, the now-Sudden Valley resident worked several years in the Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s office as an investigator and inspector. Nolze said that the training to be a fire marshal gave a different perspective to fire fighting.

“When I started [at the fire marshal’s office], I had to go through [the] police academy and become a specially commissioned deputy of the sheriff’s office. Went through specialized fire investigation training and explosion training with the ATF at the National Fire Academy as well. There was a lot of different components there on investigations and ongoing training requirements to get certified,” he said. Nolze notes that the training procedure for fire marshals in Whatcom County could have changed in the past decade.

Nolze transitioned to assistant fire chief of SWFA in 2019 before taking over as fire chief in 2023. Now that he is in command of the five districts in SWFA, Nolze said his role is much less operational, but he still goes out on some calls.

“Because we’re a smaller organization, we don’t run a lot of calls. We share a duty officer rotation,” Nolze said. “For larger incidents and more complex incidents that require command structure, we respond and we do a rotating schedule.”

“My role is really to maintain policy, procedure, the administration of the finances and budgeting for the Fire Authority. I also am the liaison and direct representative to the board of fire commissioners,” Nolze said. Nolze and his team are currently ironing out the mid-biennium budget for the SWFA.

Fire chief is an appointed position by the board of fire commissioners who are all elected to represent a district within the SWFA.

“In a leadership role, the biggest thing I can do is support what our people are doing, and give them the tools and the equipment and the funds to be able to do what they’re really good at, and try not to be a barrier or something to stop that, but to help support that and direct it and make sure it’s still in line with our mission and our values,” he said. “The biggest thing I can do, is continue to show them support, make sure that they’re healthy, happy here, because when those things happen, they provide a better service and the best service to the community.”

Nolze said that three quarters of all calls SWFA respond to are for emergency medical services, or EMS. The authority’s jurisdiction includes popular mountain biking destination Galbraith Mountain as well as Chuckanut, Lake Samish and Sudden Valley. He noted the regularity SWFA respond to calls reporting mountain biking accidents among other incidents.

“I don’t do mountain biking, just because I know what happens up there,” he said. “I’m aware of the risk.”

Seeing traumatizing scenes is not as frequent for responders in south Whatcom, but Nolze said that even just one call can change a person’s life.

“I’d say the biggest thing is just dealing with some of the mental health components and the taxing, like what that does and how that taxes your own mental health, just seeing terrible things all the time. We’re in a little bit of [a slower] district, and so that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not there. It just means it’s probably slower. Probably slower growing than some larger departments, I think the type of demographics that you serve and things can change that as well. But it doesn’t make [it] any worse,” Nolze said.

Budgets for SWFA and other fire authorities now allocate funding for mental health services, as Nolze said the amount of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the fire service is quite great.

“The impact we can have on a kid or a family, especially if they’re having a bad day and we’re there, that’s a huge thing that we can maybe make that a little less scary for them.” – Mitch Nolze

In addition to his role as fire chief, Nolze also serves as the Whatcom County Mobilization Coordinator. His coordination work for Washington State Patrol’s All Risk Mobilization Plan will be to organize and send resources for emergencies both within and outside Whatcom. The mobilization unit is separate from Whatcom County Sheriff’s Division of Emergency Management, but they often work together. Though it is a year-round position, Nolze said his busiest time is during the warmer months when wildfires are most common.

“It’s a coordinated plan that when any fire chief in any jurisdiction needs assistance for whatever type of emergency, there is a coordinated plan that allows them to get that resource and get that help and the funding covered, so there’s no cost to that organization for calling for help,” he said.

Nolze said that juggling these responsibilities and making sure to spend time with his young family requires a lot of organization, and he is organized, just in his own way that he said people may not recognize.

“I live by a calendar, by task lists and things and different technologies and things that I can use to my advantage, but also delegation is really important. So, knowing that the key is surrounding myself with people that are way smarter than me is a great thing, because I work with a lot of great people that actually make this thing function,” he said.

When asked about the benefits and downsides of working as an emergency responder, Nolze said the long time off work between shifts make the tough parts a little easier. He tries to take time to be with his wife and two daughters: aged four years old and eighteen months old.

Nolze’s father-in-law worked at the same district that Nolze works at now, and he met his future wife through his work there.

“She understands also some of the job, which makes it nice. I have to get up the middle of the night, and I always have a pager next to my bed and those are things that are somewhat familiar to her,” Nolze said.

Whether it’s heading a department that serves its community with speed and integrity or making sure Whatcom County’s resources are properly allocated for unpredictable dangers, Nolze works to approach these tasks with a level head.

We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.