South County Fire chief announces retirement
Published 2:50 pm Wednesday, January 21, 2026
EVERETT — South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman is set to retire this year, the fire authority announced Wednesday.
The Board of Commissioners has selected Assistant Chief Shaughn Maxwell to serve as the next fire chief.
Eastman has served as chief since 2024. He will officially step down Feb. 1 but will remain in the organization until June 30 to help with the leadership transition.
South County Fire is the largest fire district in Snohomish County, serving nearly 300,000 residents in Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace and unincorporated southwest Snohomish County.
“It has been nothing short of a privilege to watch this agency grow into a regional and national leader in emergency services,” Eastman said in a press release Wednesday. “We strive to deliver exceptional care to our community while remaining accountable to our taxpayers. That work is only possible because of South County Fire’s greatest asset — our people.”
Eastman has worked in emergency services for more than 40 years, according to the release. His career began in 1984 as an emergency medical technician. In 1996, Snohomish County Fire District No. 11 hired Eastman as a firefighter/paramedic. As local fire departments consolidated, he rose through the ranks. Eastman helped draft the regional fire authority plan, which voters in Lynnwood and unincorporated Snohomish County approved in 2017. Since then, he has played a key role in annexing Brier, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds into South County Fire, the release said. He was also a leader in local fire response during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Chief Eastman’s legacy is that of an architect,” said North County Regional Fire Authority Chief Dave Kraski in the release. “The majority of his career has been spent in different positions and ranks in administration, the non-heroic and less exciting part of the fire service. Bob has played a role at some level in all of the mergers over the last few decades, into what is now South County Fire – the largest fire and EMS provider in Snohomish County.”
Eastman also spent 25 years with the United States military, the release said. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1987 to 1991 and the Air National Guard from 1994 to 2013, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007.
“As a strategic leader, Chief Eastman understands that the strongest outcomes come from empowering those around him,” said Ed Widdis, South County Fire commissioner and retired fire chief, in the release. “The progress he set in motion will continue long after his tenure, always anchored in our commitment to serve this community.”
Maxwell has spent nearly three decades with South County Fire, the release said. He currently serves as an assistant fire chief and executive officer. He previously led the fire authority’s emergency medical services division. In 2025, he earned the 2025 Medal of Meritorious Service from the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
