‘Bad stuff’ over for retiring Everett emergency chief

EVERETT — His favorite part of the job was bringing people together.

Or, as one friend put it, being “personality and presence in the middle of bad stuff happening.”

After 25 years, Dave DeHaan is retiring from the city of Everett. He started as a firefighter here in 1990 and rose to become the city’s director of emergency management. He and his wife, Jennifer Rinaldi, have two grown children.

His retirement ceremony is set for 3:30 to 6 p.m. Jan. 6 in the Weyerhaeuser Room at Everett Station.

DeHaan, 55, grew up in Spanaway, the youngest son of a retired U.S. Air Force mechanic and a homemaker. His parents loved to camp and travel in a motor home.

“We spent a lot of our weekends over the years going to Mount Rainier and the ocean,” he said.

At 18, DeHaan was working as an autobody repairman, and he wanted something more.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

His dad talked him out of becoming a military police officer or a jet mechanic. They settled on firefighter, and DeHaan joined the Air Force, serving four years near Spokane. For seven years after that, he worked as a civilian firefighter at the U.S. Navy base in Kitsap County.

In 1990, his cousin, Sharon DeHaan, was working for the city of Everett and suggested he apply.

In 2001, DeHaan advised then-Mayor Ed Hansen after the Nisqually earthquake and then the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They decided Everett needed to become better prepared for the unexpected. In 2004, the city left a county-wide emergency management program to form its own plan, specific for Everett.

“The focus changed,” DeHaan said.

Under his watch, nearly 800 people have completed the fire department’s Community Emergency Response Team training since 1999. Volunteers from that group help organize the city’s Fourth of July parade, when up to 20,000 people visit downtown Everett.

In the event of a disaster, those volunteers will be better prepared to help their families and neighbors, DeHaan said. He takes pride in the skills they’ve learned and the commitment they’ve shown.

“I really admire the sense of community we have here in Everett,” he said.

The challenge has been to keep people thinking about preparedness, he said. An earthquake is the No. 1 concern for this part of the country and yet it remains “an amorphous threat” compared to local flooding or winter weather.

This year, DeHaan helped the Everett School District with multiple training sessions related to safety, bringing energy and ideas, Assistant Superintendent Molly Ringo said.

“He is very enthusiastic and positive yet practical,” she said.

DeHaan is the chairman of the governor’s emergency management council and also served on the Snohomish County board of the American Red Cross.

Local Red Cross Director Chuck Morrison referred to DeHaan as “personality and presence.” DeHaan is known for being calm and rational, thoughtful and well-connected, Morrison said. He doesn’t take over the conversation, and he listens.

“There never seems to be a situation where he has too much to say,” Morrison said. “If he says something, you better listen.”

DeHaan helped Everett develop better relationships with local, state and federal agencies, Fire Chief Murray Gordon said. He worked with honesty, not ego.

“I don’t believe I ever saw Dave burn a bridge,” Gordon said. “There are strong opinions and strong people in emergency management who he was able to find common ground with and work with.”

That friendliness — as well as being a gentleman — is what helped DeHaan get across his message, which was the importance of resilience for the region, said Barb Graff, the director of emergency management for Seattle.

“Whether it was mundane business or a crisis situation, he was the kind of person you always wanted to have around,” she said.

People trusted DeHaan because of his strong sense of right and wrong, Graff said.

“He always found the most complimentary thing to say about a person and kept anything else to himself,” she said. “He cuts through what separates people and focuses in on what brought us together.”

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Police Cmdr. Scott King answers questions about the Flock Safety license plate camera system on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace approves Flock camera system after public pushback

The council approved the $54,000 license plate camera system agreement by a vote of 5-2.

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen goes through an informational slideshow about the current budget situation in Edmonds during a roundtable event at the Edmonds Waterfront Center on Monday, April 7, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds mayor recommends $19M levy lid lift for November

The city’s biennial budget assumed a $6 million levy lid lift. The final levy amount is up to the City Council.

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Snohomish County property owners can prepare for wildfire season

Clean your roofs, gutters and flammable material while completing a 5-foot-buffer around your house.

(City of Everett)
Everett’s possible new stadium has a possible price tag

City staff said a stadium could be built for $82 million, lower than previous estimates. Bonds and private investment would pay for most of it.

Jennifer Humelo, right, hugs Art Cass outside of Full Life Care Snohomish County on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘I’ll lose everything’: Snohomish County’s only adult day health center to close

Full Life Care in Everett, which supports adults with disabilities, will shut its doors July 19 due to state funding challenges.

Stolen car crashes into Everett Mexican restaurant

Contrary to social media rumors, unmarked police units had nothing to do with a raid by ICE agents.

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. (Olivia Vanni/The Herald)
Providence Everett issues layoff notices to over 100 nursing assistants

The layoffs are part of a larger restructuring by Providence, affecting 600 positions across seven states, Providence announced Thursday.

Junelle Lewis, right, daughter Tamara Grigsby and son Jayden Hill sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during Monroe’s Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 18, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Where to celebrate Juneteenth in Snohomish County this year

Celebrations last from Saturday to Thursday, and span Lynnwood, Edmonds, Monroe and Mountlake Terrace.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Lake Stevens in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Judge rules in favor of sewer district in Lake Stevens dispute

The city cannot assume the district earlier than agreed to in 2005, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday.

Herald staff photo by Michael O'Leary 070807
DREAMLINER - The first Boeing 787 is swarmed by the crowd attending the roll out of the plane in on July 8, 2007 at the Boeing assembly facility in Everett.
Plane in Air India crash tragedy was built in Everett

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the crash that killed more than 200 people was shipped from Everett to Air India in 2014.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

The Daily Herald relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in