John Ingrao resigned as the Hoodland Fire District Fire Chief, effective July 31.
Ingrao had served as the Fire Chief since January 2017 but had been placed
on administrative leave in March by the district’s board of directors, pending
an investigation. His resignation effectively ends the investigation.

Board chair Shirley Dueber had no comment on the investigation.

Interim Fire Chief Steven Abel, who was hired in March to oversee the district
during Ingrao’s absence, noted the board approved the first reading of a draft
job description for a new Fire Chief at a Thursday, Aug. 27 work session. The
board could approve the second reading at the Tuesday, Sept. 8 board
meeting and the recruitment process could begin after that, which will be
coordinated by the Special Districts Association of Oregon (SDAO).

Abel noted the position could be advertised for a 30-day period as early as the
middle of September, with interviews potentially lined up for the second week
of November.

“Then it's a matter of timing ... making sure we have the right candidate for
Hoodland and the person’s availability,” Abel said, adding that he hopes the
process is complete by mid-December and that he will assist the SDAO.
Chief Abel also noted he asked the board to approve a job description for a
division chief, shifting from the search for a Deputy Chief position that had
been underway, while noting there is no timeline for finding candidates for the
new position.

He added it is intended to meet the intent of a levy passed by voters in May
2019 to fund a Deputy Chief position, a process that began in November 2019
only to restart this past February after not enough applicants came forward.
Abel appointed Scott Kline earlier this year as the Deputy Chief on an interim
basis.

“I think we have great talent here within the organization,” Abel added.