Clark County Fire District 3 recently promoted two staff members and welcomed a new fire inspector.
Chris Drone was named the division chief for community risk reduction, Andrey Zalozh was promoted to captain in addition to becoming a firefighter-paramedic, and Dawson Shoup was moved from firefighter and EMT to fire inspector, according to a news release.
“Fire District 3 is expected to grow by 46% in the next 20 years,” said Chief Scott Sorenson in the release. “These positions are important for community safety, and we were pleased to fill them with internal candidates.”
Drone was originally the first fire marshal for the district in 2017 before he acquired his current position, the release stated. The community risk reduction division works to prevent fires and people from being injured, with the fire marshal being a part of that sector. Before working in the district, Drone was a plans examiner and lead deputy fire marshal with the city of Vancouver, the release stated. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a licensed fire protection engineer. Drone received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Washington State University, as well as two associate degrees.
As for Zalozh, he interned with the district in 2004 and then served as a resident firefighter and volunteer before working full-time in 2014, the release stated. He was originally part of the fire cadet program with a neighboring agency while in high school. Zalozh and his family immigrated to Clark County from Ukraine in 1998. He has an associate’s degree in fire science from Columbia Southern University and is also a certified firefighter and paramedic.
Shoup was originally a fire cadet at District 3 while he attended Union High School in Camas. He then became an intern and later a volunteer firefighter in 2019. He was hired full-time as a firefighter in 2020. He has an associate’s degree in fire science from Portland Community College, the release stated.
Clark County Fire District 3 serves 40,000 people in Clark County, including the city of Battle Ground. In 2020, the district responded to 4,155 calls with the help of 52 full-time and 10 volunteer emergency personnel.
