Jacksonville Fire Chief Wayne Painter has been chosen to receive the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association Award of Excellence. Painter will be honored Thursday during the association’s Spring Conference in Bend.

Since becoming chief in 2018, he has renewed the department’s equipment through grants, participated in the rebuild of the 70-year-old fire station, collaborated with others to reduce the wildfire threat from lands in and around Jacksonville, added to firefighter ranks and championed the program that has increased Firewise neighborhoods throughout town.

“I think he has vision; he has an incredible work ethic, he gets people around him inspired,” said City Councilor Andrea Thompson, who nominated Painter for the award. “He came in and said we can have the finest fire department in Southern Oregon. He put on his thinking cap and figured out how to bring in grants.”

Criteria for the award include developing a program, process or equipment positively affecting the fire service or safety and public welfare, performing duties and acting in an outstanding and superior manner or demonstrating continuous professionalism.

“He knows his business. He is always looking at ways to do things without costing us a lot,” City Administrator Jeff Alvis said. “He is well liked by the community.”

Painter’s outreach to local foundations has brought in funding for a variety for equipment. He has worked with the Dubs Foundation, the Josephine County Foundation and the West Family Foundation. Other grants have come from the Gary Sinise Foundation, Pacific Power, the Firehouse Subs Foundation and the Driscoll Family Foundation.

“I was just starting from scratch. Since I have been here, everything has been replaced,” Painter said. That includes hoses, turnouts, apparatus and much more.

Painter spearheaded the effort that will bring a new Type 3 engine to Jacksonville. The city’s Urban Renewal Agency has provided funds for the new vehicle, which is being built, although delivery is likely a year away,  Alvis said.

A program through the Oregon State Fire Marshal will bring a Type 3 wildland engine worth $500,000 to the department. The program is a renewable loan.

When Painter started in town, there were only a few Firewise neighborhoods organized around fire defense. That number has increased to 38, with an estimated 70% to 80% of Jacksonville now in the program. Painter gives much of the credit to volunteer Linda Davis for heading the effort.

“He is the kind of person who says, ‘It’s a team effort,’” Thompson said. “I think that goes a long way in his leadership abilities. People want to be part of his team because he is not some kind of glory hound.”

Painter also boosted the number of firefighters through two programs. When he began, the department would only have two personnel on duty. Now it has three because he brought in a program that helps college students.

“These are kids that want to go on and become firefighters,” Painter said. The federal government pays their tuition and they pull duty at the station.

A program with the state Fire Marshal’s Office going into its third year provides an extra firefighter during fire season. This allows a brush rig to be operated for response to fires.

The city was already working toward a $1.3-million state seismic-retrofit grant for the 70-year-old fire station when Painter became chief — the building had a number of issues — but his work was essential to seeing the project completed, including securing over $1 million in new equipment inside the building.

“He helped with the fire hall. Without him, we couldn’t have gotten it done,” Alvis said. The work included adding a second story that houses an emergency operations center for the city.

In Jacksonville, much of the danger comes from the area outside town where wildfires could ignite and spread to the city, Thompson said. Painter has worked with regional partners on multiple fuels reduction programs.

“Just this year we did a little over 700 acres of wildland clearing all around the city,” Painter said.

In 2023, $500,000 was awarded from the state Fire Marshal for work in the city’s Forest Park west of town. Collaboration with Lomakatsi, an Ashland-based nonprofit involved in forestry workforce training, resulted in fuel reduction along Highway 238 as part of the West Bear All-Lands Restoration Project.

“He has reached beyond where a city fire chief has to go, looking beyond to what has to be done,” Thompson said. “I have been so impressed with his resourcefulness.”

Painter started in fire service in Roseburg, where he worked for the Douglas Forest Protective Association during summers while going to college. He earned an associate’s degree in fire suppression and a certificate in fire service supervision from Chemeketa Community College in Salem. Later he earned a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from Western Oregon University.

Over 31 years with the Medford Fire Department, Painter rose to the rank of captain and served as a move-up battalion chief when others were away. He is also an intermediate-level EMT.

Painter has served on both the state Fire Marshal’s management team for larger fires and on Northwest Incident Management Team 7 for big wildfire incidents where the federal government takes over management of conflagrations.