Growing up in a family of cops that included his dad, four uncles and both his brothers, it seemed logical that Joe Sanford would make a career out of law enforcement. Spending his youth in Seattle, he often met his father’s police partners when they would stop by for lunch, which gave him an inside look at the police world. For years, that was his plan. However, Sanford’s journey turned out different from those men in his family and it has led him to be named Kirkland’s interim fire chief.

His path took an unexpected turn after he completed a test for the Kirkland Fire Department in preparation for applying to the police department.

“I kind of fell into that by accident,” he said. “I thought ‘I’ll take those tests as a practice.’ And Kirkland Fire called me and offered me a job. I really never looked back.”

Despite his family’s legacy in law enforcement, Sanford said he has never had second thoughts.

“[It’s] the best job on the planet, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

His family’s work in law enforcement provided him a contrasting perspective when he went out on calls with other firefighters.

“One of the things I really noticed when I first started was the different reception that fire and police receive on the street,” he said. “Police will show up and people go ‘Oh no, here’s the police,’ or they’ll hide something or look guilty. The whole kind of thing of being scrutinized. But when fire(fighters) shows up they say ‘Yeah! Fire’s here!’ A lot of people say the same thing when police arrive… but we never experienced that with fire. That was probably the biggest thing I noticed when I was first on.”

In the 34 years since, Sanford has served as a firefighter, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief and deputy chief before taking over once former Kirkland fire chief Kevin Nalder stepped down in early August following an extended family medical leave. This month, Nalder took up the fire chief position in Palm Springs, Calif.

Some of the best calls Sanford recalled were also equally the worst, as they usually involved injured children. Unlike many calls, though, they ended on a happy note. One of those involved a boy who fell out of a three story building window after pushing out an unsecured screen. Unconscious when the Kirkland Fire Department (KFD) arrived, they were able to stabilize his neck and perform CPR until they reached the hospital. The boy ultimately recovered and visited firefighters a year later.

“You get the opportunity to help people and not only save lives but change lives,” Sanford said. “It’s the greatest job on the planet.”

Another similar outcome occurred when firefighters responded to a call after a father accidentally fell and caused the infant he was holding to whack against the floor. Although it didn’t appear like there were any visible injuries to the infant, they recommended the father take the child to the hospital, where they learned the entire skull had been cracked. Fortunately, they were able to repair the damage without any long-term effects, Sanford said.

“Things like that are ones that you can remember,” he said.

Another thing that he’s seen since first joining the department has been a rise in the number of calls as the city has grown, from roughly 1,200 a year to approximately 8,300.

“When I was hired there were 19 firefighters in Kirkland,” he said. “Now there’s over 100.”

Though medical calls continue to outpace the number of fire calls, changes in construction practices has led to quicker flashover times, the near-simultaneous ignition of most of the exposed flammable material in an enclosed room, from around 25 minutes to as early as 3.5 minutes.

“When I was first hired a lot of the structures used heavy beamed construction,” he said. “They didn’t use light weight trusses and gusset plates instead of nails. In addition, they use a lot of glues in order to keep costs down. They don’t use actual wood members. They use compressed wood chips.”

Currently, the city is working on the Fire Department Strategic Plan, which is intended to improve response times based on emergency medical services and CPR calls. According to Sanford, around 83 percent of the plan is either completed or in the process of being completed, while the rest of the plan, such as the placement of any new fire stations, the city is working to acquire the necessary funding.

“With reduced flashover times with fire, we’re trying to get there in the same standard,” Sanford said, “and so what that takes is firefighters strategically located throughout the city and the correct number of firefighters to get there and respond quickly.”

As for a new fire chief, city officials have stated that they are looking to fill the police chief position being vacated by Eric Olsen this month.

“What I hope to do is kind of, I guess, start the process for open communication and transparency at all levels in the fire department so that a new chief can step in without having to worry about that part of it,” Sanford said.

It will also give Sanford the opportunity to see if he wants the full-time job. A Poulsbo resident, he said he is looking to move to the Eastside in order to be closer to the city.

“I am considering it at this point,” he said. “It’s an unusual thing in that it’s not something that I’ve strived for. It’s not been a childhood dream. It’s something that I’m looking at right now because I think there are some things that I have to offer in the position that really can be best offered through that position. If I can help in that way, and this interim chief provides the opportunity for me to look and see if the things I’m doing are impacting in a positive way, then I could consider continuing.”

Despite leaving the family career, Sanford said they have been supportive throughout his career.

“They were really excited for me at the time, and they’re jealous of the time schedule,” he said. “They see the two to three days off. They love it, and it’s been a source of family bantering for 34 years. They just don’t see the 48 hours straight (of work).”