South King Fire chief, deputy chief placed on leave

The South King Fire chief and deputy chief have been placed on administrative leave, according to Brad Chaney, community affairs officer for South King Fire.

Officials aren’t saying why the moves have taken place. However, separate independent investigations are being conducted.

Chief Dave Van Valkenburg and Deputy Lisa Defenbaugh are out until further notice, according to The Federal Way Mirror.

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Following a unanimous vote, Van Valkenburg was placed on leave during the December 4 Board of Commissioners meeting. Defenbaugh was placed on leave the next day.

According to his LinkedIn page, Van Valkenburg has been the chief for over two years. He was with the Washington State Patrol Fire Academy for the previous 28 years.

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The board has appointed Deputy Chief Kevin Crossen to serve as acting fire chief.

“Chief Crossen, a 30-year veteran of the South King Fire, is committed to providing steadfast leadership to the communities we serve,” Chaney told the Mirror. “To preserve the integrity of the process, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.