Eric Wood will go to work Monday, Feb. 3, at the Walla Walla Fire Department, just as he has for the past 21 years. However, on that day, he will enter the department as its new chief.
It will be a bittersweet day for Wood because it will also be his first day working without his longtime colleague — and recent boss — John Knowles, who will retire as chief on Sunday, Feb. 2.
Knowles has been the chief since April 2023, when he took over for retiring Chief Bob Yancy.
Though his time as chief was short, Knowles worked his entire career with the department since joining as a student firefighter in 1993.
Knowles said he knew when he took the job that he was going to be a short-term chief and had hoped that Wood would be replacing him at some point.
“I expected it, anticipated it and hoped for it,” Knowles said. “Eric and I both got promoted to deputy chief positions in 2021 at the same time. Yeah, I have been here 10 years longer than Eric has. So, it was a natural progression for me to sit in this seat for a short time, knowing that long-term, Eric was going to take the reins.”
Knowles said he thought he’d be in the position a little longer.
“I anticipated a short time (as chief),” he said. “I hoped for about five years, to be honest with you. That was my goal. But my life, both professionally and personally, has changed over the last year. So that led me to the question, ‘If I can (retire now), why not?’”
Knowles was born and raised in Walla Walla and attended Walla Walla High School. He said his family has been here for several generations, and he knew he was going to spend his entire career here.
“I have roots here,” he said. “My family has been here for close to a century. It’s huge to stay in your hometown and get to do the work that we do.”
While Knowles knew he wanted to stay in Walla Walla from an early age, he didn’t know he was going to be fighting fires here for a career.
“I was going to be a teacher,” he said. “My wife, who was my high school sweetheart, is a teacher, and we were going to be teachers together. That’s where I was going until my senior year in high school.”
A friend’s experience as a firefighter is what changed his mind.
“I tagged along with him to a structure fire and the rest is history,” he said.
Knowles didn’t think long when asked about his favorite part about working with the WWFD.
“To put it in plain English, it’s the people,” Knowles said. “Our mission is we do this for others. And to be a part of that with a group of people like you — that’s the high point. That’s what I’m already missing, and I’m not gone yet. It’s the people.”
Wood doesn’t have the family history that Knowles has in Walla Walla, but he has established deep roots here raising a family with his wife, who was born and raised in Walla Walla.
Wood was hired as a firefighter and paramedic in 2004. He grew up in Omak in north central Washington. Unlike Knowles, he always knew he was going to be firefighter.
“I’m a third-generation firefighter,” he said.
After graduating high school, Wood moved to Spokane and became a student firefighter for three years. He then attended Spokane Community College to earn his fire-science degree.
Wood transferred to Central Washington University for further education and to become a paramedic. At that time, Walla Walla was a place training paramedics would go for internships. This was Wood’s first taste of the Valley.
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“That brought me here,” Wood said. “(Knowles) talks about the people here. He’s exactly right. That’s the reason I stayed in Walla Walla. The people who mentored me here and taught me to become a paramedic, they are second to none.”
So, when it was time to fully begin his professional career, Wood returned to Walla Walla. He said he has no plans to leave.
“Until paramedic school, I had not really heard of (Walla Walla) except for the state penitentiary,” he said. “I got down here and it felt like home to me. I had planned on going back to Spokane, but I was fortunate to be offered a job here … I don’t plan on leaving anytime, ever.”