At some point in their lives, most every kid probably wants to grow up to be a firefighter.

No doubt it’s the flashy accoutrement of the profession – the shiny trucks, the lights and sirens, the wildly gushing hoses – that capture the young imagination. Yet in their innocence, kids may not see the real prize: fire chief. Besides the added prestige, the pay’s a lot better.

In fact, at a current salary of more than $100,000 per year, the Bainbridge fire chief is among the top five or six highly paid public officials on the island. So it was curious to hear one of our fire commissioners comment last week that “85 to 90 percent of people on the island, when they call 911, don’t care who’s running the department. All they care about is that someone responds to help them.”

Fire commissioners are looking for the department’s next chief, to fill a vacancy left when Jim Walkowski departed for another district. Forty-two career and volunteer firefighters have petitioned the board to forego a formal hiring process and bring back former chief Kirk Stickels, who left in 2001 after an eight-year stint, moved to Alaska for a while and now manages the port of Poulsbo.

Stickels served the department well, and by all accounts was a popular leader in the fire hall. Well-credentialed, he also served as lead fire investigator when the fire marshal position was retooled to handle building inspections and permit reviews.

But Stickels’ (or any other candidate’s) popularity with the rank-and-file firefighters isn’t the issue, and the fire commissioners should understand that. Since Stickels held the post, the fire department’s management structure has been completely revamped; an executive director position was eliminated and the fire chief now is the department’s top dog, more manager and policy-maker than emergency responder. The job is no longer about putting out fires; it’s about managing a multimillion-dollar budget, long-term planning and dealing with labor issues. That change alone should guide fire commissioners as they sift through resumes.

More important is the credibility and openness of the hiring process itself. The island’s other public agencies have in recent years striven to bring in the community as key leaders are selected.

When the Bainbridge city administrator and police chief positions opened up a few years ago, the city held public receptions for finalists, inviting key constituents to meet and size up the hopefuls. The school district has done likewise with candidates for high-profile administrative posts. And in selecting a new park district director, the park board formed a hiring committee that included citizens and user groups. The fire department should be no less inclusive as it looks for its next leader.

Interestingly, at tonight’s meeting, the board will also consider a resolution by which to expand the fire board from three commissioners to five; if the resolution is adopted, the question would be put to island voters to decide. This newspaper has advocated such a move for years – more representation is better representation – but those arguments are for another day. Suffice it to say that voters should finally get their say.

In the meantime, the fire department should conduct a full and open search for a new chief. If the best candidate turns out to be a familiar face, well and good.

But the department owes it to its constituents – island taxpayers – to find out who else is out there.

Islanders do care who’s fire chief – they care at least $100,000 per year’s worth, probably more.