Incumbent Bainbridge Island Fire Department Commissioner YongSuk Cho has apparently been granted another term in the Position 2 spot, according to the preliminary results of Tuesday’s election.

He claimed 2,511 votes (62.2 percent), while challenger Robert S. Peterson received 1,520 (37.7 percent).

Cho has a nearly 30-year-long history with the island fire department, including 22 years as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and six years as commissioner. He has been a career firefighter/EMT in Seattle for 20 years and spent eight years as a member of FEMA Disaster Medical Assistance Team, as well as seven years as a volunteer EMT for Bainbridge Island Ambulance (now defunct).

In the wake of his election, fellow commissioners turned down Cho’s request to continue serving as a volunteer with the island department. Cho had hoped to continue acting as a volunteer while also serving as a commissioner. State law, however, requires an unanimous vote from commissioners to allow an elected official to serve in both roles, and a previous board decision established the current policy of not allowing commissioners to serve as volunteers on Bainbridge.

After decades of participation in the fire department and larger community on Bainbridge, following a move here from South Korea when he was 17, Cho said his primary goal in retaining the position is to increase the department’s volunteer force.