The small field of applicants was poorly qualified, fire officials say.

The search for a new fire chief will stretch into the new year, after a first round of interviews failed to turn up a suitable candidate.

“We basically felt that as a community we needed to take a deeper look at how we should attract the right leader for the department,” fire commissioner Earl Johnson said. “We may eventually hire someone we already talked to, but we want to make sure we do this right.”

Bainbridge firefighters spent a tumultuous fall fretting over who would become the island’s next fire chief. There were two choices: hire a familiar former chief favored by membership, or cast a wider net to see who else might be out there.

Former chief Kirk Stickels, who led the department from 1993 to 2001 and now manages the Port of Poulsbo – did indeed throw his helmet into the ring, as firefighters had hoped.

But in the end, Johnson said, Stickels, like the rest of the candidates who applied, wasn’t strong enough to warrant hiring.

That, he said, means choosing from a larger pool of candidates.

The department received 10 applications for the position, after advertising the opening in several places, including a regional trade journal.

Applications were received from Texas, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, said acting fire chief Glen Tyrrell.

The pool was eventually narrowed to five candidates – two of whom then withdrew their applications, leaving only three hopefuls from whom to choose.

Stickels, who has 30 years of experience as a firefighter and a two-year college degree, said he was disqualified from contention because he doesn’t have a four-year degree. He was not among the five finalists.

Decisions about how to proceed with the search were expected to come Tuesday night, at a special meeting of the fire board.

“We’re going to look at why we didn’t get a larger pool of candidates,” Tyrrell said.

Tyrrell has been serving as interim fire chief since the resignation of Jim Walkowski in April, and his contract with the department was recently extended by a month through Nov. 27.

He will be out of town through the month of December, but will likely return to the post after the first of the year if by that time a new chief still hasn’t been chosen.

Johnson said a new wrinkle has been added since voters earlier this month approved the expansion of the fire board from three members to five.

The two new members – those interested need only contact the fire department to be considered – will be appointed by the commission and will serve staggered terms, with one serving for one year, the other serving three.

The commission oversees the department’s budget, has a say in equipment purchases and other organizational issues and handles labor issues at the island’s three fire stations, including the hiring of the new chief.

Johnson said the new chief wouldn’t be hired until sometime after the first of the year, after the new commissioners are appointed. That would allow them to participate in the hiring process.

“There’s going to be a steep learning curve,” he said. “But this is a great opportunity for citizens to step up and serve their community.”