PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — An airline pilot who voluntarily furloughed because of the coronavirus has returned to his roots as a Pierce County firefighter working on the front lines of the pandemic.
"I felt it was an opportunity where I saw a need,” said Hunter Chumbley, a certified firefighter paramedic and Horizon Air captain who’s now working at Orting Valley Fire and Rescue. “Been a firefighter for over 17 years and that’s what I know.”
Chumbley previously worked with East Pierce Fire and Rescue for nearly two decades before deciding to switch careers in 2017.
"I wanted to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming an airline pilot,” said Chumbley. “ It never gets old. It’s always a beautiful view.”
Chumbley said he kept up with his certifications, which allowed him to get hired with Orting Valley Fire and Rescue last month, an agency that he previously worked with in a partnership for mutual-aid calls.
“The expectation that you’re on your toes and that you know the information about the airplane is very similar to being a firefighter, where you’re expected to be able to respond at a moment’s notice,” said Chumbley.
Orting Valley Fire and Rescue Chief Zane Gibson, who worked with Chumbley in East Pierce County for several years, welcomed the pilot-turned-firefighter’s arrival as training for new hires has stalled.
“We’ve hired new firefighter-paramedics to fill that vacancy when everything stopped and the academy got paused,” said Gibson. “That delayed their ability to get in the field.”
Chumbley said he plans to work in Orting for the next six months during the pandemic but will eventually return to the skies.
“Not knowing whether you could take it home to your family or that you could contract [the virus] while taking care of people makes it a little uneasy,” said Chumbley. “But I still love the job.”
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