The Woodburn Fire District is pleased to announce the promotion of Lieutenant Jon Koenig to station captain. The promotion ceremony was held during the September 20th fire district board meeting.
Captain Koenig is the first career firefighter to be designated as station captain in the Woodburn Fire District. The creation of the of the station captain position became necessary as a result of growth of the fire district and the partial staffing of the James Street station in Woodburn.
Captain Koenig is a certified paramedic with 30 years of fire service experience including 23 years serving the residents of Woodburn, Gervais and surrounding aera. Koenig was promoted to lieutenant in 2019 where he has led a crew of firefighters assigned to one of three shifts at the district’s main station. In addition to his emergency response duties, Koenig manages the district’s wildland response program and serves as an operations chief trainee for one of the state of Oregon’s incident management teams.
Throughout his career, Koenig has received many awards for outstanding service to the community and leadership in the district. His recognitions include two Unit Commendations, an Oregon Fire Chief’s Award, and a Ribbon of Merit.
As captain, Koenig supervises 11 career firefighters and lieutenants assigned to all three shifts at the fire station. In remarks made at the promotion ceremony, Fire Chief Joe Budge stated that “it is the captain’s responsibility to ensure that the fire engine, equipment and firefighters are ready to respond to any emergency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Chief Budge went on to say, “Jon’s extensive experience and unwavering commitment to excellence will help the district meet its mission to protect the lives and property of the communities we serve.” Board Director Andy Ponce who administered the oath of office, added that Koenig “is a proven leader with outstanding capabilities”.
Captain Koenig is a 3rd generation Woodburn resident. He lives with his wife Lynne who serves as a leader in the Woodburn School District. They have two children; a daughter who is a student at George Fox University where she is studying journalism and a son who is following in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in the fire service.