Two islanders filed to run for a seat on the fire board last week during King County Elections’ special filing period.

Tamalyn Nigretto and Brigitte Schran Brown filed to run for Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) Commissioner Position 3. Rex Stratton currently holds that seat, but plans to move off the island and is not running again. No candidates filed for that position in the regular filing period last May.

Nigretto, a battalion chief with Seattle Fire Department, said she has 28 years of fire service experience and feels it is the right time for her to give back in her own community.

She noted she has been “keeping tabs on” the proposed change in paramedic service on the island, which has drawn some criticism inside and outside the department.

“I am committed to maintaining a paramedic presence on the island at all times,” she added.

If elected, she said she would like to examine options to decrease response times and review the department’s fiscal and operational management systems. Additionally, she would like to be sure the department is adhering to national standards and addressing the challenges that come with a department comprised of both staff and volunteers.

VIFR is in the midst of conducting a strategic plan, and she noted she was part of the Seattle Fire Department’s strategic plan in 2012.

“I am well versed in how that is put together,” she said.

Brown, who worked for many years as a nurse, is volunteering with VIFR’s strategic plan process and has been a volunteer EMT with the department for 12 years. She said she began thinking about running for the board a few months ago.

“I felt like we need more of a voice from the department, from the men and women in the trenches,” she said.

As the bylaws are now, she will have to give up her volunteer position to serve on the board, something she said she would work to change in part because the department desperately needs volunteers.

On Friday, Brown said she had fielded several calls from people asking her to run. She added she questions some decisions at the department and believes not all were made in the best interest of the community.

Her main campaign promise, she noted, is that she will listen.

“Commissioners need to have ears, not just trumpets,” she said.

She added that she is excited to be running.

“I think VIFR is a phenomenal organization. It has problems, but the bottom line is it does an outstanding job. We need to do everything we can to make sure that continues,” she said.