Norvin Collins was selected as the Fire Chief for San Juan Island Fire & Rescue in Oct. of 2018. The District protects 55 sq. miles and the population of approx. 9,000 residents on San Juan Island as well as living on Brown and Pearl Islands along with the DNR land on all 172 named Islands within San Juan County. 500,000 visitors populate San Juan Island throughout the course of the year for the natural beauty the area holds. The District is a combination Emergency Services Organization with 8 full-time staff and 50 Paid-On-Call volunteers.
Chief Collins was selected as Sauvie Island Fire District's first paid fire chief in Dec. of 2010. He served Sauvie Island Fire District as a paid Chief along with an administrative assistant, facilities/apparatus manager, and 35 volunteer members; serving approximately 36 square miles of predominately rural and Oregon State land with 1600 citizens and portions of two counties and receives 1.5 million visitors a year.
Norvin Collins served as a Division Chief for Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue where he worked from 1994 through 2012 having held the ranks of firefighter/paramedic, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, and division chief. Additionally, Norvin served as the District’s Volunteer Coordinator for five years overseeing the volunteer operations for Oregon’s largest combination department.
Chief Collins presents nationally on a variety of leadership and development topics for the International Association of Fire Chiefs' (IAFC) Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS), State Chief’s Associations, Elected Officials Conferences, and other local and national organizations. Norvin is an Elected Board member for the VCOS and holds positions on the VCOS national conference planning committees, a Planning Section Chief for a regional Type III Incident Management Team, and a member of numerous committees both internal and external to the fire service.
Chief Collins holds a B.S. in Fire Administration, a M.S. in Psychology, and EFO credentials through the National Fire Academy. He holds numerous fire and medical operational certifications as well as having published papers and articles on various fire service topics.