South King Fire welcomes Ryan Woodey as new chief
Published 8:59 am Wednesday, January 21, 2026
South King Fire has a new chief with hometown roots.
Chief Ryan Woodey was appointed to the position by the board of commissioners on Jan. 5. Woodey grew up in Federal Way, attending Lake Dolloff Elementary, Kilo Junior High, and Thomas Jefferson High School and still lives in the area with his wife and three daughters.
“South King Fire is very fortunate to have someone of his quality,” said recently retired Kevin Crossen, who served as acting fire chief over the operations of the division last year. “He’s a great asset to our community.”
South King Fire shared in their announcement that Chief Woodey began his fire service in 2002 as a volunteer firefighter with Graham Fire and Rescue.
He served as a career firefighter with Graham for 20 years, where he advanced through the ranks from firefighter to battalion chief.
Most recently, Woodey served as a deputy fire chief with Kirkland Fire beginning in 2023.
Woodey has worked on a variety of projects and programs over his career. These include fire station renovations and replacements, the development of policies and guidelines for a carcinogen-reduction program, and community outreach efforts designed to educate voters on critical funding levies, according to South King Fire.
He also led a team of regional battalion chiefs, tasked with developing a tactical operations manual for a training consortium responsible for 800 uniformed firefighters, and has served as a project liaison for important fire training center activities.
“Chief Woodey’s personal, professional, and educational experiences have shaped his values of fostering community connections, advocating for health and safety, and a strong dedication to service,” South King Fire shared in their announcement, adding that he is “committed to mentoring and coaching prospective firefighters and tenured officers. His leadership approach is to build cohesive teams through caring and accountability, while delivering on the mission to safeguard people, property, and the environment.”
Woodey shared that he is “honored and humbled” to serve in his new role.
The leadership of South King Fire has seen several leadership changes over the past few years as they’ve been searching for the right long-term fit to take on the role.
The previous fire chief, Dave Van Valkenburg, was placed on paid administrative leave in Dec. 2024, pending an investigation, then announced he would be retiring on the last day of his leave.
Van Valkenburg was named the interim fire chief on Sept. 1, 2023, and before that, Assistant Chief Dave Mataftin was appointed as interim fire chief on Jan. 4 2022, both replacing previous chief Vic Pennington who held the position of fire chief for two years.
