The fire service is mourning the loss of a pillar in the community.

Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue Commissioner Bob Pontius passed away peacefully on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Pontius was first appointed to the fire board in October 1999, and served on various committees and as the board chair.

During his tenure, he facilitated numerous innovations and accomplishments.

In keeping with his background in the trucking industry after running his family business, Pontius Trucking, for 50 years, he served on the district’s equipment and facilities committee.

“That kind of background really bled over well into managing the fleet, which is unusual for commissioners,” said East Jefferson Fire Rescue Chief Bret Black.

As a part of the apparatus design committee for Port Ludlow, Pontius played a major role with the fire department’s fleet.

“Over his tenure he saw numerous vehicles through the design and build process,” Black said.

These vehicles have to be custom-built depending on the needs of the area of service, and rural areas need to be especially diverse.

“Here, we need bigger water tanks than you would normally see in a metro fire department, because they have fire hydrants every couple hundred yards. And we are lucky to have one every couple miles sometimes,” Black said.

“We are more of the Swiss Army knife-type agency,” he added. “Where a metropolitan or suburban fire department will have more specialized units for different missions and we have to have one tool to do all things to a large degree.”

Pontius also helped lead the recent merger between the Port Ludlow and East Jefferson fire departments, putting together all of the negotiations for the first iteration of the management agreement between the entities, Black said.

“Then the eventual merger. He was part of all of that and gave a lot of good perspective to make sure that we addressed all of the community’s concerns,” Black added.

Pontius was also the president of the Jefferson County Fire Commissioners and Secretaries Association, and he sat on the labor management committee as well as the JeffCom 911 Board.

Outside of the fire department, Pontius was a beef rancher living in the Beaver Valley area and was well known throughout the county in agriculture-related associations. He continued his public service on the Jefferson County Fair Board and Washington State Cattlemen’s Association.

He was also a longtime member of the Washington Dump Truck Association, as well as a member of multiple car associations including the International Race Driver Conference, Bremerton Sports Car Club, Classical Glass Corvette Club, Solid Axel Corvette Club, Port Townsend Rakers Car Club, and a founding member of the West Seattle Dusters Car Club.

It was not uncommon to see Pontius throughout the week at the Highway Twenty Roadhouse in Port Townsend, enjoying the afternoon with his friends. He cared deeply for the community and was a fixture in many social circles.

Pontius was the proud father of three children and three grandchildren, whom he loved dearly. His family will be hosting a Celebration of Life at the Highway Twenty Roadhouse in Port Townsend at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18. All are welcome.