Christopher Way has been an emergency service professional for 32 years. Chief Way transitioned to Kootenai County Fire and Rescue as the Fire Chief in May of 2020 after serving as the Chief Officer for the Kootenai County EMS System for the previous seven years.

Chief Way came to Idaho from Kansas where he served in Fire and EMS roles in urban, suburban and rural settings. He was an EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate and now has been a licensed paramedic since 1994 as well as a certified Firefighter. Throughout his career he has held different ranks culminating most recently in his promotion to Fire Chief.  He also has significant experience in disaster management at the local, state, and national levels.

In addition to his full-time role as Fire Chief he is involved at the local, regional, state, and national levels in advocacy and leadership for emergency services.  He is a regular speaker at national conferences and in his spare time Chief Way and two partners own an Emergency Medicine education and consulting company.

Passionate about emergency medical care, Governor Brad Little selected Chief Way to be the Chairman of the Idaho Time Sensitive Emergency Council in May of 2019. He has a bachelor’s degree in Management and Human Relations and maintains all of his Fire and EMS licenses/certifications.  He regularly donates time to his community, serves local non-profit organizations and is involved in his children’s many activities.

Chris and his wife Jennifer live in Hayden, Idaho with their two daughters.