Thomas Crumpacker began his fire service career in 2019 as a Firefighter EMT in Green Valley, Arizona. He went on to earn his paramedic certification and served as a Firefighter Paramedic until 2022, when he returned to his hometown of White Salmon, Washington.

Thomas joined Klickitat County EMS, where he worked for just under a year before transitioning to a role with Handtevy, a leading EMS software company. He continued serving his community as a per diem paramedic with KCEMS and became involved with Klickitat County Fire District #3 as a volunteer paramedic and EMS supervisor.

Through these roles, Thomas has been instrumental in improving EMS services at Southwest Fire. He launched a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program, founded Klickitat County’s first NAEMT training center, and organized quarterly skills training for all credentialed EMS personnel.

In April 2025, Thomas was selected as Southwest Fire and Rescue’s first full-time Captain.

He is married to his wife Rachel, a labor and delivery nurse serving the local community. Together, they share their home with their German Shepherd, Rhein.

Thomas holds a variety of fire service and EMS-related certifications, including:

• Paramedic
• Firefighter I & II
• Hazmat First Responder (Operations) 
• NWCG Firefighter Type II
• Fire Officer I
• Fire Instructor I
• ICS 300 & 400
• EVIP Instructor