Firefighter honored with procession

Staffers from Clallam County Fire District 3 in Sequim, other North Olympic Peninsula fire departments and first responders honor Fire District 3 Capt. Charles “Chad” Cate with a procession of vehicles through Sequim on Friday. Here, the procession passes by District 3’s station on North Fifth Avenue. Firefighters escorted the body of Cate, who died in the early morning hours of Jan. 12 while on duty, to Thurston County where an autopsy was performed, and then back through Sequim before delivering him to Sequim Valley Funeral Home. Cate, a Sequim High graduate, began serving as a volunteer firefighter in 1994, was hired by the fire district in 1997 as firefighter/paramedic and promoted to the rank of captain in 2020. He leaves behind his wife, a 2-year-old son and two adult children. A full fire service memorial is being planned for next Saturday, Jan. 21.