HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-09-19, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013.Central Huron welcomes Sparling as new chief
North Huron’s newly-appointed
fire chief wants Central Huron
Council to know the lines of
communication are open.
At Central Huron’s Sept. 10
committee of the whole session, Fire
Chief Dave Sparling and North
Huron’s Chief Administrative
Officer Gary Long appeared as a
delegation to introduce the new chief
and to ascertain whether there are
other measures that can be taken to
improve upon the relationship
between the two municipalities in
terms of their joint fire service
agreement.
In congratulating Sparling on his
new post, Mayor Jim Ginn said
council is looking forward to a
“good working relationship.”
Long outlined the process
involved in hiring the new chief,
which included the creation of a
special committee of council and
two rounds of interviews, which
included the participation of five
councillors, a consultant hired for
the task and the CAO.
“It was a very comprehensive
process we established at the outset,”
said Long, noting other partners in
the fire service agreement include
the Municipalities of Ashfield-
Colborne-Wawanosh and Morris-
Turnberry.
“We want to comply with the
agreement you have including the
quarterly reports,” said Long in
reference to the fact there has been
some concern expressed by Central
Huron councillors about the lack of
detail in such reports.
The new chief reported one of his
first tasks was to review the bylaw
agreement with North Huron’smunicipal partners for fire-
protective services. One of his plans
is to also provide a full summary at
year-end in addition to a monthly
report.
“I’m totally open to the format,”
said Sparling, noting one of his ideas
is to provide a map to show where
the fire service is responding to
calls. He also plans to outline what
types of training are being
undertaken by firefighters.
Sparling noted that while North
Huron dedicated a lot of time to its
recruitment process, he is confident
the fire service budget will remain
on track. He also said he is looking
forward to the new job.
“It’s been a very big change for me
personally, for my family, for my
family business,” he said in
reference to Sparling’s Propane,
which was recently purchased by
another company. Sparling pledged
his communication style is
forthright.
“I’m not a big believer in hiding
stuff. I want to have an open
dialogue,” he said. “On our fire
department we are very proud of
where we’re going and what we’ve
accomplished in the past few years.”
During a question period with
councillors, Councillor Marg
Anderson asked whether it would be
possible to see a breakdown of
training for Blyth-based firefighters
rather than seeing data relating to
both the Wingham and Blyth
stations.
Sparling replied one of the
different aspects of the North Huron
department that makes it unique is
training is provided at both stations.
He said the goal is for 75 per cent of
all firefighters to attend training
sessions, but that he can provide afurther breakdown as to how many
of the attending firefighters are
based at the Blyth station.
Councillor Alison Lobbquestioned whether the North Huron
fire service is continuing to attend
first response calls given that has
been a bone of contention for someCentral Huron councillors as it is not
a service provided equally across the
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Thanks to events like the 93rd annual Elementary School Fair in Belgrave, students who might
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By Cheryl HeathSpecial to The Citizen
Continued on page 14