The Citizen, 2018-02-15, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018.
Council goes ahead with Fire Chief hiring process
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
North Huron Council finalized the
documents for the search for the next
Fire Department of North Huron
(FDNH) Chief last week, allowing
the search for Ryan Ladner's
replacement to begin.
At council's Feb. 5 meeting, a
hiring process and job description,
both crafted by North Huron staff
with input and guidance from FDNH
personnel, including Deputy -Chiefs
Matt Townsend and Chad Kregar,
were approved by council.
Following the suggestions of
members of the FDNH, many of
which were suggested by Ladner's
predecessor Chief David Sparling,
the Fire Chief position has been
completely separated from the
For a good cause
Bob Kellington and his wife Marguerite Thomas were hard
at work on Sunday hosting their annual lunch to benefit the
Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Dozens flocked to the St.
Ambrose Catholic Church to enjoy the meal and make a
donation to a worthy cause. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
FDNH Deputy -Chiefs
present 2017 report
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
North Huron Council members
were very impressed with the annual
fire report for 2017 presented by
Fire Department of North Huron
Deputy -Chiefs Chad Kregar and
Matt Townsend.
The report, which detailed calls,
maintenance and training over the
year, was presented at council's Feb.
5 meeting.
Kregar explained that there were
171 calls in 2017, a drop of
approximately 14 per cent from
2016's 198 calls.
"We're looking to be on target for
a similar call volume in 2018," he
said.
The report outlines the existing
organizational chart for the fire
department and outlined its goals,
council and briefed on the Alarmed
For Life campaign which was
instituted in Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh last year.
Kregar, in the report, also
reminded council that Morris-
Turnberry and Central Huron's five-
year fire protection services
contracts with North Huron were set
to expire Jan. 1, 2019, leaving less
than a year for them to be renewed.
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh's
contract doesn't expire until Jan. 1,
2020.
Deputy -Reeve James Campbell
and Councillor Ray Hallahan both
commended Kregar and Townsend
on the report.
Kregar said he had been told that a
formal report hadn't been made in
2017, so he wanted to make sure
council knew the details of the year.
Fire Department of North Huron
(FDNH) personnel may soon be
carrying Naloxone for emergency
situations.
Naloxone, a drug which can help
mitigate the damage caused by
opioid overdoses, was recently made
available to the public for those who
felt they knew someone who may
suffer an opioid overdose. It has also
been made available for police
officers in certain jurisdictions.
Due to the fact that the FDNH,
and other fire departments, are often
first responders to medical calls,
FDNH personnel had started
training to try and make it available
to the fire department.
FDNH Deputy -Chief Chad Kregar
explained, during North Huron
Council's Feb. 5 meeting, that he
and Deputy -Chief Matt Townsend
had undertaken training for the drug,
and, in the meantime, it had been
made available to firefighters and
paramedics by the provincial
guv through the Huron
County Health Unit.
Council supported the FDNH's
interest in enrolling in a provincial
program for free Naloxone kits and
approved a policy of best practices
for administering the drug.
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Emergency Services Training Centre
(ESTC).
Sparling reported that he was
working 12 -hour days when trying
to manage the fire department and
ESTC. When he resigned, he
suggested council completely
separate the two positions.
Council started that process by
allowing Ladner to hire ESTC
Principal Mark Alderman to focus
on the ESTC. The job description
now has no references to the ESTC,
according to staff.
A provision has also been added
that will make the chief part of the
rotational on-call system for
responding to fires, according to
North Huron Chief Administrative
Officer Dwayne Evans. The
description has also been revised so
the successful candidate will need to
live in North Huron for the purposes
of responding to emergencies.
Evans said that the new job
description should meet all of North
Huron's needs and he pointed out
that working with Kregar and
Townsend would ensure it met the
fire department's needs.
The hiring process was also
presented. The municipality would
be utilizing assistance from the
Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs to
help find a replacement.
Originally, a panel of staff and one
council member, Reeve Neil
Vincent, was suggested to select a
replacement, however Vincent didn't
feel comfortable being the only
representative from council,
requesting that another council
member be named to the panel.
Several council members agreed and
nominations were opened.
Council held a secret -ballot vote
for the position between Deputy -
Reeve James Campbell and
Councillor Yolanda Ritesma-
Teeninga, the only two nominations.
Campbell was named to the panel.
Councillor Bill Knott asked that
council as a whole be involved in the
hiring process, saying he would like
the top three candidates to be
evaluated by all of council.
He said the process wouldn't need
to be as involved as the interviews
conducted by the hiring panel, but he
did feel all of council should have
the opportunity to offer direct input
when hiring for such an important
position as the next fire chief.
Knott's suggestion was approved
by council after some clarification
indicating that council members
would be given the opportunity to
meet with the candidates, however
the hiring process would not be
delayed if a council member
couldn't attend the meetings.
ti
Council ran into resistance from
the firefighters late last year when
trying to appoint Alderman to the
fire chief position. Firefighters
didn't feel the decision was right and
everyone but Alderman walked out
out after the announcement late last
year.
After further consultation with the
firefighters late last year, council
rescinded the decision to hire
Alderman, starting the process with
Kregar and Townsend working with
Evans to find a replacement and
becoming acting co -chiefs until a
replacement can be found.
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