Wellington North has hired an acting fire chief with nearly four decades of experience.
Acting Fire Chief Dave Guilbault was officially introduced to township council at the April 7 meeting.
He replaces former chief Jeff Dahms, who resigned at the earlier this year.
Guilbault is a veteran firefighter with over 39 years of firefighting experience. He has been a chief fire officer for close to 23 years and has worked in the City of Kanata, Town of Ancaster, Municipality of Chatham-Kent and, most recently, the City of Kawartha Lakes.
As director of emergency services in Kawartha Lakes, he oversaw emergency medical services as well as fire services from 2001 to 2011, when he retired. Guilbault was named Canadian Fire Chief of the Year in 2005 and Ontario Fire Chief of the Year in 1997 and again in 2007.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Wellington North Fire Service and will certainly be an asset to the Wellington North Fire Service team,” states a press release from the township.
A bylaw passed at the meeting states Guilbault is to “hold office until a successor is appointed.”
“Dave is retired. He has made a commitment to us for a period of time. We’re not sure how long that’s going to be, so we’re referring to (the position) as ‘acting,’” CAO Mike Givens told the Advertiser.
Dahms, who held the post for about 10 months resigned effective Jan. 31, citing “personal reasons.”
At the time, a restructuring of the department was underway, with plans to eliminate the positions of department chiefs at the Arthur and Mount Forest stations and install deputy chiefs. The restructuring process was temporarily halted upon Dahms’ resignation.
Guibault has already attended fire practices and met with firefighters at stations in Mount Forest and Arthur.
“It has been a busy week,” said Guilbault, adding, “Everything has been very positive.”
– With files from Kris Svela
