麻豆传媒

聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 With the position vacant for almost two years, Middlesex Centre has welcomed Fire Chief Colin Toth as its new full-time Fire Chief effective 3 April 2017. The Banner spoke with Chief Toth about his previous experience, excitement for his new role and new fire service innovations coming to Middlesex Centre. Colin is the son of Joyce and the late Gerry Toth of Kipling, SK.

听听听听听听听听听听听 What is your professional background that you will bring to Middlesex Centre?

听听听听听听听听听听听 I have been in the fire services for 25 years, holding positions in all areas (prevention, education, suppression, training and investigations). My career began in the Canadian Forces in 1990 (transferring to the military fire service in 1993. After 15 years and many posting across Canada and abroad, I ended up in Winnipeg, applied and was hired by the Winnipeg Fire Department in 2000 as a firefighter-emergency medical responder/apparatus operator. In 2005, after applying for a position with the London Fire Department as a prevention officer/investigator I moved my family once again. I feel that having held these different positions has prepared me to move into my current role as Middlesex Centre鈥檚 Fire Chief and to confidently be able to provide the Municipality and its residents the best all around service possible.

听听听听听听听听听听听 What about yourself outside of fire fighting?

听听听听听听听听听听听 I grew up in rural Saskatchewan in a small farming community, very similar to our communities here in Middlesex Centre. I moved to Kilworth in 2008 with my wife and three sons. We are a very close family 鈥� some of the activities we enjoy together include camping, nature walks, playing catch, bike riding and interesting discussions at the dinner table. We also make a family event out of the hockey season as I coach two of my sons鈥� hockey teams.

听听听听听听听听听听听 What drew you to apply for this position?

听听听听听听听听听听听 I love the passion and dedication shown by the professional firefighters here, along with our top-notch municipal staff and council; it just made good sense to me. This role is truly a career-long dream job for me - a perfect fit as I was already living in the community.聽 Being able to serve family, friends and neighbours is nothing short of an honour.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Since your last position was with the London Fire Department, what do you feel the big differences will be with fire services in Middlesex Centre?

听听听听听听听听听听听 Being out of the city has its pros and cons, however I believe these to be mostly pros! Here in Middlesex Centre, everyone knows each other and it鈥檚 very similar to how I grew up and is comfortable for me. As a result of this, the dedication to the job for all working for the Municipality is so strong. Dealing with a smaller amount of people on a daily basis is also a noticeable difference. This one-to-one ratio allows me to spend more time within each interaction, which is nice; albeit not to say the tempo is slower!

听听听听听听听听听听听 The Coldstream Fire Station (opening in November 2017) officially broke ground on 12 April, and will be the first net zero green energy fire hall in Canada. How do you feel about new innovations being introduced into fire services, such as green energy?

听听听听听听听听听听听 It鈥檚 exciting to be a part of the opening of a new fire station so early in my tenure! Although I wasn鈥檛 involved in the planning process, senior staff and council should be very proud of this accomplishment and especially of the hard work and hours put into bringing this project to fruition. As for how green energy applies from a fire fighting 鈥渙perations鈥� perspective - I鈥檓 not sure how far this can go at the moment due to this technology being in its infancy. However, I am definitely in support of effective ways to support the earth and do our part as a municipality!

听听听听听听听听听听听 What innovations do you plan on bringing forth to your colleagues and council?

听听听听听听听听听听听 I would like to continue to advance effective technology within our fire services. We have been working on ways to deploy tracking technology to provide more efficient and effective response including other services such as pre-planning. Having been part of technology integration during my time with London Fire, I truly believe that if properly deployed, technology is a win-win way in which to enhance services to our residents. We will also be bringing more education and prevention programmes to our communities to heighten awareness and increase safety.

听听听听听听听听听听听 As well, research into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a hot topic and is being addressed properly within the first responder community. Our recently submitted PTSD programme is being rolled out in order to ensure my firefighters have proper supports in place should they need them during the course of their duties in service to our community.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Finally, continued implementation of the items as noted in our 2013 Master Fire Plan is also on the top of my agenda.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Overall, what are you looking forward to in your role as Fire Chief?

听听听听听听听听听听听 I am looking forward to interacting and leading our professional fire services here in Middlesex Centre for years to come 鈥� providing the best and most fiscally responsible services we can. I am also looking forward to working with council and senior leadership to assist in making our communities safer and to provide logical and effective services. As this is my first time sitting as a senior member of staff and in council chambers, I look forward to this journey as well.