Thunder Bay’s fire department will soon be saying goodbye to its leader, as Fire Chief Dave Paxton is headed for retirement.
“It’s starting to get real. Nine days left in the office, working right until the last day: Friday, January 30,” says Paxton, who has worked with the department for almost 28 years.
With Paxton on his way out, the Deputy Fire Chief for Thunder Bay Fire Rescue (TBFR), Dave Tirini, will be taking the top job as Acting Fire Chief until the city government can find a permanent replacement.
“It’s very exciting,” says Tarini, who sees his job as part of a process for “making sure that we have continuity in the Fire Chief’s role as senior leadership.”
In his last days as Chief, Paxton has been focused on making the department more efficient, but also “thoughtful in terms of innovation, techniques, and equipment to make sure we do the job as safe and as quick as possible.”
One way the department is trying to find efficiencies is by using older trucks as reserve vehicles in the wider-reaching territories on the periphery of the department’s coverage.
With a twenty-year lifespan for pumpers, Paxton explains that a fire truck can serve on the frontline for 15 years before becoming a reserve vehicle, allowing the department to “maintain and stretch our equipment as far as we can.”
According to Deputy Chief Tirini, the department has also been very focused on firefighter safety.
He says TBFR has successfully acquired provincial grants for cancer prevention initiatives over the past two years.
“We want to keep doing whatever we can to keep our staff safe,” Tirini adds. “We want to make sure that we’re aligning all of our best practices with looking after staff, both while they’re employed with us and then into the future after they retire.”
As Paxton prepares for his own retirement, he reflects on his career with the department: “There’s been lots of memories, lots of positive friendships, working with some of the most resilient and professional people you could ask for,” he remarks.
Tirini, who has worked closely with Paxton, feels it is “very gratifying to see members of the fire service make it through to retirement, work hard through the years to get out the door and enjoy their life after the fire service.”
Paxton will wait for his wife to retire in the summer before the couple form concrete plans for what to do together and where to go.
In the meantime, he is looking forward to spending some time outdoors and possibly going ice fishing.
