The new MD of Foothills fire chief has plenty of valuable experience with a rapidly growing fire service which will serve him well in the next few years.
Former Okotoks deputy fire chief Jim Smith has been appointed chief for the Foothills MD’s fire department, replacing retiring chief Graham Clark.
Having been deputy fire chief in Okotoks will help as Smith adjusts to the new position.
“The time with Okotoks has given me a real good insight into the MD of Foothills and the area surrounding Okotoks,” said Smith. “All I have to do is put that into effect for the rest of the MD of Foothills and hopefully have a clear understanding of the risks that are involved as well as the mandate to move the fire service forward in the MD.”
He started in his new position on Oct. 24 and leads a volunteer-based organization with halls in Blackie, Cayley, Priddis, Longview and a new hall soon to be built in Heritage Pointe.
Smith said the position has a range of interesting challenges. The department is entering a new phase of growth. While Smith will be overseeing the opening of the new Heritage Pointe Fire Hall, he said he will also ensure existing fire halls in the MD receive the support they need. One of his biggest tasks will be recruiting more volunteers to join the MD’s fire service and finding ways to hold on to the experienced personnel already working for the municipality, said Smith.
Smith first became a firefighter in 1994 as a volunteer with the department in Ardmore, near Cold Lake before becoming an instructor at the Vermillion Fire School. He was assistant chief with the MD of Rocky View and then joined the Okotoks department six years ago.
The Okotoks department has seen plenty of changes in recent years, largely driven by growth in the town. The department has grown to provide full-time fire coverage supported by a large roster of volunteer firefighters.
“I’ve seen it grow from a small combination department to a larger combination department with a huge increase in call volumes over the past six years,” said Smith. “There still continues to be exciting changes in the Okotoks fire department, changes in responses, their teams as well as the technology moving forward at such a rapid pace.”
Former chief Graham Clark said it was an honour to have served as the MD’s fire chief.
“We have some phenomenal people here in the MD and in the MD’s fire service, we’re developing a really good core of individuals here,” he said.
Clark said it will be a dynamic period for Smith to take over at the helm of the department as he will be leading the MD fire service as it enters a new era.
“There’s many changes coming into the fire services here and we wanted to make sure we have people here who are going to be able to actually carry some of these projects to completion,” he said.
Clark said there will be a range of other projects on the horizon for Smith to tackle, including the Heritage Pointe facility, upgrades to other halls in the MD and the possibility of full-time fire fighters being added to the service’s roster.
“There needs to be quite a bit of time – and there has been already – put in to developing the (Heritage Pointe) station and we must make sure that we don’t forget about supporting our other stations that have been in existence for a long time,” he said.
Clark will stay on until early January to help Smith settle into the job to ensure a smooth transition.
“We’re hoping to decrease the learning curve by him not having to find these things out himself,” he said. “When I was put in the position here there was no succession, I entered a position that had been vacant for many years.”
Clark first became a firefighter in the early 1980s as a volunteer with the County of Leduc’s fire department. He went on to join the department in Nisku where he rose to become deputy fire chief prior to joining the MD as chief.
