Estevan will be getting a second new head in its protective services division, following the upcoming retirement of Fire Rescue Services Chief Ron Tocker.
Tocker gave the City notice that he would be retiring in September upon the expiration of his latest contract, so as the City recently underwent a successful search for a replacement to Estevan Police Service Chief Del Block, so too will they be looking for a new face to lead the fire and rescue services into the future.
City manager Amber Smale is tasked with hiring the incoming chief of the City's volunteer Fire Rescue Service, which maintains only two full-time positions, that of the chief and deputy chief.
With vacation time banked, Tocker is using that time to relax for the remainder of the summer. Dale Feser, who has been the service's deputy chief under Tocker, is the acting chief until the position is filled.
The city manager said the recruitment process hasn't begun yet, but it will start by updating the job description and ensuring the job qualifications are accurate and up to date. Once updated, the call will go out Canada-wide to find the best candidate.
"Right now Dale is the acting fire chief, and he's welcome to apply as is anybody. I want this to be a fair process and I'm not going to say that I have someone picked out for it already, because I don't," said Smale.
The summer's hiring process will provide administrators with an opportunity to project what the area's needs will be in the future and find the candidate that can move in that direction. That doesn't mean the service will be growing in the short term.
"It's a budgetary item, and I think with the City's current financial position, it would be difficult right now to add more," said Smale. "But we do have to start having those conversations of what does your fire service look like when you have 20,000, 25,000, 30,000 residents. It could be very different than what we have today but those are the types of conversations that we need to have, thinking about the future and what we will need to deliver."
It also gives the fire service a chance to review its own procedures.
"There might be things that we can trim or make better and fresh faces normally do that."
Smale said the goal is to have someone hired prior to Tocker's official exit in September, and while she added that it isn't always possible, they would prefer to have some length of a cross over period.
She noted the city's fire service is notable as a largely volunteer organization, which may or may not be the structure in the future.
"The service here is unique. It's not a career fire department. There are only two permanent positions within there, so (the hiring process) gives the opportunity to see what is taking place in the industry. There is something happening in the States right now where permanent fire departments are changing back to the (volunteer) model in smaller communities," said Smale.
"Anybody coming in, it's an opportunity to recreate if they need to or just to firm up some good practices that are already in place.
"It's an opportunity for a fresh look to make sure you're operating to the best of what you can do. The focus is leadership. I'm looking for the right leader in the fire department to lead it into the future."
That future will have to be able to cope with a growing city's growing needs.
"You still need to be thinking that the city is growing, and it's going to continue to grow, so what does that fire service look like moving into the future? What are the leadership skills that are needed or the positions or just the service in general that's needed?" said Smale. "We have to keep in mind the surrounding communities that we also provide service to."
