Guelph’s new fire chief, Brian Arnold, started this week and his inbox already had 500 emails waiting for him on Monday.
When Arnold met with GuelphToday on Thursday he only had 37 unread emails left.
He fills the role after former chief Dave Elloway, who retired in March.
Arnold has over 30 years of experience in various fire departments and still loves the job. Most recently he was the fire chief at the Cambridge Fire Department.
His father was a firefighter in Mississauga and retired as district fire chief there. “It was very meaningful to me that I was able to follow in his footsteps,” said Arnold.
Arnold lives with his family in London. He has a wife Sue, children Dylan and Sarah who are both in university.
He isn’t unfamiliar with Guelph; he lived here a number of years ago for 10 years.
“We still have extended family and friends in Guelph and area. So I’m really looking forward to having some of those reconnections,” he said.
In his free time you can find Arnold out on the golf course, although he claims he is a mediocre player. He has played the bagpipes for 20 years. He’s also a Guelph Storm fan.
Some of the appeal for the position at the Guelph Fire Department is that it is a slightly larger department, a larger budget to work with and it is a single -tier municipality.
“I don’t support any changes to the bylaw presently,” said Arnold about Guelph’s fire bylaw, for which city council recently inquired about a review with potential changes.
“As a fire chief any means that I can have in place to reduce property damage, reduce the risk of health and safety for firefighters and for members of the public I’m going to support those initiatives. And right now the current bylaw is doing such a thing."
The main trend is still house fires, he said. “This is a troubling trend. This has continued over the years and we need to take steps to try to reduce that risk, that is the primary risk in the municipality.”
Firefighting in an urban setting or wildfires is inherently dangerous, he said. “It reminds us of the risks that our firefighters take on a daily basis and we need to be mindful and respectful and appreciative of the work that they do,” Arnold said.
With the recent wildfires in Ontario and elsewhere, we are seeing the encroachment of development in previously isolated rural areas, “and that’s becoming a great challenge for municipal fire departments now,” he said.
This is something he wants to take a look at to assess the risk potential of forested areas and neighbouring municipalities being close together. The department can take out brush fires and the odd forested area but anything on a larger scale becomes a challenge, he said. Looking into mitigation plans and training programs is a next step.
Arnold’s goal stepping into the Guelph Fire Department is to bring his leadership style which is about people. “People want to feel good about the job that they’re doing. They want to feel like they’re contributing. That they’re making a positive impact and I want to encourage that in all ways possible,” he said.
“Through my support in my service to them I can build them up for success so that individually as well as an organization we can reach our potential,” Arnold said.
“It really is a privilege to sit here at the helm.”
