Editor’s blog

Sept. 5, 2013, Toronto – There was some interesting news today out of the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal: Trevor Bain, the assistant deputy fire marshal, is leaving the OFM.

The announcement, made via an email to OFM staff from Fire Marshal Ted Wieclawek (and, almost immediately forwarded by everyone, it seems, to the rest of the Ontario fire service), comes just weeks after a similar email about the departure of assistant deputy fire marshal Shayne Mintz, who looked after the OFM’s fire-protection services, and just days after the Aug. 15 announcement that the OFM and Emergency Management Ontario are merging into one organization headed by Wieclawek.

Mintz started his new job Aug. 30 – he’s the Canadian regional director for the NFPA, a position long-held by Sean Tracey, who is now with Ottawa Fire Services.

Bain, who has been with the OFM since 1996, was most recently the acting deputy fire marshal. He was named assistant deputy fire marshal in April 2012, at the same time Mintz moved to the OFM from his position as fire chief for the City of Burlington.

Bain starts his new job as executive deputy chief of fire and paramedic services in Sudbury – where he’s from – on Sept. 27. (I’ve read the job description – you can find it online; Bain is a policy guy and will fit in well!)

Bain and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, particularly when I covered the Meaford trial – you’ll recall that the Municipality of Meaford and its fire department were charged by the Ministry of Labour under the Occupational Health and Safety Act after two firefighters were injured during a search of a burning restaurant/residential building, and that all six charges were dropped or dismissed.

Let’s just say we agreed to disagree, and to play nice in the sandbox going forward, which we have done.

Bain is smart; he was not a fire guy until he joined the OFM as a fire investigator after working as a constable for the OPP, and he has played key roles in some significant OFM projects, including the much anticipated integrated response model (in conjunction with the OAFC), a tool to help fire departments determine the risks in their communities and work with their councils to establish response levels. My understanding is that there is some data validation going on at the OFM, after which the project will be launched, likely at the OAFC’s mid-term conference in Niagara Falls in November – unfortunately, after Bain’s departure.

And, now that I’ve been to Sudbury – twice, in fact, for lunch and a Tims stop on the way to and from Elliot Lake – where the pace (at least in the Tims line!) is slower, Bain’s move looks like a good one.