Assistant Chief Chris Case will take over as Chatham-Kent Fire Chief effective December 6, 2019.
Case said he is looking forward to his new role.
“Since arriving in this wonderful community over three years ago, I have enjoyed every day serving alongside our outstanding firefighters to safeguard the communities of Chatham-Kent,” case said in a media release.
“I am lucky enough to have an outstanding team here at work and at home. The endless support from my family and the teams at CK Fire has made this next step in my career possible. I cannot express how thankful I am for this opportunity and how much I am looking forward to being your fire chief.”
Case has 28 years fire operations experience, joining Merseyside Fire Brigade in Liverpool, UK in 1991.
He rose through the ranks, serving in all aspects of fire department work including operations, special operations, administration, planning, training, and command.
Notable roles include forming the UK’s only dedicated fire and explosives task force to deal with arson and explosives crime and a lecturer to the UK Fire Service College.
Chris moved to Canada in 2016 to take up the post of Assistant Chief in Chatham-Kent, bringing his wife and four children.
Since then he has held the post of Operations Chief and continued to serve the communities of Chatham-Kent.
Nominated by the Province of Ontario, the family were granted permanent residence status earlier this year.
John Norton, Chatham-Kent General Manager of Community Development, said Case was hired following an extensive nation-wide search and recruitment process to replace Chief Bob Crawford.
“Among a large group of capable applicants, Chris emerged as the best candidate to lead the fire service into the future,” Norton said in a press release.
“I have observed Chief Case for several years now and I know that he has the respect of his peers, firefighters, and the wider community. I have the utmost confidence that we have selected the right person for this role.”
Chatham-Kent Chief Administrative Officer Don Shropshire added: “We welcomed Chris to the community in 2016 and he has been a major contributor to the fire service and Chatham-Kent ever since. I’m happy to see him step into the chief’s position.”
Current Chief Bob Crawford is retiring after 18 years with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and 41 years in the fire service, Municipal officials say.
