Plympton-Wyoming's new fire chief is looking forward to developing a strong, collaborative relationship with the town and its firefighters.
Town council approved the appointment of Darryl Thompson of Caledon as director of fire and emergency services and fire chief Wednesday.
Thompson says he's aware of the fire department's troubled past but intends to look forward, not backwards.
"I read some press articles, I didn't dig in too deep because I would never ever second guess another fire chief or the firefighters," said Thompson. "I think that a lot of work has been done in my discussions with the fire executive committee of Plympton-Wyoming, they've come leaps and bounds in repairing anything that may have been damaged before and they've done yeoman work doing that. I'm there to hopefully provide a little leadership, a little team continuity, and get us all steering in the same direction."
Thompson graduated from Dalhousie University's Fire Service Leadership and Incident Command programs, and has over 15 years experience in senior level leadership roles with the Town of Caledon Fire and Emergency Services.
No firm start date is given but it's expected he'll begin his new duties by the end of May.
"I've driven through Plympton-Wyoming before on my way to Sarnia and I thought it was a beautiful town and when the opportunity came up, I had to jump on it," he said. "It took a while, with COVID involved and that kind of thing but it worked out in the end and I'm quite happy to be coming. I've been down there two or three times since the posting, drive around and get to know the neighbourhood and the area. I've yet to meet a person that didn't smile or wave and they didn't know me from Adam, so it's been a great experience so far."
Thompson fills the spot left vacant when Steve Clemens resigned in October, 2020, ending a controversial tenure as fire chief that began in January of 2017.
Clemens was placed on indefinite leave later that year pending the results of an independent third party investigation that came after firefighters claimed a secret video camera had been discovered in the radio dispatch room of the fire hall.
Clemens returned to work after council reviewed the findings and expressed confidence in the chief, but there was more controversy in early 2020 amid allegations that firefighters had been let go without cause.