Municipality of Port Hope Fire Chief C. Ryan Edgar has retired.
The announcement was made at a retirement event on Thursday at fire station 1, while following COVID-19 protocols.
Chief Edgar says after 25 years in public service, the milestone was an important one.
Chief Edgar explains that after careful consideration, it was the right time for both his family and himself to make a pretty cool change in their lives, and pursue a new personal business venture that has long been a dream of theirs: owning a resort in Costa Rica!
Notably, in his role as Community Emergency Management Coordinator, Chief Edgar has shepherded his team through several challenging events, including record level flooding, a multi-residential apartment building fire, and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. He tells us this community has a way coming together. He explains.
After Chief Edgar joined the Municipality in June 2015 as Deputy Fire Chief, he later became the Director of Fire and Emergency Services in 2016, responsible for the Municipality’s Fire Service, Building Services Division, and the Municipal Law Enforcement Division. Chief Edgar has served as both the Municipality’s Emergency Control Group Director and Community Emergency Management Coordinator since the onset of the pandemic.
He leaves us with this advice.
He also established a solid team of administrative staff, and successfully recruited a full complement of volunteer firefighters, that now has a waiting list of new recruit candidates. Chief Edgar has made vast improvements to two of the three municipal fire stations, enabling significant cost savings by making the facilities more energy efficient as well as safer and more accommodating for all firefighters.
Chief Edgar explains Deputy Fire Chief Dan Smith is in a position to lead the department in his role as Acting Fire Chief until the position is filled permanently.
Chief Edgar assisted in securing thousands of dollars in grant funding for the Municipality and purchased new life saving equipment, including defibrillators, gas detection devices, and numerous public education and training events for both the community and firefighters. As well, the Department is now better equipped with the purchase of a new pumper rescue, a large volume tanker pumper, a specialized wildland forestry fire fighting trailer, and a three-quarter ton pickup truck, used in many Department applications, including emergency response.
To hear the full interview with MBC Reporter, Jenny McCaig, click the audio link:
