The North Bay Fire Department could be getting a new chief training officer. The position was one of two that staff brought to council Monday night for future hiring considerations. The other position is adding a fourth fire prevention officer.
The chair of Community Services, Mark King, supports filling the chief training officer position. King says he’s leaning that way right now after the department saved some money because of recent retirements.
King says the officer would cost $155,000 annually. Right now, North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie are the only two Ontario cities that don’t have a chief training officer and the Sault is looking at bringing back that position.
However when it comes to adding a fourth fire prevention officer, King opposes the staff recommendation. King says he needs to be convinced there’s a need for another officer given North Bay’s population.
He also wants to see how many fire prevention officers other communities have given their respective populations.
