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Fire chief honoured for 30 years of service

Campbell River’s Fire Chief is reflecting on three decades of public safety work.

Thomas Doherty received the Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal from the city earlier this week.

The medal is for 30 years of loyal and exemplary service to public safety in Canada.

The 49-year-old has spent most of his adult life working in the realm of public safety.

He arrived in Campbell River in 2013 and was deputy chief until July 1st, 2018, when he moved into the role of fire chief.

He was also a part-time paramedic with BC Ambulance for 10 years, from 2000 to 2010.

Before moving to the island, he was deputy chief in Kelowna for seven years.

And before that, he worked as deputy chief at Big White Ski Resort.

He got his start as a paid on-call volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Ladysmith.

Doherty said firefighting is an exciting way to make a living.

“It’s great to be able to give back to the community and every day is different,” he said. “You never know what to expect. It’s got its ups and downs obviously but the whole fire service is quite a unique world and it’s one big family. We all stick together and I find it really rewarding.”

Doherty knew the award was coming.

“I was kind of hoping this was just going to kind of go under the radar, I don’t like the big, fancy ceremonies and stuff,” he said. “More for me, it’s about making sure my staff are recognized for the work they do. But yeah, it was nice for council and mayor to present that and have a nice speech, there. I had family there, as well, so it was great.”

Meanwhile, Doherty takes his hat off to Campbell River firefighters in a growing community.

The city has seen a 43 percent increase in structure fires over last year and a 37 percent jump in fires over the past three years.  

“We have the two stations and one is fully staffed 24/7 and we just have two members down in the Willow Point area Monday to Friday,” he said. “What we’re able to achieve with that staffing level is quite remarkable.”

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