By Mark Squibb | May 20, 2021
After a months long process, the Town of Witless Bay has hired the region’s first paid fire chief.
Maria Churchill, who previously served as Stephenville’s deputy fire chief, will begin work on May 31.
“I think it’s wonderful that we have a female in a significant role in the town,” said councillor Colleen Hanrahan when the news was announced during last week’s council meeting.
L.W. Consulting was contracted by council to oversee the recruitment of the region’s first paid fire chief and received over 30 applications. From those resumes, a short list of candidates was identified for further screening. From that, an even shorter list of candidates was chosen for further interviews.
The decision to hire a full time, paid chief, which council argued was critical to the sustainability of the region’s fire department, was part of a major overhaul of the region’s fire and protective services in the 2021 budget.
Included in that overhaul are plans for a new regional fire station, more investment in volunteer recruitment and training, new equipment, and new training grounds. Already, the Town has borrowed $370,734 to cover the cost of a new tanker and volunteer firefighters have constructed a new smokehouse training room.
The Witless Bay Regional Fire Department serves close to 5,000 residents and over 2,000 homes and businesses in Witless Bay, Bay Bulls, Mobile, Tors Cove, Burnt Cove, St. Michael’s and Bauline East. The department provides services in three key areas including fire, medical and rescue and road traffic accidents. In 2019, volunteers responded to 190 calls for service; a jump from the 161 calls received in 2016.
There are currently about 26 volunteers with the department. Shane Cole has been serving as the acting chief at the department while the town sought a full-time occupant.
