He arrived in the nick of too late for the Imperial Oil tower collapse but just in time for a train derailment in the St. Clair Tunnel.
Less than three weeks after arriving from Cambridge where he served as deputy chief, Sarnia’s new Fire Chief Brian Arnold found himself dealing with a tangled 40-car derailment in a 1.9-kilometre tube beneath the St. Clair River.
A rail car leaking sulphuric acid near the international border was one way, Chief Arnold acknowledges, to quickly meet Corey Nicholson, his counterpart in Michigan. Sarnia has a mutual aid pact with the City of Port Huron and a close working relationship with its brother firefighters that dates back almost 180 years.
Meeting Chemical Valley plant managers and their firefighting crew leaders has been important for the new chief, he said. But the number one priority on Arnold’s agenda has been getting to know his own team since taking over from retired chief John Kingyens in early June.
For someone like Arnold, who espouses a collective approach to leadership and planning, keeping that team intact and ready to move forward was critical.
His “first victory,” he said, was convincing Deputy Chief Bryan Van Gaver, a 30-year plus department veteran, to put aside thoughts of retirement and stay on.
Brian Arnold began his firefighting career in Toronto where he was based for eleven years. His father was a captain with the Mississauga fire department and retired as district chief.
He gained familiarity with Southwestern Ontario as a training instructor in London, later serving as deputy chief in Woodstock.
He came to Sarnia after four years as deputy chief in Cambridge and holds a Masters degree in public administration from Western University.
He said three factors enticed him to apply for the local job. He has relatives in Sarnia, loves the city, and admires the management team being assembled by Sarnia chief administrative officer, Chris Carter, who took over as CAO this past spring.
He was also aware of Sarnia Fire Rescue’s reputation for excellence. The professionalism of the department’s 125 men and women “really made it enticing for me,” Arnold said.
The Sarnia Fire Service will mark its 180th birthday next year. It was created by Sarnia co-founder Captain Richard Emeric Vidal in 1840 after a fire broke out at the historic Skillbeck house on Maria Street, in a community then known as The Rapids.
Got an interesting tale? Contact Phil Egan at [email protected]