After eight years as Prince Township’s fire Chief Steve Hemsworth has presented his last monthly report to council.
But he’s not yet ready to say his final farewell.
Hemsworth announced that he will “step back” from fighting structure fires but will remain with the volunteer fire department as medical first responder and as a pump operator for wildland firefighting.
Jim Boissineau, the longtime deputy fire chief, will retire “and live out his best life,” Hemsworth said.
“(Boissineau) spent 18 years (in) this department. I don’t think it’s a secret that there’s been ebbs and flow and ups and downs, and he’s been through quite a few of them,” Hemsworth said.
“I don’t think we’ve really had a disagreement over the years we’ve been chief and deputy chief. I very much appreciate his help for everything he did,” he added.
The next fire chief will be Phil Hoover, who will take over most of Hemsworth’s duties next month. The new deputy chief will be Alex Witty.
The turnover was originally scheduled for July, but Hemsworth said he was confident that Hoover and Witty were already prepared.
He recalled that they had run the fire department last February during his absence and that he’d been highly impressed upon his return.
“I came back, we’ve got a whole bunch of changes, and they’re all very positive changes,” Hemsworth said.
More recently, Hoover and Witty helped prepare grant applications and would soon be applying for another substantial grant.
“I’ll be in the background, but they’ll be taking that and carrying on with it,” Hemsworth told council.
He also credited Ed Haley, the previous fire chief, with keeping the fire department operational while facing “a ton of challenges.”
Among the challenges were a meagre budget, a trouble-prone rescue truck, and turnout gear that was sometimes older than the recruit who wore it.
Coun. Eugene Caputo, who serves as council’s liaison with the fire department, voiced his appreciation for Hemsworth’s work.
“I’d like to thank you very much for all your dedication and years of being here … We’ve had our fun talks, and we’ve had our grunt talks, and I want to extend to you my gratitude for everything you’ve done for the township of Prince,” Caputo said.
Hemsworth, in turn, pointed out that other members of the department were also dedicated to keeping Prince residents safe.
“Don’t forget there’s also 16 other firefighters and two medical responders that work out of the hall, and they’re still the ones at two in the morning that get up with us and go to medical calls and fire calls and motor vehicle collisions, so I just want to make sure (council) acknowledges them as well,” Hemsworth said.