To get to know the community, you have to be in the heart of it, says Lantzville fire chief Rob Chatton.
Chatton took the reins from outgoing fire chief Tom Whipps last week, becoming the department’s first-ever paid part-time fire chief.
He is no stranger to volunteer fire departments, most recently as assistant fire chief in Pitt Meadows. He sees his first tasks in Lantzville as getting to know his members and the operations, as well as helping to determine the level of fire service for the community and the training needed under a new B.C. training playbook.
It’s a neat feeling to be the first paid fire chief, said Chatton, who sees it as taking the department to the next step. While a lot of the work will be administrative, it will also free members’ time to look after training, calls and equipment.
But what he’s looking forward to most is getting back to a sense of community.
“Pitt Meadows is a community of 18,000 people which isn’t huge, but you know there’s a lot of faces that you don’t know,” said Chatton, who said both he and his wife, Marisol, were looking to get back to an Island community that felt like home.
He was born and raised at Shawnigan Lake and spent 17 years with its fire department, climbing the ranks from firefighter to deputy fire chief before he moved to Pitt Meadows with his wife and two sons in 2006.
“You get to know lots of people ... you wave at everybody going down the road, you get into the grocery store and it takes an hour to get a litre of milk because you are visiting with everyone and that’s what is really cool,” said Chatton, who plans to get to know Lantzville by being in the heart of it at fundraisers, like Mine Town Days, and public education events.
“That’s where you truly get to meet the people,” said Chatton, who also invites people to stop by the fire hall. “I can’t guarantee I am here all the time, but you see me, let’s have a chat.”