New Barrie Fire Chief Named

Deputy Fire Chief Bill Boyes will become Barrie’s new Fire Chief on January 1 with the retirement of current Chief John Lynn. Boyes, who came to Barrie as a Deputy Chief in 2014, was appointed by City Council on Monday. He has been in charge of the Operations and Training divisions along with the department’s equipment and facilities. He has also overseen Hazmat and Technical Rescue services to surrounding municipalities. Deputy Boyes is also the only Canadian member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Fire Service Executive Board and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) – Firefighter Safety Through Advanced Research (FSTAR) group. Upon his appointment Deputy Boyes said, “Under Chief Lynn’s leadership, BFES has positioned itself as a fire service leader in a number of areas and it is my goal to build on and continue with this legacy. I am honoured to lead an incredible group of fire service professionals within BFES that are focused on delivering the highest quality educational, preventative, communication and emergency response services possible to the community and the citizens of Barrie.”