After two decades of fighting fires with the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA), fire chief Brian McEvoy is hanging up his helmet.
“It’s time. There’s a point in your career where you look at the tasks ahead and the things that have to be done and you have to evaluate if you have the energy and the passion to move the organization to the next level... It’s going to be a lot of work. If I wasn’t willing to give that amount of work, I should get out of the way for the person that’s willing to do that,” he explained.
McEvoy has been a firefighter for almost 40 years after experiencing first-hand the good they do for the community.
“It goes back to when I was working in another industry, and the employer I worked for had a fire. The fire department responded and saved the business. When that happened, he was able to stay in business and we were all able to stay employed. I decided back then that the volunteers in the community were the reason he was still in business, and I still had a job. I wanted to give back to the community the same way those volunteers had given to us,” detailed McEvoy.
In 1996, McEvoy joined the Bonnyville Fire Department to establish the BRFA as it is now.
Deputy fire chief Jay Melvin (right) will be stepping in when BRFA fire chief Brian McEvoy (left) retires.
“It was formalized and incorporated about a month after I got here. The preliminary stuff had all been done, but, I was hired to finish the development of the BRFA. I’ve been here ever since,” he said.
McEvoy described volunteer firefighters as the “heart and soul” of rural communities.
“When people are in need, whether it’s during an emergency or any other significant event, somebody has to be there to help. Firefighters are the first responders for just about everything,” McEvoy noted.
When he became eligible for retirement five years ago, the authority developed a succession plan to find McEvoy’s replacement.
It was decided that regional deputy fire chief Jay Melvin would be the one to take over once the time came.
“When we interviewed, we determined Jay was the perfect person for (the position), and he’s spent the last six years... learning the community and organization, and developing the skills and knowledge to take this organization to where it needs to go over the next five to 10 years,” McEvoy expressed.
Melvin noted he’s “looking forward to the challenge” of taking over as fire chief.
“It’s going to be a busy year, but I think it’s going to be full of a lot of great rewards for our staff to see what we can accomplish.”
Melvin has been a part of the BRFA since 2012, working closely with McEvoy during that time.
“My biggest ‘thank you’ to (Brian) is he is turning (the authority) over better than how he received it, and that’s all you can ask for from a manager,” Melvin added.
McEvoy expressed his thanks to residents in the area.
“It’s been great serving the community, and I look forward to continuing to serve the community in different capacities. The only thing I hope is the community, both public and private, continue to support Jay as well as they supported me in developing the BRFA and in his task of taking it to the next level.”
During his retirement, McEvoy plans to focus his time into being a councillor for the Town of Bonnyville.
As of Dec. 1, Melvin will be the new fire chief, with McEvoy sticking around to teach him the ropes until February 2019.
