April 12, 2016
Niagara Falls fire chief set to sail off into the sunset
By Richard Hutton, Niagara This Week
Published: April 12, 2016
Link to article: Niagara Falls fire chief set to sail off into the sunset
Lee Smith is sailing off into the sunset come the end of May.
Smith, who has been chief of the Niagara Falls Fire Department for the past nine years, has decide the time has come for him to retire and hand the department over to what he called “some fresh blood” that can lead the city’s firefighters into the future.
Smith’s last day on the job will be May 31.
“I’m going to spend pretty much the whole summer on the boat just to clear my head,” Smith, 54, said. “Then I’ll be looking for some projects that will keep me busy for the winter months.”
Smith, a father of three grown children, owns a 38-foot ocean sailing boat and plans to spend as much time as possible on the water with his wife, Charmaine.
“We’re going to travel around Lake Ontario,” Smith said. “We plan on exploring that a lot in the summers.”
While looking forward to retirement, Smith has some fond memories of his time with the department.
Smith recalled one rather humourous call he attended back when he first joined the department in 1988.
“We got a call from someone who said they had a problem and needed us to come,” Smith recalled. “When we got there, there was water coming down the walls from the ceiling.”
When Smith and the other firefighters went upstairs they were greeted with the sight of an overfilled waterbed that had expanded many times its normal size.
“The waterbed had ballooned up and it started to sink the ceiling because it had gotten so heavy.”
To fix the problem, hoses were used to drain water from the home.
“At the end, everyone was laughing,” Smith said.
On a more serious note, Smith had a unique experience where he took part in not only the physical putting out of a fire but the following investigation which led them to what turned out to be a young arsonist.
“He ended up at the Park Institute in Toronto where he received help,” Smith said.
Smith joined the department in 1988 as a firefighter. In 1993, he moved over to the fire prevention office where he was a fire prevention officer and captain. He was promoted to assistant chief in 1998 and moved up to chief in 2007.
“I know I am really proud of the work we have done,” Smith said. “As a fire department we have worked hard to provide an excellent level of service. I think we rival any fire department in the province in skills.”
Much has changed since Smith began with the department nearly three decades ago. Firefighters now assist with medical calls and have become responsible for much more than simply putting out fires.
“Some of our specialties are hazardous materials; there’s a lot of high angle and slope angle rescue work with the gorge and high-rise buildings.”
It’s the nature of the city, with urban areas and large swaths of rural land that calls for firefighters to be jacks-of-all-trades.
“We will attend farm implement rescues, it really is quite a variety. We have to be prepared for anything.”
Smith said he first began thinking about the possibility of retirement 18 months ago.
“It got a little more serious as I went along,” Smith said. “It got more serious about six months ago.”
Although he is currently working with the city’s human resources department to get the search for his replacement started, Smith said he would not have any role in the choice of his replacement.
He said, however, that there are several “strong candidates” within the NFFD ranks who could do the job.
“I’ve been in this position for nine years,” Smith said. “Maybe someone has some fresh ideas.”