The London Fire Department is excited and proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Jim Jessop to the position of Deputy Fire Chief of Fire Prevention. Jim will join the London Fire Department effective February 25, 2013.
Currently serving as a Deputy Fire Chief with the City of Niagara Falls, Mr. Jessop has served within the fire services for 16 years. Serving as a fire fighter in the City of Toronto and then Niagara Falls, he later made a career shift by becoming a Fire Prevention Inspector in that Department. While working in that role, in 2007 Mr. Jessop accepted a three (3) month secondment with the Office of the Fire Marshall in the capacity of Project Manager.
Further to his work experience, Mr. Jessop brings with him a unique set of skills garnered through his current involvement as a member of the Fire Prevention Officer Advisory Committee at the Ontario Fire College, as the Chair of the Provincial Fire Prevention Committee with the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC), as well as Vice Chair of the Canadian Fire and Life Safety Committee, which is part of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC). In these capacities, he has drafted recommendations for the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and testified before the Standing Committee on Social Policy at Queen’s Park concerning several Bills. Most recently, he is serving as the Co-Chair of the Premier’s Technical Advisory Committee for improving fire safety in vulnerable occupancies, which includes drafting fire code retrofit requirements for all care occupancies constructed prior to 1998, as well as co-authored the new Ontario Fire Marshall Technical Guidelines: Fire Safety Inspections and Enforcement and Staffing Levels for the Emergency Evacuation of Residents in Care Occupancies.
In addition to his significant work experience and committee work, Mr. Jessop possesses a vast educational background. He is currently working on a Masters of Business Administration, which complements his Masters of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts – Kinesiology degrees, as well as is also enrolled the Executive Fire Officer Program at the United States Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In his new capacity, Jim will oversee the LFD’s fire prevention and public education activities and assist with the Department’s transition to a risk-based, neighbourhood focused organization. The Department looks forward to integrating its innovative approaches with that of Mr. Jessop’s toward fulfilling the Neighbourhood, Children & Fire Services’ mandate: Working together to strengthen Londoners’ quality of life.....community-wide.....neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
Marian Gilligan
Executive Assistant to the Fire Chief
London Fire Department
mgilliga@london.ca