St. Catharines Fire Chief Jeff McCormick after being named deputy chief in June 2017. - Bob Tymczyszyn , Torstar file photo
After more than two years at the helm, St. Catharines fire Chief Jeff McCormick can finally drop the "acting" from his title.
City council unanimously appointed McCormick St. Catharines fire chief Monday night after a short closed-door session.
He's been filling the role in a temporary capacity since July 2017, shortly after he joined the department.
City councillors gave McCormick a round of applause after the vote.
McCormick served with the Brantford fire department for 30 years as a firefighter in suppression and in fire prevention.
He was chief of the Brantford department from 2011 to 2016, when he retired to co-ordinate a new fire inspection and fire safety program at Fanshawe College in London — the first of its kind in Ontario.
But McCormick missed being part of a fire services team and when a position for deputy chief in St. Catharines opened up, he applied. He was hired in June 2017, replacing Larry Jones who retired earlier that year.
Less than a month on the job, McCormick found himself the highest ranking member of the service when chief Dave Wood took an indefinite health-related leave of absence. City council then passed a bylaw on July 31, 2017, to appoint McCormick acting chief.
Since then he's been overseeing the department and its budget and has moved to St. Catharines.
Link to original article on stcatharinesstandard.ca: McCormick officially named St. Catharines fire chief