Just days after welcoming former St. Catharines fire chief David Wood as its new interim fire chief, the City of Port Colborne says he’s had a change of heart and someone else has been recruited to fill the post.
On Tuesday, the city announced Stan Double, who was most recently platoon chief for Hamilton Fire Department, will step into the role of interim fire chief of Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services on Thursday.
Double has more than 30 years of experience in firefighting, said a media release from Port Colborne. As platoon chief in Hamilton he oversaw firefighting operations and emergency response.
Wood, who had agreed to take on the interim position and was set to start on Thursday, decided to step away in order to begin his retirement, the city said.
”(The city) hopes the entire community will join firefighters and city staff in welcoming Chief Double to our community,” the city said in a statement.
The change in leadership follows the city’s recent decision to discontinue a shared services agreement for emergency fire services administration with the Township with Wainfleet.
That decision was a reversal from one made in late August, when city council approved Wainfleet fire Chief Morgan Alcock continuing the dual role he’d held since March, after former chief Scott Lawson left Port Colborne to become a deputy fire chief in Niagara Falls.