Introduced by Rotarian Jennifer Savini, Fire Chief Dan Smith's career spans 25 years in the field of fire and life safety. He has been a chief officer in the fire service over the last 16 years with the last 4 ½ years here in Belleville. He is a certified fire officer and community emergency management coordinator, holds diplomas in fire protection engineering and municipal management and recently attended Harvard University where he studied Leadership in Crises. Dan takes great pride in being part of a high functioning team that has seen great successes in public safety over the last several years, making Belleville a safer place for citizens, visitors, local business and for the first responders representing the City. Some of these successes include an approved fire master plan, an updated emergency response plan, a fire station location study, enhanced staffing levels, upgraded levels of service, procurement of new fleet and a major investment in firefighter cancer prevention programs and first responder mental health.
The current fire department consists of 78 full-time firefighters, 45 volunteer firefighters, 1 administrative assistant, 1 Emergency Planning Officer and 3 Chief Officers (Chief and 2 Deputy Chiefs). There are 5 fire stations, 2 that operate 24/7 and 2 that are staffed by volunteer firefighters. The fire department is an expensive emergency service with budget requests that include vehicles for the fleet, one pumper that comes at a cost of $980,000 plus depending on options. A ladder truck is now worth 2.5 to 2.6 million dollars. Even an off the shelf purchase for a big ladder truck would cost $3 million. The fire department includes a marine unit and recently purchased an inflatable boat. The department is full service in the City, attending fire and alarm calls, provides medical tiered response with EMS, ice and water rescue, hazardous material response, ensuring fire and emergency services preparedness as well as attending community events.
A recent mass notification system called RAVE has been launched to inform residents of emergencies where there is a significant threat to life safety. Users can register to receive notifications online at Belleville.ca/Alerts or by completing a form and dropping it off at or mailing it to Fire Station #1 (60 Bettes Street). People are encouraged to stay informed and register today. Chief Dan advised that they have been focusing on response capabilities and have recently done a study on response times and how to improve and get there faster. This study includes vehicles that are out of service and how to get them back in full operation as quickly as possible. The current Moira West fire stations will be closed and re-located to the old City fairground and the current Harmony Road station will be closed and re-located to the new fairground to cover the north part of the City. Rotarian Graham Whitehead thanked Fire Chief Dan for his very informative presentation, for answering questions and sharing the professionalism and dedication of the Fire and Emergency Services in the City of Belleville.