The city of Montreal has appointed a new director of its fire department, six months after the last chief left.
The new chief is Bruno Lachance, who has been with the Montreal fire department for 33 years. He has been an assistant director since February 2016.
“His vision, focussed on team work, an optimal environment, employees working to serve citizens, will allow the (fire department) to continue accomplishing its mission, which is to save lives, protect belongings and preserve the environment of citizens of the agglomeration of Montreal,” Mayor Denis Coderre said in a news release to announce Lachance’s appointment on Thursday.
Sources inside the fire department said they were expecting — and hoping — Lachance, who just returned from vacation, would accept the promotion because he’s respected among the ranks and has the necessary experience.
As the Montreal Gazette reported last month, the fire department was headless since the last director, François Massé, quit at the end of September, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. It was an open secret that no one from outside the service and only one person from inside applied for his job. The hopeful was low enough on the management ladder to prompt the department to extend its search.
Beside Massé, the Montreal fire department has lost both its deputy fire chiefs, one of its four assistant directors and about a dozen division and battalion chiefs since last year.
The Montreal fire department went longer without a chief than anytime in the past 80 years.
Lachance has worked with the Canadian International Development Agency to help train firefighters in Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Colombia, the mayor’s news release said. Lachance was awarded a Governor General of Canada medal for his 30 years of service in 2015.
