Kevin White was appointed chief of the Barrie Fire and Emergency Service during last week’s council meeting.
“I am confident that our fire services are in excellent hands as we continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our community,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall to cheers during the Wednesday evening meeting. “We look forward to Chief White’s leadership and the positive impact he will bring to our city in his new role.”
White, a father of three who was raised in Barrie, joined the city’s fire department in 1998. He was promoted to captain in 2009 and then to platoon chief in 2020.
In 2001, he was part of a delegation of firefighters who volunteered in New York City following the attacks on the World Trade Centre. In 2012, he was awarded one of the Queen’s diamond jubilee medals for his services to the firefighting community in Canada.
“I am honoured to be selected as Barrie’s next Fire Chief and I am dedicated to providing outstanding customer service while protecting our community,” White said, according to a statement. “I am proud to lead the men and women of our service with integrity while protecting our citizens and their property.”
The announcement ends a four-month search kicked-off by the departure of Chief Cory Mainprize. The search for his replacement was led by Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson and confirmed by council in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Barrie was recently named the best place to build homes in the broader Greater Toronto Area.
The city was named as the overall best municipality for getting new housing developments approved in the recently released 2024 Municipal Benchmarking Study by the Building Industry and Land Development Association. The city previously received top status in the previous two studies, done in 2020 and 2022.
