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Lethbridge Fire Chief retiring; new Chief to be in place by mid-January

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Four the fourth time in roughly ten years, the City of Lethbridge is looking for a new Fire Chief.

Marc Rathwell has announced he’s retiring after a long career as a local firefighter and paramedic. He’s been the City’s Fire Chief for the past two-and-a-half years.

Rathwell says his replacement will likely face some changes.

“Things like the operational review that we’re doing with KPMG. I think we are really going to see some good pieces that come out of there in terms of potential opportunities. I believe we are trying to solidify what an integrated fire service is in the world we are in today,” says Rathwell.

Rathwell was hired on as Fire Chief just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and has been navigating the local Fire?EMS service through that from the start.

He worked his way up the ranks of the local service, starting back in 1996. He became a medical training officer after that, then Lieutenant in 2014, Captain in 2016, Deputy Chief in 2018, and Fire Chief in 2019.

City to Hire New Fire Chief Internally

The City of Lethbridge won’t have to look very far to find Rathwell’s replacement.

Mike Fox, Lethbridge’s Director of Community Services, says the next Fire Chief will be in place by mid-January and will be hired from within.

“The City of Lethbridge did a quick market scan, but we believe that we have the talent and Marc has lead him team very successfully and I think we have a lot of talent internally,” says Fox.

The next Fire Chief will follow in the footsteps of three other Chiefs who headed the Lethbridge Fire/EMS Service since 2010, including Marc Rathwell; Richard Hildebrand; and Brian Cornforth.

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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