Mel Newans retired RCAF - CAF Firefighter (1980) retired from the City of Yorkton Fire Department October 1st 2000. Taking Mel's place as the new Chief is Jim Ennis former Naval Air Bosn. Jim Retired from the military fire service in Aug of 1986 having served 22 years first as an Air bosn and then as a 651er. Jim finished his military career as the Chief at CFS Yorkton and he joined the City of Yorkton Fire Department in June of 1986 serving for 14 1/2 years in the capacity as Deputy Chief of Operations. Jim was officially appointed to the position of Chief for the City of Yorkton Fire Department on the 1st of January 2001. Jim welcomes any current or former members who are passing through Yorkton to drop by the Department for a coffee any time....

Wing Chief Borth Bay
Yvon Serre  (Ivan) was born in Sturgeon Falls Ontario.  He enrolled in the RCAF in Feb 1967 at the North Bay Recruiting Centre as a Firefighter tradesman.Yvon has several postings to his credit (13 in 34 years).  This included 2 tours at CFB Borden, first to the Fire Fighter Training Company and then later on in his career he went back as the Standards Officer and then on to the Academy CWO.  Other places included (some twice) Toronto, Bagotville, Seneterre, Trenton and Goose Bay.  His last posting while serving in the Fire Fighter trade was completed in Winnipeg as the 1 Canadian Air Division Deputy Fire Marshal.  After dedicating 33 years to the Fire Fighter trade, Ivan has taken a posting out of trade and has taken a posting  back to North Bay for the third time to become CFB  22 Wing North Bay's Base Chief Warrant Officer.  His plan is to fulfill the 3-year mandate before retiring in the North Bay area. 

BEN LAROCHE, A NEW FACE IN THE MIRAMICHI REGION
New to the Maritimes and to the Miramichi Region is Mr. Benoit Laroche, a firefighter with 25 years of experience in the Canadian Forces. Since the beginning of February 1999, Mr. Benoit Laroche is the new Assistant Fire Marshall for the Miramichi Region.  Born in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, a small town along the south shore of the St-Lawrence River, Ben joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1974.  During his 25 years in the military, this bilingual man gained experience while working different types of positions always involving fire fighting.  Some of those tasks include working 9 years as a Fire Inspector, 3 years as Fire Chief at the Mont-Apica Radar Station leading a group of 28 volunteer firefighters and 4 years as Platoon Chief.  Ben Laroche retired, in 1999, from the Canadian Forces as a Warrant Officer in the position of Firefighter Instructor Supervisor at the Canadian Forces Fire Academy in Borden, Ontario." I admit that I was very excited about moving to New Brunswick and I was very anxious to take up the challenge of becoming the Assistant Fire Marshall for the Miramichi Region.  It was exactly the type of work and changes that I was looking for." I carried-out fire prevention inspections, fire investigations and support over 20 fire departments representing the Office of the Fire Marshal. I am also a member of the Provincial Fire Fighters Training Standard Committee which is very active and seeking the IFSAC accreditation for Fire Fighter Level one and two. I am very happy to be here and looking forward to discovering this part of the country.  I already enjoyed the lobster seasons and I expect to do so for many more years. My wife Louise moved to the Miramichi in the summer 99, in a new house we purchased in the Douglastown area.  The two kids flew away from the family nest; Benoit Jr. followed his father’s footsteps and our daughter Marie Josee is studying at the Ottawa University. If you come to the region don’t hesitate to contact me, the Ambassador is closed, however, the Newcastle Blackhorse is still open. 

New Fire Chief GTAA
Mark Regimbald was appointed to the position of Fire Chief for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) on the 14 Feb 2001. Mark was a former member of the Canadian Forces and is well known to many members of the military fire fighting community. He served in the ranks at various locations and after taking his commission as a fire officer, he served as the Fire Chief at Edmonton, Alberta and the Chief Instructor at the Canadian Forces Fire Academy. Mark holds a Fire Protection engineering degree from the University of Maryland and a Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation. He is currently working on his Masters degree in Fire Service Management from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife Leslie and two children Kaitlin and John make their home in Barrie, Ontario.