The Board of Fire Trustees and Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue are pleased to announce the appointment of Jamie Holmes to Fire Chief. Chief Holmes has been exceptional in his role of Acting Fire Chief since November 14, 2020. A strong leader with a wealth of experience, SSIFR is fortunate to have him at the helm.
Chief Holmes has achieved 25 years of exemplary service since joining the department in 1996 as a Paid-on-Call Volunteer. He Joined the career ranks in 2002 and ascended to Deputy Chief in April 2021. Recently, Chief Holmes was awarded the British Columbia Training Officer Association Meritorious Service Medal for his decade of executive service to the association.
During his 15-year tenure as training officer, our department successfully trained many volunteer Firefighters that went on to become career professionals, both here and in other departments across the country. Chief Holmes set a benchmark that members be trained to the NFPA 1001 standard, which ensures we have a highly trained professional membership here on Salt Spring and provides members with an internationally recognized accreditation.
Chief Holmes brings decades of labour experience and negotiation skills to his new role. The Board of Trustees is fortunate to have Chief Holmes on their management team. We are grateful for his continued service to our community. The future of emergency services on Salt Spring Island is in excellent hands.
Please join me in congratulating Chief Holmes on his appointment and thanking him for stepping up to fill the role.
Per Svendsen
Chair, Board of Trustees