A new City of Whitehorse fire chief will be on the job as of Jan. 13, 2020.
The city announced the hiring of Jason Everitt in a press release Oct. 18.
The statement highlights Everitt’s 30-plus years experience in firefighting along with several years as an advanced life support paramedic.
“Jason’s experience and unique set of abilities made him the superior candidate,” Mayor Dan Curtis says in the statement. “We are looking forward to welcoming him to our community and are excited for his start in January. We would also like to thank Chris Green, who is doing a wonderful job serving as Acting Fire Chief in the interim.”
Whitehorse’s last fire chief Mike Dine was fired in June, just a week before his one-year probationary period was set to end. Dine described the firing as a “total shock”.
Dine had replaced former fire chief Kevin Lyslo who resigned in 2017.
The City of Whitehorse did not say where Everitt is coming from, but the City of Melfort, Saskatchewan lists Jason Everitt as it’s director of protective services. That department includes the fire department along with animal control, bylaw enforcement, emergency planning and policing (with policing work provided by RCMP).
In the city’s statement Everitt said he and his wife are excited to move to Whitehorse.
“Northern service has been on our radar for some time and we feel both privileged and fortunate to be embarking on this new opportunity,” he said. “I am personally looking forward to joining the City of Whitehorse team as we continue to collaborate to ensure world class service to such a diverse and vibrant community.”